Arts Council of New Westminster A Vision for Theatre in New Westminster

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President's Introduction

Nelson (population 10,000) is a city located in the Selkirk mountains. In the early 1980s, Nelson suffered a devastating economic downturn when the local Kootenay Forest Products sawmill was closed. To save downtown and Baker Street, the merchants quickly followed suit, stripping aluminum facades that the merchants had covered their buildings with in the 60's and 70's to 'modernize' them, and restoring the buildings to their original brilliance. The transformation marked the beginning of Nelson's ongoing transition from a resource-based town to an arts and tourism town.

Today, Nelson has earned a reputation as a cultural centre. It is highlighted as the "Number One Small Town Arts Community in Canada" by the publisher of The 100 Best Small Arts Towns in America, and is home to a large and diverse artisan community. The downtown area is packed with good restaurants, cafes, coffee houses, local shops, small art galleries, and impromptu theatre venues. The primary industry is tourism.

The reason I am speaking about Nelson is because of its similarities to our downtown - we had the opportunity to tour one of the town's crown jewels, the restored Capitol Theatre. The theatre serves as a regional hub for the entire Kootenay region to showcase the performing arts. It was originally built in 1927 serving principally as a movie house with live performances interspersed into the schedule. It fell into disrepair in the 60's but in 1983 the dream of restoring it developed. The theatre had to be gutted as the roof had collapsed and water had filled the theatre half-way up the walls.

By 1988 and at a cost of then dollars $1.5 million the theatre was completely restored. Now, the theatre operates year round as a movie house and shows live performances, in fact even with no fly and the small stage, they still bring in groups as big as Ballet BC to full houses.

The house seats 426 patrons and the stage capacity is 62 people. The orchestra pit accommodates 20 musicians. It is not a huge theatre. I would say it compares to the Burr in history and character. With renovations, cooperation and perhaps even partnerships, the Burr could become a venue for small productions, rehearsal space or a repertory theatre or movies, especially since the closing of the New West Cinemas.  

Susan Wandell, President Arts Council