‘I can’t imagine High River without it’: Southern Alberta town’s historic movie theatre up for sale

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High River residents are anxiously waiting to find out who will buy the southern Alberta town’s movie theatre.

The Wales Theatre, originally called the Highwood Theatre when it opened in 1927, is up for sale for close to $1.1 million.

The Kidwai family, have owned and run the theatre since 2000, but it’s “just time to pass the torch,” said Joshua Torrence, an associate broker at Century 21 Foothills Real Estate in High River, about 50 kilometres south of Calgary.

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When the realtor posted the listing on social media, local residents were sad to hear that the owners, who Torrence said have become a “staple in the community,” were moving on.

“They’re nervous that it’s the end of an era,” said Torrence, a High River resident who has been watching movies in the theatre for years.

“But the good news is that the people that are after it want to continue the tradition, want to run it as a theatre.”

And the family wants to find a buyer who will keep the theatre running for years to come, he said.

“Everybody who’s had their hand on it has done 20-, 25-plus years operating it.”

There’s been plenty of interest in the property, which also includes commercial space currently leased to a Domino’s Pizza and a two-bedroom residential suite above the restaurant. The theatre business is included in the property sale.

“This opportunity doesn’t come up a whole bunch,” said Torrence about owning a movie theatre.

When it opened, the downtown High River theatre had seating for about 400 on the main floor and balcony, and was equipped with the latest motion-picture equipment, said Torrence.

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The current owners restored the theatre, which now comfortably seats around 250 people, when they bought it, but it was important for them to retain its art deco charm, he said.

After the 2013 flood, the downtown High River theatre again had to be restored.

The Wales Theatre’s walls are covered in history, said Torrence.

Legendary actor and director Clint Eastwood watched footage on the theatre’s screen while filming of the western Unforgiven was taking place in the area in 1991. According to the Travel Alberta website, set pieces built near Longview, about 30 kilometres southwest of High River, became the fictional 1880s town of Big Whiskey, Wyo.

The Highwood Theatre became the Wales Theatre in 1935 after a contest was held to rename it. A boy, Fred Orton, won the $6 prize for suggesting the Wales Theatre, in honour of Edward, Prince of Wales. Edward, who became the king of England in 1936 before abdicating the throne later that year so he could marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson, had a ranch in the High River area.

Edward, who became the Duke of Windsor after giving up the throne, and Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor, visited the ranch in 1941. During that visit, they saw 1941’s biographical film Sergeant York, starring Gary Cooper, at the Wales Theatre.  

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“That piece is on the wall, with the Duke and the Duchess here, and a signed picture of Clint Eastwood saying thank you for the use of your theatre,” said Torrence.

According to the Museum of the Highwood Facebook page, the Highwood Theatre was built by Claresholm farmer Hans Petter Johnson and his wife’s uncle John Edlund, a photographer and inventor who was also from Claresholm, located about 120 kilometres south of Calgary. The state-of-the-art theatre opened in November 1927.

The theatre was originally built to accommodate both live theatre and movies, according to the Wales Theatre website. Upholstered chesterfield chairs imported from England, chromium and plate glass tiles in the foyer, an ornate ceiling, air conditioning and hardwood floors “made the theatre one of the most luxurious and best equipped in the province at the time,” it says.

“Wales Theatre has seen it all, from the primitive ‘storeroom theatres’ and early films, through the silent movies and to the talkies and technicolor, cinemascope to wide screens.”

Irene Kerr, the Museum of the Highwood’s director and curator, said everyone who’s grown up in High River — including her own kids — has memories of going to watch movies at the Wales.

“I can’t imagine High River without it. It wouldn’t be the same,” said Kerr.

The Wales Theatre shows movies daily at 7:30 p.m. and also has two weekly matinees. Blink Twice, starring Channing Tatum, has been playing this week.

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