News: City Hall Discusses York Theatre

Found this on the Georgia Straight website (.ed)

The new owner of the York Theatre on Commercial Drive is set for a face-to-face meeting with advocates of the venue’s preservation on Thursday morning (December 3) at Vancouver City Hall, under the auspices of the city’s planning department.

According to Tom Durrie, former general manager of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra and leader of a campaign to save the York Theatre from demolition, the new owner of the property is Paul Phillips of EDG Homes Inc. Durrie said he has rounded up a group for the meeting, including the Vancouver East Cultural Centre’s executive director, Heather Redfern; architect David Galpin of Downs/Archambault & Partners; and Philip Boname, president of development planning firm Urbanics Consultants Ltd. “I think we have at least accomplished getting the whole thing on the city’s agenda,” Durrie told the Straight.

James Boldt, heritage planner with the city, explained to the Straight that the theatre appears to meet the requirements for heritage status. “Our feeling is that it would be eligible for the register, but it hasn’t been fully reviewed yet,” he said. “At this stage we’re just trying to bring some parties together and start looking at options involving retention of the theatre.”

Durrie said he was optimistic about the meeting, but that “if the developer is determined to go ahead and going to plan for demolition, then I say ‘Look out,’ because there are an awful lot of people who are interested in seeing this theatre survive and be redeveloped as it should be.”

The issue of live theatre venues in this city is very serious. We have very few operating theatres with the capacity to hold 500-600 people and the ones we do have are too expensive for most small performing arts companies to consider. The city really needs to get on board and help preserve these cultural landmarks. Just recently, the old Imperial theatre (known to most of us as the Venus) on Main St., fell under the wrecking ball. Although it had spent it's later years as a porn venue, it began it's career as a vaudeville house - near the beginning of the 20th century - and had a fly tower which would have allowed it to be used as a live venue, if necessary.
(.ed)

News: Curtains for the York

A campaign to save the old York Theatre on Commercial Drive was cut short when an unnamed buyer snapped the property up on October 5. Located at 639 Commercial Drive, the 470-seat theatre had been on the market since last fall for an asking price of $952,000. Tom Durrie , former general manager of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, had been spearheading a campaign to save the purpose-built theatre, which was known for most of its 94-year history as the York Theatre and run as the Raja Cinema from 1996 to 2006.

"According to the realtor, a very solid offer came in suddenly," Durrie told the Straight . "There were no subjects and bang, that was it."

The identity of the new owners will become public once they have been registered with the B.C. Land Registry, which could take up to four months. The theatre property is zoned multiple dwelling with the theatre use grandfathered in. Despite its historic role in Vancouver's theatre scene, the structure is not registered as a heritage site.

"I think it's tragic.…I find there's been a very weak response from the city regarding the issue of historic theatres," Don Luxton , president of Heritage Vancouver, told the Straight . In an ironic twist, the sale occurred the day after Durrie and Luxton took part in a public forum called The Future of Theatre in Vancouver, concerning the city's lack of theatre space.

Calls to the city's heritage department were not returned by press time.

> Jessica Werb

New Campaign to Save The York!

By ETHAN RIBALKIN, 24 HOURS

A group of Vancouverites want to make sure one of the city's oldest theatres is preserved and reopened to entertain its neighbours in East Vancouver.

Located at 639 Commercial Drive, the 500-seat York Theatre was purpose-built in 1913 as a live entertainment venue by architect John Y. McCarter, who later designed the Marine Building.

The theatre has been on the market since last fall.

"Presently, my main concern is to make sure it is preserved as a theatre and not changed into something else," said Tom Durrie, the task force organizer.

"I'm just afraid someone is going to make an offer and turn it into a Super Value or a Wal-Mart."

The task force Durrie has assembled includes Bard on the Beach artistic director Christopher Gaze and Early Music Vancouver executive director Jose Verstappen. The group is putting together a business plan for the theatre's restoration in hopes of attracting investment to bring the theatre back to life.

Durrie wants concerned citizens to urge the city to preserve the York Theatre by e-mailing mayorandcouncil@vancouver.ca.

Commercial Drive - Live! spoke to Jhayne Holmes, who also had a bid in for the historic theatre last February, "I support Tom completely? I'm glad it's happening."

For more information, Durrie can be reached tdurrie@telus.net.