Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage

Theatre in 2007
Former names	Stanley Theatre Stanley Theatre du Maurier Stage
Location	2750 Granville Street Vancouver, British Columbia V6H 3J3
Owner	Arts Club Theatre Company (formerly owned by Famous Players)
Type	Live theatre (former movie palace)
Capacity	650 (formerly 1,216)
Construction
Opened	December 15, 1930
Closed	September 21, 1991
Reopened	October 28, 1998

The Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage is a famous theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia. It's located at 12th Avenue and Granville Street. This theatre is the main stage for the Arts Club Theatre Company. The Stanley first opened in December 1930. Back then, it was a movie theatre. It showed movies for over sixty years.

However, fewer people came to watch movies. So, the theatre closed in 1991. For several years, there were plans to turn it into shops. But instead, the Stanley was fixed up as a stage theatre. This happened between 1997 and 1998. It was then recognized as a special heritage building.

Today, the Stanley hosts many amazing shows. These include classic plays and big Broadway musicals. Some famous shows have been Swing!, My Fair Lady, and Miss Saigon. The theatre needed a lot of money to pay for its repairs. It also needed help with its mortgage. At one point, its sponsor, du Maurier, had to stop helping. This was because of new rules about tobacco advertising. But in 2005, a new sponsor stepped in. Industrial Alliance Pacific Life Insurance Company helped out. That's when the theatre's name changed to the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage.

The Stanley as a Movie Theatre

The Stanley first opened its doors on December 15, 1930. It was originally planned to be a place for vaudeville shows. Vaudeville was a type of entertainment. It had different acts like singers, dancers, and comedians.

Who Built the Stanley Theatre?

Frederick Guest built the Stanley. He owned many theatres in Ontario. He loved Vancouver so much. He decided to build his dream theatre there. He hired Henry Holdsby Simmonds as the architect. Simmonds designed the inside in a neoclassical style. This means it looked like old Greek and Roman buildings. The outside was in an Art Deco style. This was a popular, modern design at the time. The theatre could seat 1,216 people.

Simmonds used only the best materials. He wanted the theatre to be very high quality. He used special stone from Winnipeg. He also used tiles from Italy. Chandeliers, carpets, and furniture came from local shops. The theatre was named after Governor General of Canada Lord Stanley. The Stanley Cup and Stanley Park are also named after him.

First Films and Changes Over Time

The very first film shown at the Stanley was One Romantic Night. It starred Lillian Gish. Tickets back then cost between 10 and 40 cents. In 1940, a tall vertical sign was added. It showed the name "Stanley." A fancy "Stanley" script was added in 1957.

The Granville Theatre Company owned the cinema at first. But in 1941, Famous Players bought it. They paid $268,000 for it.

The Stanley started as a local theatre. But it quickly became very popular. People from all over Vancouver came to watch movies there. From the 1950s, the theatre got better. It added improved sound and projection systems. The seats were also made more comfortable.

On July 8, 1954, the Stanley started showing films. These films used stereophonic CinemaScope. This meant the sound was all around you. The picture was also very wide. By December 1958, the theatre had a special DP70 70mm projector. The Stanley was advertised as the only Todd-AO theatre in Western Canada. This meant it had a very advanced film system. By October 1978, it had Dolby Stereo sound. In December 1985, its sound system was even better. It met THX quality standards.

The Stanley Theatre with "for sale" signs in September 1991, shortly before it closed as a movie house

The Stanley often showed very popular movies. Some movies shown there included The Exorcist, The Towering Inferno, and The Empire Strikes Back. Other blockbusters were Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Top Gun.

Why the Movie Theatre Closed

In the late 1900s, fewer people went to movie theatres. So, the money the Stanley made went down. Famous Players closed the Stanley on September 25, 1991. It was the oldest movie theatre still running in Vancouver. The last movie shown was Fantasia. The Stanley had shown Fantasia many times before.

Many Famous Players theatres closed during this time. In 1954, they had 419 theatres. By 1969, they had only 196. By 2005, when Cineplex Galaxy Entertainment took over, they had only eighty. Other Famous Players theatres in Vancouver also closed.

Saving and Renovating the Stanley

Famous Players put the Stanley up for sale in 1991. They had one rule: it could not be used as a movie theatre again. A developer named Sandy Cox wanted to buy it. He planned to keep the outside of the Stanley. But he wanted to turn the inside into shops. The Vancouver City Council approved this plan. However, the plan was never finished. The building stayed empty for several years.

The "Save Our Stanley" Campaign

In the early 1990s, people started a campaign. It was called "Save Our Stanley." They wanted to protect the building. They did not want it to become shops. In 1994, the Stanley Theatre Society was created. Their goal was to buy the Stanley. They wanted it for the Arts Club Theatre Company.

In 1997, the society bought the theatre. They paid $3,173,000 to Famous Players. Fixing up the theatre cost a lot more money. New sound and lighting equipment was needed. The total cost for buying and fixing it was about $9 million. This was more than the $7.5 million they first planned.

Money came from many places. The Arts Club and Vancouver TheatreSports raised money. The government gave at least $3.9 million. The City of Vancouver gave $100,000. A developer named Peter Wall also helped. He paid $1.2 million for something called a "density transfer." This helped his One Wall Centre building. A company called du Maurier also sponsored the theatre. But they later had to stop. This was because of new government rules about tobacco advertising.

Gold-leaf covered dome from front of house, showing stage lighting position

What Changed During Renovation?

Architects Thom Weeks and Jennifer Stanley led the renovations. Weeks was a bit sad at first. The theatre looked "pretty tired." Its orange walls were old. The carpets were sticky from spilled drinks. But by the end of the renovation, everyone was excited. Actors and musicians were ready to perform.

Many things were changed:

• The lobby was made bigger.
• The balcony was changed.
• The stage became twice its original size.
• A new twenty-five meter fly tower was added. This is used to raise and lower scenery.
• New dressing rooms were built.
• A trap room, electrical room, and green room were added backstage.
• The number of seats was reduced from 1,216 to 650.
• A "crush bar" was put in the old projection booth.
• A part of the theatre's dome was cut out. This was for spotlights.
• The theatre's gold-leafed plaster decorations were fully restored.

Because of these changes, the theatre won awards in 1999. It received a City of Vancouver Heritage Award. It also won an IES International Illumination Design Award.

How the Renovation Helped the Area

A study in 2003 looked at the Stanley's renovation. It found that the theatre's repairs helped the local area. This area became a more popular place for fun and relaxation. Many new businesses opened. These included cultural businesses, shops, and service businesses. Sales in the area went up. Most people living nearby (76%) felt the theatre's reopening was good for the community. Businesses also thought the theatre had a positive effect.

The Stanley as a Live Stage

The 2004–2005 production of Funny Girl

After being renovated, the theatre was named the Stanley Theatre du Maurier Stage. This was because of du Maurier's sponsorship. The Arts Club Theatre Company took it over. It later became their main stage.

This new venue allowed the Arts Club to put on bigger shows. They could now do large musicals and classic plays. They also brought in productions from around the world. The first show was Swing!. It opened on October 28, 1998. It was a big success. Hamlet was the next show.

The theatre is also rented out for other events. Businesses use it for presentations. Schools use it for educational programs. It has also hosted comedy shows and concerts. Famous performers like Lorne Elliott and Francis Cabrel have played there.

By 2005, du Maurier was no longer a sponsor. The theatre still had a $2 million mortgage. That year, Industrial Alliance Pacific Life Insurance Company donated $1.5 million. On April 5, the theatre was renamed the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage. This new name will be used for the next twenty years.

Past Productions at the Stanley

The Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage has hosted many amazing shows. Here are some of the plays and musicals that have been performed there:

See also

• List of heritage buildings in Vancouver
• Theatre in Canada
• South Granville Rise
• Orpheum (Vancouver)