Edmonton's iconic Roxy Theatre reopens 7 years after devastating fire
CBC
More than seven years after the iconic Edmonton landmark burned to the ground, the Roxy Theatre is back open.
The public was invited to tour the new $12-million facility this weekend, and Jill Roszell, the business development director for Theatre Network, which owns and operates the Roxy, said there was a lot of excitement.
"We are thrilled to be back here," Roszell said.
The Roxy began as a movie house in 1938, and was later converted into a live performance venue in 1989.
When the fire struck in 2015, locals, including Bart Mielczarek, were shocked.
Mielczarek, who lives nearby, said he remembers the Tuesday morning in January when the building burned down. The power on his block went out as he was trying to prepare breakfast for his kids.
"So then we drove out and we saw fire trucks and then flames and all that stuff," Mielczarek said. "When it burned down it was like a big part [of the city] was missing."
For years after the fire, the lot on 124 Street sat empty. However, in 2019 work started to return the theatre to its former glory.
In the end, the project took a little longer than expected.
"We have run into the notorious supply chain issues, as you can imagine, mostly with a lot of our equipment," Roszell said. "But we are actually fortunate that we've been able to get the theatres up and running."
While nearly all of the old building was destroyed in the fire, Roszell said they wanted to be sure to incorporate some of the old with the new.
"I will tell you that we did put a few pieces of the old sign hidden into one of the walls to make sure we did have something that carried forward from the old space," she said.
Even though Theatre Network was keen to preserve the essence of the old theatre, they also included a few improvements.
There are two theatres in the new building. One is named in honour of a donor, Nancy Power.
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