One of the oldest theatres in Winnipeg aims to welcome concertgoers back inside its historic walls in the next few years at it becomes the artistic home of one of the city’s largest performing arts ensembles.
The Pantages Theatre at the corner of Main Street and Market Avenue will be revitalized into a modern performing arts venue under the management of the Performing Arts Consortium of Winnipeg (PAC) and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, which would act as the managing tenant and would perform a majority of its concerts in the theatre. The Pantages has been closed since 2018, during which time the PAC acquired the theatre and began to pull together benefactors and architectural consultants to assess the feasibility of the theatre’s refurbishment.
“It seems that almost everyone has a story about the Pantages,” said WSO executive director Angela Birdsell at a press conference in the theatre lobby, noting that the theatre would also be open for other community groups to use. “In the last year that Pantages was operating, over 75 community and professional groups used the venue 150 days or nights of the year. These were everything from dance school recitals and choral concerts, theatre and comedy, to soft-seat performances of folk, blues or jazz, and everything in between.”
The PAC and WSO have brought together a design team led by Winnipeg firm Number TEN Architectural Group comprised of experts specializing in the revitalization of Vaudeville-era theatres like the Pantages. “We were absolutely amazed at the level of detail and thoughtful design the team applied to this project,” said Curt Vossen, chair of the WSO’s board of directors and director of the PAC. “To achieve the results we need, the hall will have major interventions – a deeper and wider stage, an orchestra pit, stage rigging, improved sightlines, and completely modernized and re-situated electrical, HVAC, and mechanical systems. All while ensuring the important and beloved historical elements of this beautiful theatre are preserved and enhanced.”
Estimates on the price tag for this project run up to $60 million, which Vossen notes will be paid for by a mixture of public and private funds. To date, the PAC has secured a quarter of those funds from the private sector, and construction will not begin until nearly half of the money has been pledged.
“Once we secure $25 - $30 million in overall pledged support, including from government, we will green-light the project and launch our major capital campaign,” said Vossen.
“The Pantages is a storied and much-loved community asset and can become a catalyst for further investment in the Exchange District. We have no doubt the public will step up and support this project with enthusiasm. But this project will not be possible without the support of all three levels of government.”
While the WSO plans to make its artistic home at the Pantages, Birdsell notes that the larger concerts the orchestra presents such as movie concerts will remain at the Centennial Concert Hall. “The WSO would be the last major orchestra in Canada to move out of its Centennial-era hall,” she added. “Having more evenings freed up will also enable the CCH to bring in a more diverse array of commercial shows – an objective that meets its aspirations. We view Pantages as complementary to CCH – the added foot traffic downtown will only be a catalyst for revitalization in the Exchange District. Everyone stands to win with this project.”
Should the requisite funds be raised, the PAC aims to have construction operations underway before the end of the calendar year. The project’s 30-month timeline means that concertgoers could be walking into the Pantages again as soon as 2028.