that is a beauty recollection Len . Us kids when growing up, we lived in capilano, and walked once from there to the west van Hollyburn theatre . I was a tall boy for my age and had to bend my knees to look shorter when buying a child’s ticket . we were hoping to not encounter any of the skunk Hollow boys from the lower mackay area where the wartime houses were . Capilano being such a ‘private’ locale we did not stray from there . No need to, until old enough to be off to Sutherland, for junior high . Only to Vancouver via street car and the old Ferry, for 1.49 days at Woodwards and possibly the Army and Navy for bargains in clothing . times were tough . the first Tv we ever saw was in Baxter’s Tv store in Capilano at the end of the street car line , which had been Mac’s store and Post Office, I recall buying postage stamps for my mother and barely peering over Mr Mclouds counter . Baxter moved up to Edgemont. Likely amongst the first shops there. this all before the streetcar to Capilano was stopped and replaced by buses . We liked to flatten pennies on the rail. what a waste when penny candy still existed !! Our home was bought out by the government when the highway was built. We loved growing up in Capilano when the river was just 100yards away. I seem to recall that at the end of the war an effigy of Hitler was burnt in a bonfire at the Capilano community Hqll,which later burnt down itself ] . thankfully the tennis courts are still there . My father being a sports guy, got my brother and myself into tennis and me baseball at Sowden Park. I was a bit of a wimp and not as good at sports as my father would have liked . barry markle
At 87 I’m getting garbled hope I make sense.

Thanks Eve. Pretty randomly related to your excellent post, but thought you would enjoy it.

Oops, “none too pleased “

The Lynn Valley theatre was a real family run cinema that everyone loved. It was named the “Cedar Theatre” (also known as the Cedar V and Cedar View) at 1260 Lynn Valley Road and existed from 1953 to 1971, then demolished. It was created inside an abandoned WWII “Quonset Hut”, a corrugated Steel building with a curved roof in a large C pattern, that was seen all over USA & Canada as a temporary, quickly built building. I don’t know what it was used for in WWII. There are interesting stories from people about their experiences there like going up on stage while everyone sang Happy Birthday to you and their “Crying Room”. I remember when going there as a young teenager being scared to run into some tough Valley Boys.

I didn’t know about that theatre either. I found this picture and article about it:

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/39430

The Hollywood on West Broadway in Vanacouver is an old Art Deco theatre that has been saved, but it took years and loads of money. I used to walk there for Saaturday matinees when I was a kid.

It was where the Dairy Queen is now behind the Petrocan Station.

This was a unique theatre as the building was an odd quonset hut shaped. The theatre, known as the Cedar V, was opened in May 1953 and seated about 437. It closed in 1971.

The Oaks was a theatre at 3506 Kingsway in Burnaby, B.C. that opened on August 4th, 1937.

As part of my memory walk down Lonsdale on my 65th birthday in 2007, in my mind I saw the Odeon Theatre instead of Jack Lonsdale’s Pub. On Saturdays we’d line up to see western movies. Once, when I was probably about 9, I inadvertently spent all my money at the neighbouring candy store, forgetting I still had to purchase my show ticket. Too embarrassed to admit what I’d done, I said I was going home because of the movie’s kissing scene displayed on the outdoor poster. In reality, I was devastated to miss the show.
Later, as a teenager, the song “16 Tons” by Tennessee Ernie Ford was one of my favourite songs in late 1955 and early 1956. The chorus went like this:
You load 16 tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt.
St. Peter don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go,
I owe my soul to the company store.
Little did I know I would kind of live out this song myself. There was an advertisement in a section of the local paper for the hiring of students one summer. It was to do odd jobs at the Odeon Theatre, the same theatre on the west side of the 1400-block where I had gone to movies many Saturday afternoons when younger.
This was probably the summer of 1957 or ’58 before Grade 10 or perhaps Grade 11. Ian Dixon and I applied and were hired. I can’t remember what we were to be paid but it was in the advertisement. So we worked for at least two or three days, moving things in the building behind the stage as well as weeding and disposing of junk in the alley behind the theatre. I don’t know why the manager thought he could get away with it, but he didn’t want to pay us for it. He said he’d give us free tickets to movies at the theatre instead. But when I showed up a couple of days later for a movie with the ticket, he told me I couldn’t use it because that movie was a special promotion or something. Mom was furious and called the theatre owner who didn’t know anything about us being hired or the problem of payment. He was very apologetic, paid us the money we were owed, and then he fired the manager!