Century Theatre
309 Lakeshore Road East,
Oakville,
ON
L6J 1J3
309 Lakeshore Road East,
Oakville,
ON
L6J 1J3
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Thank You for responding!
I am heading down to the basement to look through my copies of the Beaver and the Record Journal…
No it’s from a special edition of the Oakville Beaver in 1977, commemorating the town’s 150th birthday.
Cool pamphlet. Was that a hand out you actualy got at the cinema?
Oh, I was there alright! I was 10 in 1981 when you left. I loved the Playhouse!
Now please check this out:
http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/9308/playhouse1977.jpg
Just looked at the clip on youtube. Thanks velveteen71 for sharing. Brought back a lot of memories. Don’t know if you went to the Playhouse when I was managing it or not but I hope you had a good time going there.
I took a picture of the Playhouse when I was managing it. Don’t know if I still have it but will look for it and will let you know if I find it. I will also look at the clip on youtube.
I was happy to find that clip on youtube, since as far as I can see, that’s the only image of the theatre we’ve got…
For a while in the 1980s and 1990s a lot of movies were filmed in Oakville but I think it got over exposed.
I had never heard of “Alex: The Life of a Child” I will have to see if I can find a copy.
Hi guys. I was a manager for several years at Cineplex and Empire. I was the first kid hired to work at the Mews when it opened in 1987. I trained at the Plaza before the opening. I ran the Mews as Manager for a few years in the mid-90’s.
I used to go to the Playhouse/Palm all the time.
One night I went to see “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure” (‘85). When we got out of the show, we found that there was a film-shoot going on in the street out front. We were made to get across the street and stand behind barriers. Then Craig T. Nelson pulled up in a car.
It was a made-for-tv movie called “Alex: The Life of a Child” and it came out in ‘86. I remember watching it, just to see the part where they filmed at the Palm.
I’ve found it on Youtube. Go to 9:51 into it…
http://youtu.be/zA8ZnlMdNdA
I remember the “Candy Cupboard”. There was also “Licks” burger place across the street. A lot of people would go there also. That was the original location for the “Licks” franchise.
Thank You for posting. I don’t remember the balcony I guess I just never looked up.
I do remember a place called the “Candy Cupboard” located where “Corks” is now.
They did a roaring trade on Friday and Saturday nights with everyone waiting to enter the cinema.
Walking along Lakeshore Road on a Friday or Saturday night always gave me a small town feeling.
This was an Odeon theater in the 1960s and into the mid-1970s. In the late 1970s a group of local businessmen turned it into an independent cinema called “The Playhouse”. I managed it from around 1976 until 1981. It had a single screen and we would show double features for $2.00. A combination of first and second run movies. A lot of fond memories of the place. The projectionist Bill was a master at running the machines. We always had problems with the boiler room. But we had great popcorn. Still have some of the original movie posters (Jaws, Rollerball, Chinatown) from the day. It held about 600 people and had a balcony but would only use it if we sold out the first floor. Great small cinema for the Oakville downtown. Had a lot of regulars and employed students from the local high schools. Glad to see this theater listed on this site.
Here are some photos I took today October 30th 2010
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The left side is now a Home Furnishings Store and the Right Side is a Jewelry Store.
The Century Theatre was located at “309 Lakeshore Road East, Oakville, ON L6J1J3” That stretch of Lakeshore Road would have been called “Colborne Street” when the cinema opened.
When I moved to Oakville in 1982 it was operating as an independant cinema called “The Palm” the last movie to show there was “Accidental Tourist” in 1989
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094606/
After that it became a “Night Club” “The Ozone” and Radio Station CING 107.9fm in Burlington Ontario broadcast live from there on Saturday Nights.
The building is now divided into two seperate retail units.