Avalon Theatre
Bank Street, between First and Second Avenue
Written by Bytown Museum
on
03/Dec/2009
The Avalon Theatre operated from 1928 until 1956 and was known in its later years as the Glebe Theatre. It was the first moving-picture theatre in Ottawa to play “talkies,” or films with sound.
From the early- to mid-20th century, the movie theatre – more properly known as the cinema – was a fixture of downtown neighbourhoods and main streets across North America. Prior to this mainstream popularity, cinema had existed for a decade as a subordinate part of other amusements like vaudeville shows.
The first talking film came out in 1927, and its prophetic first words were, “Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain't heard nothin' yet!” Those words were spoken by Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer.
Do you remember the first time you saw a movie in a cinema? Share your memory with us.
Neighbourhood
Like the rest of Ottawa, the area that would become known as the Glebe was originally a hunting territory for Anishnabe (Algonquin) tribes, principally the Odawa, whose name is commemorated ... read more
