The Metropolitan Theatre, Winnipeg, Manitoba

The Metropolitan Theatre, a Winnipeg landmark, opened its doors in 1920. It was originally called the Allen, for the family-owned cinema chain responsible for its construction. Between 1906 and 1923, the Allen brothers were Canada’s leading movie theatre operators and film distributers, operating one of the largest chains in the world. The Metropolitan is one of the few surviving cinemas built by the company. Famous Players, a rival company based in the United States, bought the theatre in 1923 and renamed it the Metropolitan.

With their opulent theatres, the Allen family helped to elevate movie-going in Canada from lowbrow entertainment to one that rivaled live theatre, yet remained accessible and affordable. Indeed, the Metropolitan borrowed from the theatre experience, incorporating features such as the richly decorated lounges. These areas encouraged patron to arrive early and stay late to meet friends, or simply to read and write at the elegant desks provided. Live orchestras provided music to accompany the pictures (sound was not introduced to movies until 1928), which further enhanced the image of movies as a reputable form of entertainment. At the Metropolitan, two distinct orchestras were employed, supplemented by a huge Wurlitzer theatre organ, with a capability of wide-ranging sound effects.

At a time when purpose-built cinemas, and the film industry itself, were relatively new, the Metropolitan was one of the first great movie “palaces”, so-called because of their enormous size – the Metropolitan originally sat more than 2,000 people – striking exteriors, and opulent interior décor. It was designed by C. Howard Crane, a top-ranking American theatre architect with an international reputation. Its exterior features a series of large, round-headed windows at the second storey level, and a substantial cornice and parapet. Elegant exterior details such as wrought iron, faux balconies at the windows, and brick walls with pilasters and carved stone inserts made it a highly attractive building. Inside, the auditorium had a semi-circular seating arrangement and small, sidewall boxes, reserved loge seating, and modified versions of a stage and orchestra pit. Decorated plasterwork on the auditorium’s ceiling and walls was designed by Emmanuel Briffa, an exceptional cinema decorator who created sixty movie theatre interiors between the 1920s and 1955.

After nearly 70 years of operation as a movie theatre, the Metropolitan closed in 1987. In 1991, it was declared a National Historic Site of Canada. Acquired by Canad Inns in 2007, the theatre was renovated and carefully restored as an entertainment venue. It is currently known as the Metropolitan Entertainment Centre or the MET.

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