This brick and steel building on Smith Street in Winnipeg was built in 1906, using structural steel provided by Dominion Bridge, as a 2,000-seat theatre for entrepeneur Corliss Powers Walker. It was dedicated formally on 18 February 1907 with a production of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. In 1945, the building was converted into a movie theatre and it operated until 1990. Closed for about a year, it reopened in 1991 as a performing arts space.
It is a nationally, provincially and municipally designated historic site and a plaque was unveiled at it by the Manitoba Heritage Council. A plaque in its lobby, unveiled by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, commemorates the winning of the vote by Canadian women as an event of national historic significance. The building has received a Preservation Award from Heritage Winnipeg.
Burton Cummings Theatre (September 2014)
Source: George Penner
Interior of the Burton Cummings Theatre (January 2016)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89571, W97.14338
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Manitoba Business: Dominion Bridge Company
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Plaques for Persons, Events and Sites of National Historic Significance
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Provincially Designated Historic Sites
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites
“Structures under construction using Dominion Bridge Company steel exclusively,” Winnipeg Telegram, 18 September 1906, page 20.
Walker Theatre 364 Smith Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch.
We thank George Penner, Sandra Hollender (Parks Canada Agency), and Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 23 February 2024
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