Garneau Theatre
The east face and main entrance of the theatre in 2009.
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| Address | 8712 109 Street Edmonton Canada |
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| Coordinates | 53°31′23″N 113°30′45″W / 53.52306°N 113.51250°WCoordinates: 53°31′23″N 113°30′45″W / 53.52306°N 113.51250°W |
| Designation | Municipal Historic Resource |
| Capacity | 527 |
| Construction | |
| Years active | 1940-1990; 1991-present |
| Architect | William Blakey |
The Garneau Theatre is a historic movie theatre located on 109 Street in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The theatre originally operated independently until it joined with Famous Players in 1941. It closed in late 1990, and reopened in December 1991 under Magic Lantern Theatres who restored it in 1996. Magic Lantern operated the Garneau until June 2011 when it closed. The Garneau became Metro Cinema's new home in July 2011, and was officially reopened in September 2011.
It was designated a Municipal Historic Resource on October 28, 2009.
Designed by noted Edmonton architect William Blakey and built in 1940, the Garneau is the only remaining theatre of the early modernist style and period in Alberta.
Walter Wilson was a Famous Players theatre manager in Winnipeg before moving his family to Edmonton to manage the Capitol Theatre in 1928. His son, Bill Wilson, worked for his father as an usher in Winnipeg before working as an engineer for the federal government.
When he married his wife, Bill promised her that he would never again work in the movie industry, but after being laid off in 1938, he began raising funds for a new chain of movie theatres. His company, Suburban Theatres, opened its first theatre, the Roxy, in 1938. His second theatre, The Garneau, opened on Thursday, October 24, 1940.
At the time, the theatre was described as "Spacious, attractively designed and modern in every detail". The ticket booth was encased in a bubble of vitrolite, the lobby was tiled in red, and the foyer featured the furniture specially commissioned for the George VI's stay at the Hotel Macdonald in 1939. Ushers in custom tailored red eaton jackets, deep blue trousers, and pill-box hats operated a free coat check and showed guests to their seats
The projection booth was equipped with dual Holmes 35mm arc lamp projectors which produced an extremely bright picture for the day.
The theatre featured 780 seats, including several red leather "two's company" seats without armrests. The space was also designed for live theatre, and featured a large stage with dressing rooms in the wings. Rather than an expensive balcony, architect William Blakey economized by incorporating a terrace which at the time was described as a "climbing mezzanine".
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