Some suggest the Mayfair should become a cultural hub to provide facilities for lectures and live music as well as film.
Film lovers and businessmen are coming together to save the historical Mayfair Theatre, one of the last original, independent theatres in Ottawa.
The movie theatre, built in 1932, is slated to close Nov. 30. The City of Ottawa is considering granting a heritage designation to the Mayfair under the Ontario Heritage Act, which would force any potential buyer to preserve the building’s exterior and interior walls, as well as its stage area.
The theatre’s interior décor features elaborate stone facades, wrought ironwork, faux balconies along the side walls, long curtains and decorative glass windows.
The Friends of the Mayfair is a group of community members rallying to preserve the theatre.
David Chernushenko, businessman and a group member, is collaborating on a business plan that would potentially see local businesses investing in the theatre.
“I would like to see it be a cultural hub even beyond film, with a whole range of cultural events,” he says.
Some options for the theatre, which remains unused during the day, could include lectures, discussions, more varied films and live music, Chernushenko adds.
John Calvert, a member of the neighbourhood group, says the historical significance of the building needs to be preserved.
“When I heard the Mayfair was closing I was concerned we were going to lose a historical building, one of the very few theatres left intact,” he says.
The theatre is one of only two single-screen cinemas left in Ottawa, and one of the last theatres of its era in Canada.
Calvert also stresses the importance of a “walkable community,” where residents can walk to stores to get groceries, or go to the movies.
“We talk about making cities more sustainable,” he says, “but then we have to drive 20 minutes to the suburbs.
It’s a symptom of a larger societal problem.”
Whether the building has a designated heritage status or not, the cinema still needs to have a viable business plan, Chernushenko says.
“Keeping the Mayfair is good for business,” he says. “Maybe not for tearing it down and putting up condos, but the community doesn’t want that.”
Arthur Hodgins, owner of Quinn’s Ale House, which is next door to the Mayfair, says he would not be losing business if the Mayfair closed, but would like to see it draw a bigger crowd.
“We’d be very interested in a joint business operation with a hands-on approach,” he says. “I see the value of a historical building.
It’s good for the area – we don’t want to see another Shoppers Drug Mart.”
He says he would like to get involved if someone comes along with a plan, sooner rather than later.
André Bernier, board member of the Ottawa Film Society, says the group enjoyed having their film screenings at the cinema.
He says news of the closure “was a shock to us … well, I suppose we knew it would happen eventually, it was an old building and almost all the other theatres like this had closed, we just didn’t think it would happen this fast.”
The OFS hosts several film series at the Mayfair, including their Série Française, which is running until the end of November.
Bernier says many members of the society think it’s important the cinema remains intact.
“We’re film lovers and it’s a landmark in the city. I would be sad to see it go.”