Flashback to when West Vancouver last had cinemas
Posted May 20, 2017 1:55 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WEST VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – With construction of a new movie theatre at Park Royal on the North Shore starting next month, we take a look back to when West Vancouver last had its very own cinemas.
Flashback to the mid-60’s – that’s when the Park Royal Theatres first opened.
“It was regarded as being one of the premier theatres in all of Metro Vancouver,” say Rick Amantea with Park Royal Shopping Centre.
He says the old theatre had red carpet treatment, with included valet parking.
“You know, have your car brought right up to the door. Valet parking was quite the business back in the ’60s. People dressed formally to come to the theatre,” he says.
“Then through the years the building itself became a little derelict and we finally ended up closing it down after it was run as a repertory cinema for a number of years.”
The Village of Park Royal was then built, but Amantea says Park Royal hasn’t hosted movies since 1999.
“So since then we’ve been trying to find a way to bring a movie theatre back.”
The new Cineplex VIP Cinema is set to open late next year.
