Audio Transcript

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"Welcome to the Winnipeg Limelight Theatre Tour. I’m Molly and for the next hour or so I’ll be taking you on a stroll through the old theatre district. Ready? Action!"

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If you take a look across the road, you'll see a big building that has a sign that says 'The Met' on the front. That's the Metropolitan Theater! That it is still standing is something of a miracle. Once the Allen Movie Palace, it stood vacant for over 20 years before being carefully rehabilitated into the building you see before you.

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Much of the theatre's original charm remains. When it was built in 1920 it was part of a national chain of movie theatres owned by the Allen family. Today, it's one of only four still-standing Allen Theatres in Canada. Designed by American architect C. Howard Crane, the Allen theatre was meant to replicate the appearance of more opulent opera houses. Notice the intricate terracotta that covers the upper half of the façade, framing the arched windows with their iron-wrought faux-balconies.

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Famous Players Cinema purchased the Allen Theatre in 1923, and continued operating it well into the 1970s. Once it closed in 1987, many feared it would remain closed for good. As you can see, that didn't happen; the Met reopened in 2012 after dedicated restoration work and pays homage to the days of old.