Entrepreneurs working to find funds to restore historic theatres across the Prairies

David Stupnikoff pictured outside the Princess Theatre in Edmonton on Thursday, May 1, 2025. Stupnikoff is looking to restore the historic Theatre and bring it back as a place for live shows. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Not a day goes by that David Stupnikoff doesn’t think about the Princess Theatre.

“I drive by it regularly, and I’ve had other friends and people that have visited, and they have such great memories of it,” said Stupnikoff, a courier service owner and show promoter. “People wish it would come back.”

Juxtaposed between two brownstones in Edmonton’s historic Old Strathcona district, it is one of a handful of early theatres still standing in Alberta. Opening in 1915, it promised “high class moving pictures” and “high class” vaudeville performances.

Until 1940, it was the only movie house in south Edmonton. For a brief period in the 1970s, it showed erotic movies. The theatre shuttered in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and has sat vacant since.

“It’s kind of a shame that it just sits there empty,” Stupnikoff said.

After some brainstorming, he decided to spearhead efforts to bring the playhouse back to its former glory, less so for movies but more for performers and the general public to do a little bit of everything.

But at 110 years old, the Princess has seen better days: There’s asbestos throughout, the plumbing needs to be redone, the third floor is in shambles. Stupnikoff said contractors estimate it would cost $2.5 million just to prepare it for renovations.

“Fiscally, it’s a terrible endeavour.”

So why take on the project?

“I kind of don’t know,” Stupnikoff joked. “I’d like to be able to ... brighten up Whyte Avenue, even a little bit.”

He’s started a GoFundMe with a whopping goal of $9.2 million. It likely won’t be met with public dollars, Stupnikoff said, but private donors have shown interest. Worse comes to worst, he said the money will be donated to the Stollery Children’s Hospital.

“I do see this being a successful endeavour,” Stupnikoff said.

Restoring longstanding theatres is no easy task, and Stupnikoff isn’t the only one looking to raise the curtain.

Michael Redhead Champagne is looking to breathe new life into the Palace Theatre in north Winnipeg. Built in 1912, it’s been a vaudeville house, a movie theatre, a flea market and even a furniture warehouse. It has stood empty since the late 1990s.

Redhead Champagne said it was around five years ago that residents began expressing a desire for an arts and culture hub tailored to the North End.

Many Indigenous-led gathering places in Winnipeg have closed in recent years, he said, so he wants to provide space for First Nations artists and others to create.

“We have a North End spirit here that is unique and specific to the experiences that we have had because of social, cultural, economic, racial, geographic challenges,” he said.

“Venues like the future Palace Theatre are going to provide space and opportunity for those artists to share their stories in their way.”

Redhead Champagne said his group is starting to solicit private donations for the project. It will also start hosting community events once the building’s ownership is transferred from the University of Manitoba to a community-based entity.

But once the theatre opens, it will need to be ready for unexpected repairs — a struggle Jocelyn Dougherty knows well.

She and her husband, Alan, have owned the Orpheum Theatre in Estevan, Sask., southeast of Regina, since 1998. The former vaudeville house opened in 1914 and is one of the longest running independently owned theatres in Canada.

Live shows have hosted the likes of Kenny Shields, Randy Bachman and even Johnny Reid. But a downtown revitalization project brought operations to a grinding halt last summer.

“The entire street in front of the theatre had been dug out,” Dougherty said. “Heavy rains hit one night and the theatre flooded with sewer water. It was basically an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

“It was a real mess.”

Dougherty said the restoration has been a real blow to the theatre’s finances. After months of being closed, she sees the end in sight. Restoration companies have worked day after day to bring the theatre up to snuff. It’s expected to reopen sometime this month.

She said the city’s residents are eager. Aside from the Orpheum, the nearest theatres are two hours away in Regina and North Dakota.

On top of entertainment, having a theatre is important for its historical and sentimental value, she said. One person told her about having their first date at the theatre. Another mentioned getting to see The Ink Spots, an American vocal group, there.

“It’s just important to have,” she said. “People come back to visit and they still see the theatre still up and going, and that it’s something they want to revisit again to bring back great childhood memories.”

-- Aaron Sousa

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2025.