The façade of Pantages Theatre offers a hint to what was inside the venue in 1914. Emblazoned along the entablature, near the theatre’s name, are the words “Unequalled Vaudeville”.

Affordable entertainment for the masses, vaudeville theatres were commonplace in nearly every North American city in the 1910s. Much like movie theatre chains today, certain theatres could be found in every city and performers traveled on a circuit across North America. Winnipeg was the first stop for the Pantages Theatre Circuit.

Owner Alexander Pantages had been in show business since the days of the gold rush, with a knack for hand-picking eclectic performers such as Felix, The Mind-Reading Duck and Willard, the Man Who Grows. He also employed Stan Laurel and a young Buster Keaton, who performed with his parents as The Three Keatons.

There were once 77 Pantages Theatres across North America and Winnipeg was the chain’s crown jewel. Seattle architect Benjamin Marcus Priteca designed the theater, borrowing classical designs and Greek motifs.

Though the Pantages Theatre closed in 1923, the building continued to act as a performance venue under new ownership for the remainder of the century. It is one of only six surviving Pantages Theatres in North America.