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The Stanley Theatre is one of several Vancouver-area Famous Players movie theatres that were shuttered, sold or demolished over the late 20th century. Declining revenues forced the curtains to fall on treasured theatres like the Strand and the Orpheum, and while some would rebound, others were not so lucky. Opening on December 15, 1930, the neighbourhood icon at 12th Avenue and Granville Street was the oldest operating movie theatre by 1991, when Famous Players pulled the plug on the cinema. But history was on the Stanley's side, and a wave of local support resurrected and restored the building to its original glory.
Frederick Guest, a Hamilton-based theatre owner, was attracted to Vancouver's temperate climate. He hired Henry Holdsby Simmonds to design his dream theatre, resulting in a 1,216-seat building designed with a neoclassical interior and Art Deco exterior facade. Tindle stone sourced from Winnipeg and tiles from Italy comprised the material palette. The Stanley sign centred on the front face of the building was installed in 1940, while the stylized text above the marquee would arrive in 1957. The theatre took its name from Governor General of Canada Lord Stanley, who also lent his name to the Stanley Cup and Stanley Park.
Famous Players bought the complex from the Granville Theatre Company in 1941 for $268,000. Successive technological upgrades through the 1950s enhanced the profile of the cinema, which went on to show numerous blockbusters like Ben-Hur, Apocalypse Now, The Empire Strikes Back, and the Indiana Jones films.
The Stanley would fall victim to the purge of Famous Players theatres in the latter half of the 20th century, which saw their theatre count drop from 419 in 1954 to 80 in 2005, when Cineplex Entertainment bought the chain. An initial proposal to convert the building into retail space was abandoned before the 1994 formation of the Stanley Theatre Society, which sought to purchase the complex for the Arts Club Theatre Company. In 1997, the organization bought the theatre from Famous Players for $3,173,000. An additional $5.8 million — collected from fundraising, corporate sponsorships and government contributions — had to be pumped into the building before it could open its doors again.
With the help of architects Thom Weeks and Jennifer Stanley, the building found new life as a live theatre. A lobby and stage expansion, reconfiguration of the balcony, and a reduction of seats to 650 were among the biggest interior alterations. For their efforts, the theatre was recognized in 1999 with a City of Vancouver Heritage Award. Now known as the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage after a $1.5 million donation from the Industrial Alliance Pacific Life Insurance Company, the restored landmark has hosted a variety of world-class productions, including Billy Elliot, Les Misérables and Monty Python's Spamalot.
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