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| Keywords: hamilton hamont james street north jamesstreetnorth building architecture outdoor In 1875 a four-storey building with a steeply pitched mansard roof and tower housed shops on the main floor and the J. V. Prongeuy carriage factory on the upper floors. The carriage building factory went out of business in 1908 and an extension to the building was added at the back towards Hughson Street. It was to be called the Wonderland Theatre. In 1909 it was renamed the Colonial. It showed early movies to the citizens of Hamilton. In 1913 the theatre was renamed the Princess Theatre. It only had about 200 seats so when the Lyric, Pantages and Loewes Theatre opened with over 1,000 seats it was considered obsolete. In 1924 the theatre was substantially enlarged. Dressing rooms for vaudeville acts were added as well as a large screen for motion pictures and increased seating for 1,800 to 2,000 patrons. This expansion cost $200,000. In 1954 they underwent another makeover costing $250,000. They were the first to offer Cinemascope and Stereoscopic sound and 3-D movies. Later ticket sales declined and they began a policy of showing restricted adult films but not even that could stop the decline. They showed their last movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in September of 1989. The building was bought by Sam and Sid Sniderman of Toronto in 1989. Starting in 2002 live theatre began to be presented in the theatre. In July of 2004 part of the top floor caved in and with the city deeming the building to be unsafe the entire building from James Street to the 1924 auditorium was demolished. 051-32022194827222 In 1875 a four-storey building with a steeply pitched mansard roof and tower housed shops on the main floor and the J. V. Prongeuy carriage factory on the upper floors. The carriage building factory went out of business in 1908 and an extension to the building was added at the back towards Hughson Street. It was to be called the Wonderland Theatre. In 1909 it was renamed the Colonial. It showed early movies to the citizens of Hamilton. In 1913 the theatre was renamed the Princess Theatre. It only had about 200 seats so when the Lyric, Pantages and Loewes Theatre opened with over 1,000 seats it was considered obsolete. In 1924 the theatre was substantially enlarged. Dressing rooms for vaudeville acts were added as well as a large screen for motion pictures and increased seating for 1,800 to 2,000 patrons. This expansion cost $200,000. In 1954 they underwent another makeover costing $250,000. They were the first to offer Cinemascope and Stereoscopic sound and 3-D movies. Later ticket sales declined and they began a policy of showing restricted adult films but not even that could stop the decline. They showed their last movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in September of 1989. The building was bought by Sam and Sid Sniderman of Toronto in 1989. Starting in 2002 live theatre began to be presented in the theatre. In July of 2004 part of the top floor caved in and with the city deeming the building to be unsafe the entire building from James Street to the 1924 auditorium was demolished. 051-32022194827222 | ||||
