Where there now stand shops, restaurants and bars once stood an array of storied cinemas in Downtown Guelph. Long since converted to different ventures, Guelph’s rich cinematic past is being re-kindled as part of this year’s Festival of Moving Media. Have a read through this Guelph Tribune story on how you can take in a little local history, learning how we got from early cinema to today’s blockbusters in the Royal City!

Cinematic past in spotlight

Guelph Tribune, Page 38, Thursday, October 17

There were once so many movie houses in downtown Guelph that it can be hard to keep them all straight. But Bill Cardinal can tell you a little something about all of them.

“We worked at most of them,” said Cardinal of his family.

Cardinal and both of his parents worked in cinemas in downtown Guelph back in the days when projectionists were a licensed profession. He can name all the theatres – the Palace, the Odeon, the Royal, the Capitol, the Regent, the Castle – and he even has a relic from one of them.

Cardinal’s father rescued a silent film projector from the basement of what was the Castle Theatre following a fire in 1929. He cleaned it up and got it working.

The machine still works, and Cardinal has lent it to the Guelph Civic Museum, where it recently went on display as part of an exhibit called “The Magic of Guelph’s Cinematic Past.” The opening reception is on Oct. 18 from 7 to 9 p.m., and the exhibit runs until Jan. 5.

“The sister machine to this one is probably still buried in the ground up there somewhere,” Cardinal said as he was assembling the projector for the exhibit.

The show is part of a series of “Hidden Histories” events leading up to the Festival of Moving Media, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year with four days of documentary films from Nov. 7 to 10.

The Hidden Histories part of the festival was established to help promote local topics and filmmakers associated with the festival, and this year’s theme is Guelph’s Cinematic Past.

Events include two walking tours, on Oct. 19 and on Nov. 2, and another exhibition on Nov. 2 at Ed Video Media Arts Centre.
Historian David J. Knight will lead the walking tours, which will both start at 2 p.m. at 34 Carden St.

“Learn about the amazing nickelodeons, cinemas and vibrant personalities that have brought film to Guelph from 1908, through the silent era, sound, colour and animation,” said a news release about the tour.

Each tour will be about 30 to 45 minutes, and the festival is asking for a suggested donation to take part.

The Nov. 2 tour preceeds the opening reception for the Ed Video exhibit, entitled “Hidden Histories: Guelph Cinema,” taking place from 3 to 5 p.m.

The exhibit will follow the time line of Guelph’s cinematic past up to today with ephemera, posters and video, the release said.
For more information on the festival, visit www.festivalofmovingmedia.ca.