Odeon Theatre (1947-48)

780 Yates Street

Architect: H.H. Simmonds, Vancouver

The Vancouver-based Simmonds specialized in theatre and exhibition hall design for the Odeon Theatre chain in Victoria; he provided one of Victoria's best examples of the Moderne streamline style. The constricted Yates Street frontage is cleverly dramatized by an asymmetrical scooped false-front, and projecting curved canopy„both transfixed by the vertical Odeon neon signpost which signals the foyer entrance. The curved and sweeping lines carry you through the entrance lobby into the foyer, by means of a clever ceiling feature. On the Johnson Street front, the cast concrete is detailed with streamline motifs, the letters ODEON rising out of the central panel„a very filmic effect.