The long-held suspicion that the Ontario Theatre would be destroyed rather than repurposed was confirmed in February when the demo trucks arrived at Columbia and 17th NW. The theatre had several lives as a first-run theatre, a Spanish-language theatre and a punk rock venue before being vacated by discount shops and falling into disrepair. There had been talk of putting up condos on that site for years and the developers at Peterson Companies have released this rendering and announced that the project will include 80 residences and 9,000 square feet of retail. Not all traces of the theatre will vanish: the mid-century modern canopy will be appropriated into the architecture as will the old poster cases and marquee. The $30 million project will start construction this fall.
· Ontario Theater Owner Dreaming of Condos [WCP]
· Can the Ontario Theatre Be Saved [GGW]
· All Ontario Theatre Coverage [CDC]
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