Colonial Theatre's Hidden History

0:00Vancouver's old newspaper card index had a slip-up on the colonial theater, listing its opening as March 26, 1914 at 6.0. 3. Granville and Dunsmear Truth is, it actually debuted September 29, 1913 inside the Van Horn block, a building from 1888 put up by Canadian Pacific Railway Boss, William Cornelius Van Horn. That spot got a $70,000 makeover in 1912-13. Just as the Kinema Color Theater, with early color film starting, February 24, 1913. Color didn't stick, so seven months later, the colonial took over with black and white flicks. Enter Hector Quagliotti Romano, a Victoria-born showman with deep BC roots, his dad ran 14 trading posts back in the day. Musically trained in Turin, Italy, he snagged the place from a bailiff for $9,100 that March, and turned it into a lush. Nation Garden vibe, drawing crowds with paintings, mirrors, and ferns.

1:02Hector ran it 42 years, dropping dead in his office May 28, 1956 at 81. His family kept the going until 1968, selling to the city for $350,000. It hosted concerts, then movies, before shutting January 1972. Last one standing in block 42, the colonial guy raised for Pacific Center Mall, leaving just echoes of Grandville's Vodville glory days. From your city, powered by AI, this is Vancouver News Today. I'm Corey with the story.