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Roxy Theatre
Crowsnest Pass - Coleman
Other Names:
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Roxy Theatre, Coleman
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Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The Roxy Theatre, Coleman is a purpose-built single screen movie theatre in the Crowsnest Pass community of Coleman in southern Alberta. Built in 1948, it consists of a two-storey masonry structure attached to a large steel Quonset. A mixture of brick and aluminum finishes on the front façade form an L-shaped massing with fluted galvanized panels above the raked recessed entrance and triangular marquee. A number of glass block inserts decorate the façade, and a neon “Roxy” sign projects from the brick tower on the left. A Pepsi advertisement is featured on the east façade of the main structure. The theatre is situated on the south side of the main commercial street (17th Street) of downtown Coleman, within the Coleman National Historic Site.
Heritage Value
The Roxy Theatre, Coleman is significant as a representation of the development of theatrical and cinematic exhibition in small town Alberta and as a late phase purpose-built cinema venue of unique architectural design.
Film theatres became a standard feature of urban and town lifestyles throughout Alberta, providing a popular recreational and cultural outlet for citizens, often with prominent main street locations. With the decline of vaudeville performances during the 1920s, existing theatres transitioned from functioning as live and mixed-use venues to dedicated film screening facilities.
The Roxy Theatre, Coleman represents a theatrical presence in the community dating back to ca. 1908 when, at the east end of 17th Street (the primary business street) opposite the Grand Union Hotel, stood a two-storey wooden building housing the Palm Café and the adjoining Palace Theatre. The Palace Theatre dated to the earliest period of film screenings in the early 1900s when theatres were venues shared with live performers. In 1948, a catastrophic fire hit Coleman, destroying six buildings on 17th Street, including the Palm Café and Palace Theatre. The Palace Theatre owners (the Purnell brothers) built a new theatre on the footprint of the Palm Café, naming it the Roxy. This new structure suffered an interior fire in 1950 but was quickly repaired. In 1962 Joe and John Dobek purchased the theatre and operated the Roxy Theatre, Coleman until 1993. Ralph Thurn operated the Roxy as a live event venue before selling the building in 2001.
The Roxy Theatre, Coleman represents a striking and rare architectural form of theatre architecture in the Province of Alberta. This later phase freestanding cinema has distinctive architectural features, including the Quonset hut construction. This rare style of theatre architecture arose after the Second World War. The Quonset hut was designed during the war as a lightweight, easy to assemble and ship structure that was used for a variety of purposes. After the war, Quonset buildings found a variety of civilian uses, including being used as movie theatres. In many instances, the Quonset hut contained the entire theatre, projection booth, seating, screen and stage, while at Coleman the masonry two-storey portion of the theatre incorporated the projection, admission and concession functions.
Source: Alberta Culture and Status of Women, Historic Resources Management Branch (File: DES 1967)
Character-Defining Elements
The heritage value of the Roxy Theatre, Coleman is expressed through but not limited to such character-defining elements as:
Exterior:
· Mass and form with brick and hollow clay tile parged masonry two-storey structure and single-storey Quonset auditorium at rear;
· Asymmetrical front facade with raked projecting marquee above recessed main entrance;
· Fenestration consisting of single-hung wood windows, glass block windows of varied shapes and orientations, and original wood exterior doors with Streamline Moderne aluminum push bars, kick plates and other hardware;
· Three, triple glass block, decorative window inserts with a brick surround on left side of façade under fixed canopy;
· fixed, single-pane, box windows flanking main entrance;
· Six, three-over-three, decorative glass block window inserts under canopy;
· Single, six-over-three, glass block window insert above fixed canopy;
· Three-over-eight, glass block window insert within brick tower;
· Front facade of smooth aluminum panel cladding accented with vertical three vertical bands of corrugated aluminum juxtaposed with brick masonry veneer and parged side walls;
· Quonset construction of galvanized corrugated steel panels;
· Neon “Roxy Theatre” blade sign;
· Neon lighting in the shape of an arrow on the underside of the fixed canopy;
· Painted Pepsi ghost sign on parged east wall;
· Metal coal chute;
· Proximity to other commercial buildings in the downtown area, and
· Abutment to the public sidewalk.
Interior:
· Intact interior floor plan with foyer, box office, large auditorium and stage, and upper storey projection room;
· Foyer and auditorium vestibule walls of varnished plywood and linoleum floors, with Art Deco (ply)wood inlay on curved box office walls and foyer neon ceiling lights;
· Original auditorium seating with Streamline details; and
· Painted wood auditorium floors.
Location
| Street Address: |
7738 - 17 Avenue |
| Community: |
Crowsnest Pass - Coleman |
| Boundaries: |
Lots 6 and 7, Block 6, Plan 820L |
| Contributing Resources: |
Building
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ATS Legal Description:
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Mer |
Rge |
Twp |
Sec |
LSD |
5
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4
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8
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8
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9 (ptn.)
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PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):
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Plan |
Block |
Lot |
Parcel |
820L
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6
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6 and 7
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Latitude/Longitude:
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Latitude |
Longitude |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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49.633656 |
-114.502183 |
GPS |
Secondary Source |
UTM Reference:
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Northing |
Easting |
Zone |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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Recognition
| Recognition Authority: |
Province of Alberta |
| Designation Status: |
Provincial Historic Resource |
| Date of Designation: |
2022/06/20 |
Historical Information
| Built: |
1948 to 1948 |
| Period of Significance: |
1948 to ca. 1993 |
| Theme(s): |
Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life : Learning and the Arts
Peopling the Land : Settlement
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| Historic Function(s): |
Leisure : Auditorium, Cinema or Nightclub
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| Current Function(s): |
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| Architect: |
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| Builder: |
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| Context: |
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Additional Information
| Object Number: |
4665-0941 |
| Designation File: |
DES 1967 |
| Related Listing(s): |
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| Heritage Survey File: |
HS 81993
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| Website Link: |
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| Data Source: |
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