Historic theatre in Medicine Hat will soon reopen with new owners | CBC News
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Frank Devine remembers going to a matinee showing at the Monarch Theatre in Medicine Hat and getting a soda and a popcorn for a quarter.
After his family — including his seven siblings — moved to Alberta from Scotland in 1967, they frequented the theatre.
Now, Devine is the president of the group that owns it.
The City of Medicine Hat announced Tuesday that following its request for proposals earlier in the year, the Monarch 1911 Society, a non-profit organization directed by members of the Rotary Clubs of Medicine Hat, has purchased the building.
LISTEN | Two Medicine Hat residents describe their memories of the Monarch Theatre
The Homestretch9:18Historic Medicine Hat theatre reopening
A historic theatre in Medicine Hat will soon re-open with new owners. The Monarch Theatre is believed to be the oldest movie theatre still operating in Canada. Frank Devine is president of the Monarch 1911 Society, which purchased the theatre. Luke Fandrich is a local filmmaker whose documentary about the Monarch Theatre – called “Your Cinema Needs You” – will screen at the theatre’s grand re-opening. They both told us about it.
The City Centre Development Agency owned the theatre until the pandemic, Devine said, and then it was taken over by the city.
“The theatre, which stands as the oldest still-operating movie theatre in Western Canada, has always been a cornerstone of the city’s downtown. With over a century of history under its belt, the Monarch is not just a theatre, but a testament to the cultural vitality of Medicine Hat,” a media release from the city said.
Devine said, after looking at old photographs, his goal is to bring the theatre back to its 1940s grandeur, he told CBC Radio’s The Homestretch.
“It does have new seats that are very comfortable and we would also like to build a stage to have some other acts, other than just a theatre in there, to utilize the building as much as possible.”
And Devine said he’d also like to introduce something close to his heart.
“One of my personal things that I would like to do is moms and tots afternoon matinees. So it would be affordable for a mother with five kids to bring her kids to the theatre for like $20.”
The city said the theatre, which can seat 402 people, has been recently upgraded with new seating, a state-of-the-art digital projection system and enhanced HVAC systems.
Luke Fandrich, local filmmaker, created a documentary about the Monarch called Your Cinema Needs You. It’ll premiere at the theatre when it reopens.
He wanted to explore whether the Monarch is in fact the oldest surviving theatre in Canada, not just Western Canada.
“I like to say, to the best of my knowledge, that appears to be the case. When you go looking at a lot of old theatres across the country, the common denominator in a lot of the theatres that were built at the same time as the Monarch is that they started out as either live stages or vaudeville theatres,” Fandrich said.
“And what sets the Monarch apart is that from day one, when it opened in 1911, it was always built to be a movie theatre and throughout its lifetime has always remained a movie theatre. And that’s really what sets it apart.”
The building was purchased for $100,000 and its re-opening date is yet to be determined.
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