Entrepreneurs working to find funds to restore historic theatres across the Prairies
Not a day goes by that David Stupnikoff doesn't think about the Princess Theatre.
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'I drive by it regularly, and I've had other friends and people that have visited, and they have such great memories of it,' said Stupnikoff, a courier service owner and show promoter. 'People wish it would come back.'
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Juxtaposed between two brownstones in Edmonton's historic Old Strathcona district, it is one of a handful of early theatres still standing in Alberta. Opening in 1915, it promised 'high class moving pictures' and 'high class' vaudeville performances.
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Until 1940, it was the only movie house in south Edmonton. For a brief period in the 1970s, it showed erotic movies. The theatre shuttered in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and has sat vacant since.
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'It's kind of a shame that it just sits there empty,' Stupnikoff said.
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After some brainstorming, he decided to spearhead efforts to bring the playhouse back to its former glory, less so for movies but more for performers and the general public to do a little bit of everything.
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But at 110 years old, the Princess has seen better days: There's asbestos throughout, the plumbing needs to be redone, the third floor is in shambles. Stupnikoff said contractors estimate it would cost $2.5 million just to prepare it for renovations.
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'Fiscally, it's a terrible endeavour.'
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So why take on the project?
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'I kind of don't know,' Stupnikoff joked. 'I'd like to be able to … brighten up Whyte Avenue, even a little bit.'
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He's started a GoFundMe with a whopping goal of $9.2 million. It likely won't be met with public dollars, Stupnikoff said, but private donors have shown interest. Worse comes to worst, he said the money will be donated to the Stollery Children's Hospital.
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'I do see this being a successful endeavour,' Stupnikoff said.
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Restoring longstanding theatres is no easy task, and Stupnikoff isn't the only one looking to raise the curtain.
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Michael Redhead Champagne is looking to breathe new life into the Palace Theatre in north Winnipeg. Built in 1912, it's been a vaudeville house, a movie theatre, a flea market and even a furniture warehouse. It has stood empty since the late 1990s.
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Redhead Champagne said it was around five years ago that residents began expressing a desire for an arts and culture hub tailored to the North End.
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Many Indigenous-led gathering places in Winnipeg have closed in recent years, he said, so he wants to provide space for First Nations artists and others to create.
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'We have a North End spirit here that is unique and specific to the experiences that we have had because of social, cultural, economic, racial, geographic challenges,' he said.
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