April 2026
For over one hundred years, the Playhouse Cinema has been entertaining the residents in the east end of Hamilton, Ontario. The Playhouse Cinema, originally called the Playhouse Theatre, is one of the few independently owned and operated, single-screen cinemas left in the Hamilton area. Opened in 1914 as a 700-seat venue for vaudeville and motion picture screenings.
Ownership of the Playhouse Cinema has changed numerous times over the past 112-years of operation, and has seen life as an Italian cinema (1957-1990), an adult film theatre (1979-1990), briefly for live theatre productions (1990-1992), sat vacant from 1992-1998, and a home for the non-denominational Christian ministry CityKidz (1998-2018).
After a year of renovations by new owners John and Wendy Tutt, owners and operators of the Princess Twin Cinemas in Waterloo, Ontario, the theatre was re-christened the Playhouse Cinema. Now a 300-seat theatre, Playhouse Cinema re-opened on 1 March 2019 as a repertory theatre.
The refurbished neon Playhouse Theatre sign was installed on the building’s facade three weeks later, having been acquired from the Sanderson Centre Centre for the Performing Arts in Brantford.
Sources: Playhouse Cinema – Wikipedia, Playhouse Cinema | Hamilton’s Independent Art House Cinema.
