The Park Theatre on Osborne Street in Winnipeg, measuring 33 feet by 100 feet, was built in 1914 for retired retail grocer Alexander McKinny (1853-1928) at a cost of about $10,000. McKinny and his son Hubert operated it as a movie theatre for several years.
In 1930, Rudolph Besler purchased the theatre and installed sound equipment and proper washroom facilities. He renovated it again in 1933 and, in 1937, hired the local architectural firm Green Blankstein Russell and Associates to renovate the theatre. Besler retained ownership of the theatre until 1965 when he sold it to the Odeon-Morton cinema chain.
The building was renovated extensively in the late 2010s.
Park Theatre (August 2017)
Source: George Penner
Park Theatre (April 2020)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.86216, W97.13184
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Rudolph Besler (1891-1974)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Park Theatre (Wasagaming, Riding Mountain National Park)
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 376/1914, City of Winnipeg Archives.
“Well-known Winnipeg lady dies suddenly,” Manitoba Free Press, 19 June 1917, page 4.
Obituary [David Hubert McKinney], Winnipeg Tribune, 18 December 1923, page 11.
Death registration [Alexander McKinny], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary [Alexander McKinny], Winnipeg Tribune, 18 February 1928, page 9.
Fort Rouge Through the Years, 1974, page 18.
This page was prepared by George Penner, S. Goldsborough, Nathan Kramer, Jordan Makichuk, and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 4 September 2022
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