Barrie Uptown Theater

Barrie Uptown Theater (formerly Imperial 8 Cinema) was a movie theatre in downtown Barrie, Ontario, Canada. The cinema was built in 1937, and is home to the Barrie Film Festival.[1] The building had 8 screens, though movies were only shown on 5 since its reopening. In the 60's it was 1 gigantic room and screen, with burgundy crush velvet pull up seats, with aisle lights and a uniformed usher with flashlight, also had a large full length upper balcony. The cinema was part of the now defunct Stinson Theatres chain. In February 2009, the Imperial 8 closed completely for several months, citing structural problems, lack of parking, and declining ticket sales.[2] It was later purchased by local businessman Mark Porter and reopened on November 27, 2009[3] under the rebranded 'Barrie Uptown Theatre', including a licensed bar and reclining seats. In December 2014, Porter announced his intention to sell the building to developers.[4]

Barrie Uptown Theater
Former namesImperial 8 Cinema
Address55 Dunlop Street West
Barrie, Ontario
L4N 1A3
Coordinates44.388434°N 79.691774°W / 44.388434; -79.691774
Public transit5A, 5B, 8B
Opened1937
Website
barrieuptowntheater.ca

The property was later sold for redevelopment and closed its doors for regular screenings on October 31, 2019. However, organizers for the Barrie Film Festival still planned to use the theatre for the "foreseeable future".[5]

The theatre closed in 2021.[6]

References
  1. Myers, Bryan (16 January 2018). "Barrie Film Festival bringing Reel Stories to big screen". Simcoe.com. Barrie, ON: Barrie Advance. Archived from the original on 9 February 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  2. Burton, Bob (6 February 2009). "Imperial Cinema 8 closing its doors after long run in city's downtown". The Barrie Examiner. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  3. "City Council Update, 2009" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016.
  4. Burton, Bob (2 December 2014). "Barrie businessman says he's trying to stimulate interest in downtown". The Barrie Examiner. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  5. Simon, Chris (2019-11-05). "Fade to black: Barrie's Uptown Theater hosts its final regular screening". Simcoe.com. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  6. Marg Bruineman, "Film fans bid adieu to iconic downtown theatre". Barrie Today, October 7, 2021.
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