Mavrick's Music Hall
46 Dunlop Street W,
Barrie,
ON
L4N 1A4
46 Dunlop Street W,
Barrie,
ON
L4N 1A4
1 person
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Venue has been closed since Feb 2020.
Photo #2 in this article has the Roxy on the right, originally Elizabeth Street.
https://www.barrietoday.com/columns/remember-this/the-theatre-block-when-gas-pumps-became-a-menace-4-photos-1622664?fbclid=IwAR1-E3VD5HVphe2UOYy5BUxDdhXRGv2z3EhA3xfAx7qM_bVxFZEZf6zm6Tg
Maverick’s Music Hall can be seen in the upper left quadrant of this aerial photo of the Dunlop Street West area from the Barrie Historical Archive.
A solicitation for bids (called tenders in Canada) on the theater to be built at Barrie for John Saso was published in the January 29, 1931, issue of The Northern Advance. The notice was placed by the architect for the project, John Wilson.
Built in 1931 by John Saso and Sons, a local Barrie family at a cost of $100,000 in the midst of the depression. This was an atmospheric theatre with a special effects projector that would project clouds slowly swirling across the ceiling to make you feel you were outside. Stairways to the upstairs washrooms were constructed out of out lovely Italian travertine marble. This was a first class theatre all the way. The Sasos joined Famous Players Canadian Corporation as a partner-affiliate in the operation of this theatre from 1937 to 1960 when they retired, at which time Famous Players simply rented these premises! The Sasos were considered excellent theatre operators and I am proud to say that as this is the theatre where I started my showbusiness career in 1971!
Looks like Barrie Imperial Theatre is open and operating on 55 Dunlop. See their website http://www.barrieimperialtheatre.ca
im buying this and turnin it into a porn theater haha lol this is ma city yehhh barrie they should make a porno theater in downtown barrie it be interesting lol
The Roxy is now (and has been since the early eighties) THE ROXX Nightclub. The nightclub still looks very much like a movie theatre. The upper balcony sections are VIP rooms and seperate bars, and the DJ booth is where the screen used to be.
It is amazing how many theatres are named ROXY in imitation of the once famous name of the New York City panjandrum of the movie palace: Samual Lionel Rothapfel = “Roxy”. His namesake was the famous ROXY THEATRE in NYC, which outlasted him by only 25 years when it was demolished in 1960. The whole story is in that landmark book “The Best Remaining Seats: The Story of the Golden Age of the Movie Palace” by the late Ben M. Hall in 1961. Various editions of it are sometimes available from www.Amazon.com, but only the first edition contains the color plates.
what is the easiest way for me to find out if this theater is for sale?
thanks