To add to the list of unbuilt project in our city, planned early in 1929, this appeared in the Border Cities Star – January 23, 1929:
This is an architect’s sketch of a new theatre planned for the corner of Moy avenue and Ottawa street,
Windsor, by Paramount Windsor Theatres, Limited. Designed by Nichols, Sheppard and Masson, archi-
tects. Equity Building, the playhouse will represent a cost of $125,000 when completeed and will seat 1,040. Bids
for the construction contract are to be invited by the end of the week, and it is expected to begin construction
operations by February 6. The playhouse will he completed by late spring.
Two shops, a store, a suite of professional offices and a residential apartment are also provided for in the
building the exterior of which has been designed along Spanish lines. The theatre is to be located on the south-
east corner of Moy and Ottawa.
Here’s that same corner today.
It’s a shame it was never built, it looked to be quite a beauty, and at 1000+ seats it would have been an impressive sight.
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Plus a nice spanish infuenced design would add some richness to our heritage in the city. But then again Andrew, it would have probably been demo’ed and we would still have the above.
wow! how spectacular would that have been! dave it probably right, i’m sure it would have been demolished by now…but still…what a great building it would have beautiful.
Interesting. I recall reading (I think) previous posts on this site referring to a theatre on Ottawa Street. Was this other theatre built before or subsequent to this proposed build? What happenedto this other theatre?
The post drove me to http://www.cinematour.com where I saw your posts on the Palace, Walkerville and Capitol theatres. You ever find a picture of The Palace?
there was a theatre on Ottawa, I think it was called the Park.
The theatre which opened on the southwest corner of Moy and Ottawa in 1940 was, indeed, called The Park. It closed in 1970 and was demolished. The smaller Kent Theatre was on the south side of Ottawa St. near the intersection with Pierre. They were two of my favourite haunts when I was one of the neighbourhood kids. The Kent building remains, having been used as a religious building, a martial arts studio and goodness knows what else.
Oh, thanks, I forgot about the Kent. I went there as a kid and took my kids in the 60’s to see Dr Doolittle with Rex Harrison. Funny the memories that stick.
This bank building used to be Gray’s , did it not?
this is an amazing picture. Gray’s ended up on this corner (southeast). I spent lots of my childhood in Gray’s for some reason or other – buying patterns and fabric, clothes, whatever! I remember Mr. Harry Gray, usually downstairs in the fabric section, always with a cigar in his mouth.
The current screen capture looks south on Moy. The Park theatre was immediately west across Moy Avenue; now a CIBC is on that corner and a parking lot exists exactly where I spent many hours enjoying flicks before ratings emerged. The Kent theatre was gone from Ottawa Street by the early 1960s; it was not there when I arrived in the neighbourhood. The block between Pierre and Hall, in the ’60s contained: Tepperman’s, Service Hardware, Brewers Retail, Dominion, Liquor Control Board, Lennon Pharmacy, Jewellery Store, Holland Butcher, Laura Secord, Majestic Tavern, Jim Ferry’s Stereoland, The Blue Danube (came later in the ’60s), a couple of dress stores, and the Jehovah’s Witness place of worship which was in the Kent space. Can you believe that all that existed in only one block of only one nighbourhood retail zone? So many stories, so many probably will be left untild!