There was a recent front-page story in the North Shore News called City Launches Central Lonsdale ‘Great Street’ transformation.
The City of North Vancouver wants your input on how to make Central Lonsdale great again. There are events and online surveys all designed to elicit your opinion.
“The Lonsdale Great Street Project is our opportunity to reimagine Central Lonsdale as a more vibrant, inclusive, and people-focused place by fostering connection, enhancing livability, and creating the optimal environment for new and existing business,” Mayor Linda Buchanan was quoted as saying.
Nothing wrong with that. A vibrant, workable Lonsdale Avenue is good for all of us. But what caught my eye was a photo that reporter Brent Richter put out on X to promote the story. It ran with Brent’s caption: “The City of North Vancouver wants to replicate the success of Lower Lonsdale a little further up the street.”
The photo shows the intersection of Lonsdale Avenue and 14th Street, a three-level, multi-tiered building that currently houses a Fast Cash Advance business (one of 28 money service businesses occupying street level storefronts in North Van); Hanson Kohan Lawyers and the North Vancouver Florist. The building sits next to another non-descript two-storey building, the home of Jack Lonsdale’s pub and a dentist.
If only we could turn back the clock.
Up until 1986, an art deco beauty sat on this corner. The 734-seat Nova Theatre opened in January of 1938, owned by W.P. Dewees and managed by Agnes (Queenie) Albanuff. Mrs. Albanuff was clearly good at her job, because when Dewees sold the theatre to the Odeon chain in 1941, she went with it.
There is a wonderful Province article from April 12, 1941, that shows headshots of eight theatre managers. Seven are men in suits and ties, and there’s Albanuff, confident and sharp in a bow tie. The headline read: Theatre Men of Wide Experience Manage New Odeon Houses Here. The sub-heading read: Woman Named To One Post.
With the acquisition of the Nova Theatre, the Odeon now operated 22 theatres in British Columbia.
The next time the theatre appears in the newspapers was on April 19, 1943. Yeggs blew up the theatre safe which was thought to hold several hundred dollars. Unfortunately for the yeggs (such a more colourful word than safe crackers), much of the cash was ripped to shreds in the blast. According to the story, the safe dial was blown into the rafters, and when police arrived, they found pieces of coal sack, money and a wad of soap clinging to the broken safe. The yeggs got away.
Odeon closed the theatre in 1958, probably because they had opened a drive-in at Pemberton and West Third. The Lonsdale Avenue theatre stayed mostly dark until the Odeon reopened it as the Totem Theatre with a grand opening on Dec. 9, 1964. The movie was Fate is the Hunter and starred Glenn Ford, Suzanne Pleshette and Rod Taylor. The Totem lasted until October 1977 when the theatre was put up for sale. Whispers took it over in May 1980 and showcased live acts such as Bryan Adams, R & B All Stars and Loverboy.
And then in 1987, City of North Vancouver council voted for a new central Lonsdale area pub. It would join the existing three hotels and three neighbourhood pubs already within a one-mile radius of the proposed site. It was noted that the pubs were already suffering a decline in business.
And, just like that, 1421-1439 Lonsdale became a distant memory. Jack Lonsdale’s Public House continues to survive as a family-owned, neighbourhood institution.
While we can’t bring back heritage buildings, perhaps we could try and save the few that we have left. Incorporate them into new developments, repurpose them into commercial or public spaces and honour our history. And, while we’re there, how about connecting the success of Lower Lonsdale and the Shipyards with the about-to-be revitalized Central Lonsdale area with a free streetcar?
If you have ideas, there is a community conversation at city hall on Feb. 20. You can also leave your feedback at letstalk.cnv.org/lonsdalegreatstreet.
Eve Lazarus is a 30-year North Vancouver resident with a penchant for history, architecture and true crime. [email protected]
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