Dimensions:

Built in two sections:

    Front Section
        71 feet wide
        40 feet long

    Auditorium
        40 feet 10 inches wide
        78 feet 10 inches long

    Rear Section - stage and wings
       49 feet wide
       16 feet 10 inches long

The South Annex originally housed the Park Luncheonette. The North Annex (now the Spinning Wheel Gift Shop) was opened as a grocery store for the first year. In subsequent years until 1948, it was operated as an arcade. The Spinning Wheel has been in this location serving as a gift shop since then. Owned and operated by Beverley and James Gowler since 1967.

 In 1976, James Gowler and James Murray, purchased the complex from the Prygrocki brothers who owned it for thirty-one years. In 1989, the Gowler family purchased James Murray's portion of the complex looking forward to continuing a family association of over 22 years with Park Theatre and The Spinning Wheel Gift Shop. 

In 1990, the South Annex Restaurant was renovated by the Gowler family and restored to its original character and elegance. Within this new atmosphere, T.R. McKoys Italian Restaurant was established under the ownership of Diane and Trevor Gowler. 

In 1995, the Part Theater was given a listing as a Heritage Building by the Government of Manitoba. 

History of Park Theatre

This theatre, as well as succession of other log structures constructed in the period 1931 - 1937, were built with the help of funding and labour provided by the Emergency Relief Funding by the Government. This help generated temporary employment with the parks, during the hard times of the thirties.

In a letter received from the foreman of the original construction crew, Mr. Kaare Bow, of Selkirk, tells us eight men worked on building the theatre. They began construction in the fall of 1936 and finished in the spring of 1937. Most of the workers were Scandinavian, familiar with log building.

The main tools were an axe, a straight drawknife for cleaning the logs, and a crooked drawknife for grooving out the logs to fit the previous one, and a scribe for marking.

Mr. Bow also tells us of the problems involved in choosing logs that will allow for doors and windows that are straight. Obviously, choosing the appropriate logs for proper assembly of a building of such size took a lot of planning.

According to Edward Mills, of Parks Canada Architectural History Division, a number of contemporary buildings of comparable scale and construction can be found across the country, but differ markedly from the Park Theatre both functionally and structurally. None of these buildings rival the Park Theatre in terms of scale, design or structural interest.

There was no apparent precedent for the use of horizontal log construction for a cinema of this size. Taking into account the size and construction of the Park Theatre, this is truly a unique and beautiful building that was built to be able to celebrate many more years of active use.

Movie Listings: 2007