The Lido Theatre is an

atmospheric theatre An atmospheric theatre is a type of movie palace design which was popular in the late 1920s. Atmospheric theatres were designed and decorated to evoke the feeling of a particular time and place for patrons, through the use of projectors, archit ...

The Pas The Pas ( , ) is a town in Manitoba, Canada, at the confluence of the Pasquia River and the Saskatchewan River and surrounded by the unorganized Northern Region of the province. It is approximately northwest of the provincial capital, Winn ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

. Opening in 1929, it has remained in operation in its original form since its inception, making it one of Canada's oldest and most unique atmospheric theaters still in operation. It was also the first theatre in

western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

designed specifically for movies with sound.

History

Early history

The Lido Theatre was built in

by contractor John George Hartmier for Auguste "Irish" Rivalin and The Northern Theatre Co. Ltd., a company that Rivilin and his wife Louisa formed a year prior. The Lido was designed by architect Max Zev Blankstein, who designed several theatres in Winnipeg including the Uptown Theatre (later Academy Bowling Lanes). It opened in late 1929 as the first theatre in

designed specifically for movies with sound. Primarily designed as a movie theatre, the auditorium was secondarily designed to accommodate the travelling stage performances of the era and was occasionally used to host live productions. It has remained in operation in its original form since its inception, making it one of Canada's oldest and most unique atmospheric theaters still in operation. According to the Lido's website, the only modern fixtures are the surround-sound speakers. The storied property opened to the public in early 1930. Shortly after opening, the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

began to take hold. After more loans from Irish and Louisa to keep the doors open. However, since Irish could not justify loaning the operation any more money, the partners of Northern Theatre Co. had the choice of either closing the theatre down or selling their portions of the company. They decided to keep it open and to sell their portions to Irish, the majority investor and largest creditor. In the 1940s, Irish's son Paul Rivalin—after his service in the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

—began operating the Lido with the support of his wife Margaret. The couple would formally purchase the Lido from Irish and Louisa in the 1960s. In the mid-1960s, the lobby was renovated by the engineering department of the

T. Eaton Company The T. Eaton Company Limited, later known as Eaton's, was a Canadian department store chain that was once the largest in the country. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an immigrant from what is now Northern Ireland. Eaton's gr ...

out of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in order to permanently incorporate a concession area for selling treats. (The renovation would remove two rental units on either side of the lobby.

1970s-1990s

In the early 1970s, Paul and Margaret's son August "Gus" Rivalin was made the manager of the theatre, managing the business as a partner before purchasing the business from his parents in 1974. During this time, Gus upgraded to the newest automated

35mm 35 mm may refer to: Film * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film, a type of motion picture film stock * 35MM, a "musical exhibition" by Ryan Scott Oliver that features music ...

projection equipment. In 1983, Gus began a

home video Home video is recorded media sold or Video rental shop, rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray. ...

rental business, called "The Lido Video", in the theatre's lobby. To expand The Lido Video, Gus purchased the building next door, which was once the

Bank of Toronto The Bank of Toronto was a Canadian bank that was founded in 1855 by a group of grain dealers and flour millers. On February 1, 1955, it merged with the Dominion Bank to form the Toronto-Dominion Bank. Its first president was James Grant Chewett, ...

and later the Dominion Bank of Canada. The Lido Video business was expanded into 3 locations over the next 17 years. In 1997, Gus' video store business opened the largest video store in Manitoba outside of

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

: Saturn Video in

Flin Flon Flin Flon (pop. 5,185 in 2016 census; 4,982 in Manitoba and 203 in Saskatchewan) is a mining city, located on a correction line on the border of the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with the majority of the city located withi ...

2000s-2020s

Gus’ son August II purchased the properties from his father in late 2003. From 2003 to 2019, the Lido upgraded to state-of-the-art digital sound and projection equipment. In early 2020, The Lido went under renovations, but due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the theatre has been closed since. In 2023, The Lido was at risk of closing for good.The Lido Theatre in The Pas is at risk of closing for good. The owner explains what can be done to save it
" ''CBC Radio''. April 12, 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-07. The theatre was destroyed by fire on Monday, April 8, 2024.

References

{{Reflist The Pas Theatres completed in 1929 Atmospheric theatres Theatres in Manitoba Cinemas and movie theatres in Manitoba Buildings and structures in Northern Region, Manitoba https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/lido-theatre-fire-destroy-pas-manitoba-1.7167888