Motion Picture Theatres

One thing that people in Lethbridge today share with those of yesteryear is going to the movies. In the isolated community of Lethbridge, people could be entertained and informed about the world through the movies.

The earliest movies in Lethbridge were shown in August of 1897. Edison's "animatograph" was set up in the Building Company's Hall (the old opera house) by the Royal Animatograph and Specialty Company. By February of 1908, the technology had improved a bit and movies were shown in the same place using Edison's kinetoscope projector. Over the years the technology improved and several places were used to show films.

By the late 1920's the movie technology became good enough that it could replace live theatre. An example of this was the Griffith Theatre. Opened in 1910, the Griffith was soon bought by W.B. Sherman. Sherman changed the theatre's name to the Majestic and used it for live performances. In the late-20's the Majestic was converted to a motion picture theatre, which hosted the first motion picture with sound to be played in Lethbridge in 1929. Little changed for Lethbridge movie-goers until after the Second World War. To that point theatres had gone in and out of business quite regularly, but in 1950 the giant, 950-seat Paramount theatre was opened. The Paramount was the first theatre in Lethbridge to have more than one screen. The Paramount is still in operation today and is the oldest movie theatre in Lethbridge. The post-war era also introduced the drive-in theatre to Lethbridge. The Greenacres Drive-in was Lethbridge's only outdoor theatre and operated for 35 years at the junction of highways four and five to the south of the city. But, Drive-in theatres in Canada have always been hurt by weather. Greenacres could only open during the summer months, and, when the movie theatre business became more competitive in the 1980's the Greenacres was forced to close its doors.