News: Commercial Drive Theatre Still At Risk

Friday, January 18, 2008
Vancouver Courier
By Cheryl Rossi

Time is running out for those keen to save the York Theatre

The York Theatre on Commercial Drive once home to Vancouver Little Theatre Society - Photo - Dan Toulgoet

If city council doesn’t get behind a campaign to save the building that was most recently the Raja Cinema, it could be demolished within four months, says Tom Durrie.

That’s why Durrie, founder of the Save the York Theatre Task Force and former manager of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, is arranging meetings with individual councillors. Tom Durrie heads up the task force that hopes to save the York Theatre, more recently known as the Raja Cinema, which was built in 1913.

The group is urging citizens to send letters of support for the retention of the theatre to city council. It’s also seeking “bridge funding”–most likely, money from an individual to buy the building, which in October sold for $960,000–and is developing business and fundraising plans.

Read more here:

http://www.vancouverartsandculturesforum.com/development-could-mean-curtains-for-york.html

Live On The Drive @ The End Cafe

Last night I spent some time at the End Cafe, listening to Leonard and the Lab Rats. They are a tight, funky blues band from right here in Vancouver. http://www.myspace.com/leonardandthelabrats

They were joined on stage by Natalie von Rotsburg, who belted out a few great songs to an appreciative audience. Watch her version of "Black Magic Woman" below.





















































Jeff Ellis, Jhayne Holmes and Natalie von Rotsburg.

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)

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.