In March 1953, Steve Chizen was putting the final touches on the Cedar V Theatre on Lynn Valley Road. It would be North Vancouver’s third theatre—the Odeon sat at the corner of Lonsdale and 14th Avenue, and the Lonsdale Theatre that went up in 1911, would close forever in 1954.
Steve, who previously managed the Cameo Theatre in Whalley, chose the name Cedar V in deference to the several large cedar trees that were sacrificed for the building site. V was short for “valley.”
The Quonset Hut:
Steve personally supervised the construction of the Quonset hut that would house his 437-seat theatre. If you are like me and have no idea what a Quonset hut is, I’ll save you the trouble of a search. According to Wikipedia, the first huts were manufactured in 1941, made from corrugated steel sheets and could last for 100 years.
Hard to imagine today, but 70 years ago, the total construction time for the building took less than six months. There was an open house for the Cedar V on May 27, 1953, and that year you could catch the Texas Carnival with Red Skelton and Esther Williams or Mr. Belvedere rings the Bell. Steve’s wife Jean took your money, and birthday’s were celebrated on the stage. Seats were staggered, there was no balcony, and Steve (or perhaps Jean) had the foresight to include a “crying room,” a soundproof area where parents could take fussy babies and fidgety toddlers.
Looking at the city directories for 1953, it seems the theatre was surrounded by residences—Mrs Goldsmid was on one side and J.E. Gendron on the other. Lily’s Beauty Shop was at the corner of Lynn Valley Road and Mountain Highway. District Hall was two blocks away, where the Lynn Valley Care Centre is today.
By 1970, theatres were struggling and movies at the now Cedar Theatre changed from Dr. Zhivago with Omar Sharif to the X-rated stream of Fanny Hill movies.
Missing Heritage:
When I moved to North Vancouver in the mid 1990s, any trace of the theatre was long gone and turned into a parking lot for customers of Dairy Queen and Kentucky Fried Chicken (now a liquor store). Across the road (now the library) was a 7-11, a stationery store and a butcher named Gord who had a dozen children and lots of stories.
While the North Vancouver Museum and Archives does a great job of keeping our history alive, so much is invisible to newcomers. I’d love to see more plaques around Lynn Valley that tell the story of these lost buildings and missing heritage.
Related:
- Odeon Theatre on Lonsdale
- Behind the Stone Wall on Lynn Valley Road
- Edgemont Village, then and now
- Varley’s Lynn Valley
- Lynn Valley Hotel
© All rights reserved. Unless otherwise indicated, all blog content copyright Eve Lazarus.
29 comments on “Lynn Valley’s Cedar V Theatre”
Love this Eve! I remember seeing a few movies there in the 1960s. This was built for a smaller population and I see a gas station is still next door to where the theatre was located. People seemed friendlier, basically a village bordering on a town/city, which was on the way. It wasnt necessarily a better time, it was a different time. Dont remember what it cost to get in, but it was a special treat to attend a new movie.
Thanks for adding to the story Brad – so glad you liked the post!
Wow! Great article Eve, brings back many memories. I first went to the Cedar V when I was in grade 3 at Eastview Elementary and saw “The Three Hundred Spartens” which was a topic of our early education. It cost 15 cents and hot dogs were also 15 cents, pop corn was 10 cents and a pop was 8 cents. In those days the gas station next door was known as Jack’s BA. There were two gas stations in Lynn Valley, Jack’s BA and Johnny’s Shell on the corner of 27th and Mountain Hwy where the Esso is now. And, Janz’s general store stood where the bike shop and hair salon is now. We’d turn in our pop bottles for two cents and get three candies for a penny.
Most of the side streets were gravel back then and as six and seven year olds we would ride our bikes all over, including in the Lynn Canyon trails where there weren’t any fences and trails went right up to the edge of the canyon.
I still live near Lynn Canyon Park and have spent most of my life and raised my family in this amazing part of the world.
This is so interesting! Thanks so much for writing Don
And Pep Chew’s and Horseshoe suckers were 5 cents. A good buy as they were slow to eat, and one could carry you through a movie.
And Pep Chew’s and Horseshoe suckers were 5 cents. A good buy as they were slow to eat, and one could carry you through a movie.
You have given the best detail on the subject of the Cedar V. Yes, fencing was absent in Lynn Canyon.Thank-you Don. Our family with our grandparents McCondach moved to Kilkenny Rd in Westlynn Terrace in Jan. 1961 when I was 12. In the years before I was of age to work at The Bay, I used my Citizen paper route money to pay admission. I saw all the Elvis movies plus. I liked collecting the baseball cards with gum and a movie star picture inside. Those same stars would be featured in movies at the Cedar V. I loved going to the movies and still go weekly to the movie theatre.
I recall going to a few movies at the Cedar V, perhaps between the ages of 6 – 10. It was a wonderful treat in several ways! Firstly, the lobby – a couple of red ( I think ) velvet, oval shaped lounging couches, with a post in the centre. A snack bar to die for, all kinds of sweets, popcorn and drinks. The ushers wore green satin 2 piece outfits. The pants were flared. My school mate’s mother was one of the ushers, who lived near my house. I remember seeing a few movies with Elvis in them, super!! After the movie ended, prizes were given out. I was never the recipient, however it was a delightful, exciting idea. On a more serious note, I recall one of the boys had an epileptic seizure in the aisle of the theatre. Movies were 25 cents at the time, back in the early 60’s.
Wish it had still been around when my kids were little. All we had was the McDonald’s ball pit
Eve, thanks for this memory. I grew up in Lynn Valley became a teen in the 70’s there. I played a lot of sports as a kid and our baseball team sponsor was Cedar Theatre. We also went to see movies there often. The 70’s photo of the theatre brings back so many memories of that time and place. I also like your thought of placing plaques around LV in memory of places gone. Thanks for reminding us all of what came before.
I love that the theatre was such an entrenched part of the community
So nice to read about history. Thx
Hi, Liz;
Another excellent article – thank you! And although you may now know this, there were a number of smaller-than-the-Cedar V-Quonset huts set out on the UBC Campus after WW2. I had the impression that they originally belonged to the Canadian Military and that UBC used them to house certain burgeoning faculties such as Botany while awaiting the time and money to provide permanent buildings.
I didn’t know that, although it makes sense now I know what they are
We don’t value our heritage for various reasons. Most born elsewhere, property values, etc. Thanks for the look back at the good old days.
I don’t think that’s true. I know a lot of immigrants and home owners (including myself) who are very keen on saving heritage buildings and keeping history alive
It was always an exciting weekend when Mum would drive myself and my little sister to a Cedar V matinee. We were in elementary school (late 50s – early 60s), but felt so grown up and a tad scared too, going to a movie without her. I remember one weekend there weren’t enough seats for all the kids who showed up and some of them had to sit on upturned 5 gallon buckets in the aisle!
Lot’s of happy memories. Root Beer flavoured Horseshoe suckers. When I had extra babysitting money saved, maybe one of the rotisserie Hot Dogs. The shocker movie, was Last Tango in Paris. How I saw this underage is a foggy memory. I remember a certain scene shut up even one of the meanest LV boys.
Once again an amazing history lesson ,never new of the theatre but love its history
The Chizen’s home was upstairs. My Mom and Dad were very good friends with them. They had amazing themed New Years Eve parties held in the lobby. My Mom was head usherette and chose the Palazzo styled pants that the usherettes wore. She got to keep the hotdog machine (still works) after the Chizen’s decided to sell! Every Saturday I would walk from the Dorothy Hunter school of dance to go see a movie( Mom’s day to work) and 25 cents bought me a hot dog, bag of chips and a drink! I have so many wonderful memories of the Cedar V.
You don’t have any photos do you – I’d love to see the usherettes uniforms!
What an eyesore that theatre was!
Omigosh! It was the most glorious sight when we were teens! A parent from the Cove would fill a car with excited kids and drop us off to stand in long lines to get our tickets to see a show. Then they would pick us all up at the end. There was no bus to Lynn Valley from Deep Cove. When I saw this history photo of it, I saw what I saw back then. Just heart warming!
Glad the photo brought back some good memories!
[…] Lynn Valley’s Cedar V Theatre […]
I just found out that my birth dad (Im adopted) lived in the Cedar upstairs in 1967. His aunt and uncle were the Chizens. I now live in Lynn Valley and somehow feel more connected to the community – my great aunt and uncle were Jean and Steve Chizen.
[…] Lynn Valley’s Cedar V Theatre […]
Wonderful and poignant memories of the Cedar theatre. I lived in upper Lonsdale, but made it over 29th hill to visit the theatre once or twice as a boy. Thanks Eve and all contributors. Great article !
Glad you enjoyed it Brian!