Location: Ottawa

Date of Completion: 1914 

Architect: Walter Herbert George

Nominated by: Joel Harden, MPP (Ottawa Centre)

“Formal Opening [of the Imperial Theatre] on Monday a Unique Event in Amusement Circles in Ottawa - A Truly Metropolitan, Modern Playhouse to Cater to the Discriminating Public of this City.”

Once the jewel of Bank Street’s thriving entertainment scene, Barrymore’s Music Hall—originally the Imperial Theatre—has survived more than a century of ever-changing public tastes, adapting to new uses, owners, and patrons as it patiently awaits its restoration.

The auditorium of the Imperial theatre. Image courtesy of the Ontario Archives.

Bank Street’s Thriving Theatre Scene

When it first opened on August 24, 1914, Ottawa's Imperial Theatre was regarded as a jewel of Bank Street, an important entertainment district that housed more than 20 different theatres from 1910 to 1950. While the first decade of the 20th century popularized the cheap “nickelodeons” (with their nickel admission price) and converted-Vaudeville theatres, the Imperial Theatre forms part of a group of larger and more lavish picture palaces that began emerging in the 1910s—a new kind of entertainment venue developed to provide an upscale film experience for the upper-middle class.

Nicknamed “Canada’s Theatre Beautiful,” the 1091-seat Imperial Theatre spared no expense in its design and fitout. Designed by one of Ottawa’s leading theatre architects and financed by Harry Prouse and Henry Pellatt (the owner of Casa Loma in Toronto as well as the financier behind another Queen's Park Pick: the Toronto Power Generating Station), it boasted extravagant exterior details like leaded glass windows, ornamental lion heads, and a neon sign adorned with a crown. Inside, the theatre featured a women’s lounge, mezzanine, and balcony boxes adorned with black and gold “polished gumwood” woodwork. The stage’s royal purple curtain and proscenium arch, topped by a Canadian coat-of-arms and royal crown, was complemented by artistic bas-relief panels on the sidewalls and eight greek columns lining the auditorium.

The Imperial Theatre was featured in the Ottawa Journal during its construction on November 7, 1913. Microfilm from the Ottawa Public Library courtesy of the University of Ottawa Silent Film Music Collection.

The Imp, Opera, Pandora’s Box, and Barrymore’s Music Hall

With the popularization of television and widespread suburban migration in the mid-1950s, Ottawa joined other cities across North America experiencing major waves of theatre closures, with the Imperial shutting its doors in 1955. The grand theatre would be segmented horizontally to accommodate retail in its lower levels, leaving the Beaux-Arts auditorium on the upper level intact to support the numerous identities the facility would embrace over the latter half of its life.

Over time, as ownership of the theatre changed hands more frequently, detailed records were rarely kept. Today, the legacy of the theatre is a collage of patrons’ memories of the different incarnations they experienced. Some might remember the years between its closing and 1970 when it operated only as a furniture shop and provided a few private screenings. Others might recall the short-lived psychedelic rock ’n’ roll palace called ‘Opera’ that would be closed by 1971. Pandora's Box, a burlesque cabaret house billed as “Canada’s biggest and best live nude show” opened in the main auditorium that same year, along with Fanny’s Cabaret, a strip club that operated in the lower level until it relocated to the ByWard Market.

The venue reopened under its current name of Barrymore’s Music Hall in 1978 when the owners of Pandora’s Box pivoted to the latest fad, disco. Named after the famous Hollywood family to pay tribute to the glory days of musical theatre, the discotheque became one of Canada’s top live music venues. Local lore even claims that a piece of the dance floor came from the movie Saturday Night Fever. Turning the former balcony area into a multi-tiered room with six levels on three floors, the disco club eventually transitioned to a rock ’n’ roll club that featured legendary acts like U2, B.B. King, R.E.M., James Brown, Tina Turner, Radiohead, and The Tragically Hip.

Demolition by Neglect

Despite its ability to constantly adapt to changing tastes and trends, Barrymore’s Music Hall has experienced significant disrepair and neglect in recent years. While the exterior is safeguarded as a part of the Centretown Heritage Conservation District, the structure’s lavish interiors are not protected by heritage designation and have been flagged for significant repair due to the deterioration of elements such as decorative moulding on the walls and ceiling. In 2021, following a property standards inspection revealing multiple violations, the City of Ottawa issued orders to the owner of Barrymore’s Music Hall to bring the property up to standards.

The future of Barrymore's remains unclear—particularly now as event venues struggle across the world—but local residents hope it continues to have a long and storied future as the jewel of Bank Street.

This post forms part of our World Architecture Day Queen’s Park Picks 2021 series in which the OAA asked Ontario’s Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) to nominate a prominent building, past or present, in their riding for a chance to learn more about it. Check out the rest of the series to learn more about great buildings across the province!

Additional Resources

Are you interested in learning more about Barrymore’s Music Hall? Check out these additional resources:

• Timeline: Imperial Theatre, Pandora's Box, Barrymore's Music Hall by Ottawa Citizen
• All that Glitters: A Memorial to Ottawa's Capitol Theatre and its Predecessors, Hilary Russel
• City Orders Repairs to Barrymore's Music Hall, Heritage Ottawa