Les,
I made a major discovery thanks to you. I discovered that the Palace theatre wich was situated at 3841 Wellington was converted and replaced by the Cinéma Verdun Odéon as you can see from the photos. I took the top photo on the 21st of April 2007. The same sign was modified by adding the Odeon sign on top of the canopy wich was later removed and a publicity window was built into the wall on the left. The front of the building on the left was renovated but my guess is that the orginal structure was kept as we all know how well these buildings were constructed in the good old days.I got this information from the Lovell directory 1974-75. The movie that appeared reads: Tremblement, 2 ième, Airport wich I believe was a sequal to the first movie in wich included Charlton Heston, Richard Windmark and many other top actors of the day many of wich are no longer with us. And look at that crowd, unbelievable don't you think, considering it being the TV era. Reminds me of the days in the 40s and 50s when we would line up in front of the 4 Verdun theatres. I saw many serial and cowboy movies in that theatre in the 40s and for only .10.
Nobody seemed to be aware of the exhistance of the Odeon theatre specially since I have been doing research on the subject for the past 4 or 5 years, not even in our own society (SHGV). This is a major addition to our archives.
Guy
P.N. For those who don't know, The Palace was situated on the north side of Wellington between Church and Hickson.
6 comments:
That's the beauty of finding old photos, & sharing them, I still think someone will come along with a whole host of old photos they've found in their house somewhere left from their parents, Hopefully they will be members here or find us, & share those too. You can never have enough photogrpahs,and the photos being taken today,by everyone will also one day be of some importance to those who follow us ,somewhere down the road......................HF&RV
ps: Thanks for always spending your own tme to follow up on some of this stuff, & take the modern day shots for comparison,Your efforts are always appreciated.
Guy, I only remember the Savoy and Fifth Ave Theatres...probably because they were close to Third Ave and I was able to go to them alone. What was the name of the 4th theatre?....Diane
Diane,
It is the Park Theatre wich was situated on Church near Claude street. Check out my Album no 10 for other photos on the Theatres in Verdun.
Guy
Thanks Guy,
You learn something new about Verdun everyday!
The photo shows a beautiful theatre...sorry I didn't have the pleasure of attending a screening or two there......Diane
Diane,
I lived just around the corner from that theatre and went there often in the 40s and 50s. Of course I didn't realise the historical importance of that theatre then because I was too young. What is missing for our archives is a photo of the exterior of the theatre. There must be some around and hopefully they will turn up some day. I translated an article for our revue "Les Argoulets" wich appeared in the Gazette on October 26th 1976, a couple of weeks after the Park had a devastating fire, and wich described the history of the theatre. The 4 theatres that exhisted in Verdun had a profound impact on the lives of many Verdunites.
Guy
Guy
Guy, the Palace was not between Church and Hickson. It was east of Hickson at 3841 Wellington. My father's photo studio (Larin Photo) was at 3839 right next to it. We could hear the movies in my father's backstore in the area where he took his pictures. Denise L.
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