The Armond Theatre
By Jim Cameron
From Cranbrook’s earliest years, the area of 10th Ave. between Baker
and 1st St. served as the city’s ‘Entertainment District’. By the early 1900s,
both the Knights of Pythias Hall/Oddfellows Fraternity Hall and the Masonic
Lodge (The Studio) were popular spots for local banquets and dances. One could
take in a movie at the Edison Theatre on Baker St. at the end of Tenth Ave.
followed by dinner at the many restaurants and cafes in the area. The old
Cranbrook Auditorium featured live vaudeville and theatre many nights of the
week and among the many public houses those of the Canadian (York), the
Cosmopolitan (Shananigan’s Pub) and the Royal (Byng) Hotels were practically
next door. All of this within one city block. The trend continued for decades with
the Rex and Star Theatres added in later years.
In Feb. 1946, a consortium under the title
of Cranbrook Theatres Ltd., with Armond Clark Blaine as their managing
director, bought the old Auditorium on Tenth Ave. for use as a temporary movie
theatre. In early 1950, the company announced the planned replacement of the
old Auditorium with a new ‘movie palace’ and one year later the auditorium fell
to the wrecking ball with nary a whimper. Blueprints for the new movie theatre,
designed by the Vancouver architectural firm of Sharp, Thompson, Berwick and
Pratt – an internationally renowned company who also designed many of UBC’s
campus buildings - featured reinforced concrete construction with
‘ultra-modern’ plastic doors leading into a handsomely appointed foyer. The
main floor boasted ‘saucer-type’ seating, acoustically treated walls, air
conditioning and the most up-to-date sound system available. A stadium
mezzanine (balcony) was also included. The successful contractor’s bid went to
Marwell Construction Co. of Vancouver with work to commence Mar.1 1951, at a
cost of approximately $180,000.00.
The grand opening of The Armond - named for Armond
Blaine who had passed away in the interim - took place on Mar.19, 1952 with a
capacity crowd witnessing the opening ceremonies. The auditorium featured pale
green and tan wall panels, green-carpeted aisles, red-upholstered seats and a
matching, electrically operated stage curtain The premier movie was ‘An
American in Paris’ followed by a large reception at the home of Mrs.A.C.Blaine.
Speaking at the opening, Cranbrook’s Mayor Sang commented, ‘This solid and substantial edifice marks the
staunch belief that Mrs. Blaine and her associates hold for the future of the
sparkling city of Cranbrook, of which we are all so proud. It is our duty as
citizens together with the Management to keep the Theatre on that high level
which will make it a worthy companion of the home, the school and the Church…may
the curtain never descend upon its glory.”
The Armond, following forty-seven years of
service to the community, closed its doors in 1999 as patrons gravitated en
masse to the newly opened ‘Cinema-plex’ two miles to the north.
This year the Armond celebrates its tenth
anniversary as the most desolate building in town with the seats now stripped
and sold, the lobby piled high with unused industrial furnishings and the
facade (with the grand-daddy of cool neon signs) gradually decaying.
High above the street on the northern
exterior wall remains the last hand-painted building advertisement in town, a
‘Pepsi’ sign fading away at approximately the same speed as the memories of the
theatre itself. Once a point of civic pride, sadly, the Armond Theatre is now
no more than a huge concrete headstone in the very ‘heart and soul’ of our
downtown core. To whom does our community credit this abject honour? No one
seems to have placed their nameplate on the door.
So now, let us review what we actually have
here: A classic 1950s vacant movie theatre in the centre of downtown, perfect
for a major role in a revitalized downtown core, designed by famous architects
and constructed on the very site of our city’s oldest original
vaudeville/theatre house, sitting idle for ten years. What is the
conclusion? Hey, here’s an idea, why
don’t we have a little peek in our history book and see what we’ve done with
our other historic buildings…now let me see here… hmm…Golly, maybe we should
have a peek in someone else’s history book instead. Just what was that silly
old Mayor Sang thinking anyway?
NOTE: The blue neon ‘MacDonalds’ Rexall
Drugs’ clock hung in the Armond Theatre for many years. Mounted directly to the
left of the screen, it became an added prop in thousands of movies. It now
resides in a stairwell at Finnegans Wake Sports Pub & Grill in Cranbrook
.
Excellent! Methinks we may need Mayor Sang to give the city a jolt!!!!
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