The Arrival of Cinema, January 1897—and After
Peterborough Daily Review, Jan. 21, 1897. Business as usual — except that was the day of the arrival of a phenomenal new “amusement.” Some twenty years later, along with some partners, the jeweler Frank Schneider (his ads are at the top of the page here) would take up the motion picture theatre business himself.
Peterborough Daily Review, Jan. 13, 1897, p.5. The arrival of the Lumière brothers’ cinematographe (originating in France) at Bradburn’s Opera House marked the first appearance of motion pictures in the city. The Daily Review ran this ad for eight days; the Examiner also had heavy advertising for the event.
From The Phonoscope (a magazine out of New York City), November 1896, p.12. This sketch appeared just a few months before the Cinematographe came to Peterborough: a larger auditorium than the Bradburn, but a glimpse from the time of what it might have been like to be there.
The Cinematographe program, on tour through the province, had previously stopped in Oshawa. It had large audiences in Peterborough. A Daily Review writer pronounced it “most astounding.” Local historian Francis H. Dobbin was probably there on one of those nights; the advance notices certainly caught his eye because he indicated in his journal: “First exhibition of moving pictures in Peterborough. The ‘Cinematographe’ is advertised as something very marvellous.”
Examiner, Jan. 22, 1897, np.
Daily Review, Jan. 26, 1897, p.4.
After that, once every now and again the “living pictures” came to town — shown on occasion at Bradburn’s Opera House as well as in community halls and churches, and — from 1905 to 1908 — on summer evenings outdoors in Jackson Park. More than once moving pictures were displayed at Peterborough’s Central Fair.
Examiner, Sept. 2, 1898, np. The Morning Times (middle, here) says it was a “dark tent.” The Examiner (above and to the right) identifies the tent as “blue.” All of them assured that it was the “best” attraction to be found at the fair.
Morning Times, Sept. 29, 1898, np.
Examiner, Sept. 30, 1898, np.
Examiner, Oct. 8, 1897, np.
Examiner, March 10, 1898. An event at Bradburn’s Opera House.
Examiner, March 24, 1904.
Examiner, June 6, 1904.
Daily Review, June 30, 1908. For several years, thousands of people went out to the park for the pictures and band music. You could take a street car to the park for a nickel; or get there on your own for free.
Above: Examiner, Sept. 7, 1902. The Kilties were the band of the 48th Highlanders, “the Crack Musical Organization of the Dominion.” This special event was held at the Market Hall because the Bradburn was otherwise booked that evening; it was an adjunct to that year’s Peterborough Central Fair.
Examiner, Feb. 3, 1904. A moving picture at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian church hall — again, the coronation pictures, among others.
Daily Review, March 23, 1904.
Examiner, Aug. 26,1903, p.1.
Examiner, Dec. 24, 1903, p.2. The “Electrical Exhibit” returns, to a different vacant storefront.
The two “electrical exhibits” of 1903 (above), with their various machines, including moving pictures, temporarily took up storefront spaces for two weeks. These and a penny arcade established in fall 1906 were precursors of the storefront nickel-theatre era that was to follow.
Examiner, July 29, 1905, p.1.
Examiner, Sept. 26, 1906, p.7. Before theatres: moving pictures in a tent at the Peterborough Exhibition.
The Grand Opera House opened on Nov. 15, 1905. With about 1,500 seats on three levels, it became the city’s prime performance venue, replacing the Bradburn. Along with its live stage attractions it too showed occasional motion pictures, projected on a big screen.
Examiner, Sept. 17, 1906, p.1. Archie L. Shepard (his name misspelled in the ad) was among the most prominent itinerant film exhibitors of the time, with more than one unit on the road and travelling widely, mostly in New England, from as early as fall 1903. The statement “Come Where You Can Sit and Be Comfortable” is a veiled reference to the bumpy hillside-grass competition of the popular and more democratic summer screenings at Jackson Park.