Skip to content

Historic day for Tillicum Twin Theatres

It’s the 50th anniversary of the Terrace theatre, which still has its old film system hooked up
8537684_web1_170915-TST-M-theatre4
Tillicum Twin Theatre owner Bill Young and his son Jim Young show off the old reminder for rolls of film used historically at the theatre. It was only seven years ago that the Terrace theatre switched off film to use digitally recorded videos.

Tillicum Twin Theatres is celebrating its 50th anniversary today, with a special matinee, playing what was its biggest hit Little Big Man.

The Terrace theatre broke the records in B.C. for viewings on that film and it plays at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. in honour of that.

The theatre has a fascinating history that goes back to entertaining army detachments, using tin from the old dump to fireproof the projector room and selling snacks for only 10 cents. Read all about it here in our article published in 2013.

The theatre is still fully equipped for film, and owner Bill Young says they could still play an old film movie if they wanted.

Below are some pictures showing the layout of some of the neat old equipment upstairs in the theatre.

8537684_web1_170915-TST-M-theatre1
The younger generation Jim Young stands by the now-used digital projector at the theatre while Bill Young shows off the no-longer used film projector.
8537684_web1_170915-TST-M-theatre2
Jim fiddles with the take up reel at the old film projector, still hooked up and ready for use in the upstairs video-projector area at the theatre.
8537684_web1_170915-TST-M-theatre5
The platter system on the left was a huge shift in film, where 20-minute rolls of film could be spliced together so that it could play smoothly through at once. Before that projector operators had to pay attention to switch the rolls of film once a roll ran out.
8537684_web1_170915-TST-M-theatre6