The Nickel Theatre was the first movie theatre in Newfoundland. [1] Part of the five-cent picture show craze that brought daily movies to almost every city and town all across North America, the Nickel opened in the Benevolent Irish Society's St. Patrick's Hall on July 1, 1907, [2] one of a chain of B.F. Keith's Nickels in New England and Eastern Canada. Three more five-cent shows opened in St. John's by October 1907, all in large pre-existing community halls like the Nickel, rather than the small storefront nickelodeon typical of the time in the United States, Ontario, and larger cities in Canada. The Nickel is remembered fondly as the beginnings of moviegoing in Newfoundland, its name is used today for the local film festival. [3] While cinema had debuted in December 1897, and moving pictures played in St. Patrick's Hall before 1907, the Nickel indeed offered the people of St. John's daily public amusement for the first time.
Located in the top floor of the Benevolent Irish Society (BIS) building at 48 Queen's Road. in St. John's, Newfoundland.
Apparently, the 1000 chairs came from John Lake's furniture factory in Fortune, Newfoundland. [4]
Longtime Proprietor, J.P. Kiely from Montreal, first came to St. John's as an employee of the Keith's chain, often singing illustrated songs between the moving pictures. He later became owner until the Nickel closed in 1960. He was one of the few survivors of the SS Florizel disaster, and in later years owned and operated other movie theatres in the city.
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of 405,212 km2 (156,453 sq mi). As of 2024 the population of Newfoundland and Labrador was estimated to be 545,247. The island of Newfoundland is home to around 94 per cent of the province's population, with more than half residing in the Avalon Peninsula. Labrador shares a land border with both the province of Quebec and the territory of Nunavut on Killiniq Island. The French overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon lies about 20 km (12 mi) west of the Burin Peninsula.
St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans 446.04 km2 (172.22 sq mi) and is the easternmost city in North America. The closest European settlement is Fajã Grande, Azores, Portugal, about 2,000 km (1,200 mi) kilometers away.
The nickelodeon was the first type of indoor exhibition space dedicated to showing projected motion pictures in the United States and Canada. Usually set up in converted storefronts, these small, simple theaters charged five cents for admission and flourished from about 1905 to 1915. American cable station Nickelodeon was named after the theater.
Grand Falls-Windsor is a town located in the central region of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, with a population of 13,853 at the 2021 census. The town is the largest in the central region, the sixth largest in the province, and is home to the annual Exploits Valley Salmon Festival. Grand Falls-Windsor was incorporated in 1991, when the two former towns of Grand Falls and Windsor amalgamated.
The Benevolent Irish Society (BIS) is a philanthropic organization founded on 17 February 1806, a month before the Feast of St. Patrick, in St. John's, Newfoundland. It is the oldest philanthropic organization in North America. Membership is open to adult residents of Newfoundland who are of Irish birth or ancestry, regardless of religious persuasion. The BIS is a charitable, fraternal, middle-class social organization founded on the principles of "benevolence and philanthropy", and had as its original objective of helping the growing numbers of poor in St. John's, and providing the necessary skills which would enable people to better themselves. The rules of the BIS prohibited members from formally discussing political or religious questions, but the Society occasionally took a public political stand. In 1829 it participated in a large parade through St. John's to celebrate Roman Catholic Emancipation.
Lewis Varick Frissell was an American documentary filmmaker. His last film, The Viking, set in Newfoundland, involved the largest loss of life of a film production crew in history. This film was also "the first film to record sound and dialogue on location".
SS Viking was a wooden-hulled sealing ship made famous by its role in the 1931 film The Viking. During her use in the seal hunt in Newfoundland, the ship was twice commissioned by the film crew. During production, an explosion destroyed the ship, resulting in the loss of the director, Varick Frissell, and the cinematographer, Alexander Gustavus Penrod, in addition to the lives of 26 of the ship's crew and film crew.
The Masonic Temple built in 1894 at St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada is an example of Victorian construction which includes pilasters, free-standing columns and multiple pediments. The Masonic Temple was designated a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador in April 1995.
Quidi Vidi is a neighbourhood in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Its pronunciations vary, even amongst longtime residents, but "Kiddy Vidi" is the most common. One theory behind the name is that it was named after a beloved cat named Vidi. The village is adjacent to Quidi Vidi Lake. Quidi Vidi's harbour is known as "The Gut". Located in Quidi Vidi is the Quidi Vidi Battery Provincial Historic Site. The village is home to several small businesses.
Nickel is a chemical element.
The Nickel Independent Film Festival is an annual film festival held in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The festival was conceived in 2001 by filmmaker Roger Maunder to allow local filmmakers to exhibit their film and video work. The festival is named after the Nickel Theatre which was the first theatre in Newfoundland to have talking film feature movies. Since then the festival has grown to include other Canadian and even international short films, features, documentaries and music videos. The festival is held at the LSPU hall which is run by the Resource Centre for the Arts, an artist-run company.
The LSPU Hall is a large wooden structure in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Located on 3 Victoria Street, it is currently the home of the Resource Centre for the Arts (RCA). The name comes from a previous owner, the Longshoremen's Protective Union. The Hall is a registered heritage building.
Michael Cook was an English-born Canadian playwright known for his plays set in Newfoundland.
The Battery is a neighbourhood within the city of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador that sits on the entrance to the harbour, on the slopes of Signal Hill. It is sometimes described as an outport within the city of St. John's and is noted for its steep slopes, and colourful houses. The Battery has been the site, over the centuries, for gun emplacements (batteries), such as Fort Waldegrave, for the defence of St. John's Harbour, including during both World Wars.
The timeline of St. John's history shows the significant events in the history of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Jonathan Luke Weiser Monro is a multi award-winning Canadian-American actor, pianist, musical director, singer, composer, and lyricist. His first major appearance was as a pianist at Carnegie Recital Hall in New York City in 1991.
Shamrock Field was a Gaelic Athletic Association ground in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Originally dating from 1838, it had a capacity of approximately 4,000. During World War II, the sports ground was used as a training camp and billet for members of the Newfoundland Militia. It was also sometimes used as the 'national stadium' of Canada GAA.
Newfoundland is a large island within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is situated off the eastern coast of the North American mainland and the geographical region of Labrador.
David Craig Montgomery was an American actor and dancer, the partner of Fred Stone. Montgomery and Stone became famous for their performance in the 1903 Broadway musical The Wizard of Oz, and had many other successes in musical comedy and vaudeville.
Deanne Catherine Foley is a Canadian director, writer and producer. She has directed both narrative and documentary films of feature and short length. Her films often centre around flawed female leads and are usually filmed in Atlantic Canada. She has also worked in the television industry, directing episodes for a variety of series. She is best known for her films An Audience of Chairs, Relative Happiness and Beat Down, which received a number of awards, as well as exposure at a number of higher profile film festivals.