Quote:
Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark
Wow! I had no idea!
In actuality we could really use a 2000 seat venue in our downtown area for those acts that sell out the Cohn, but wouldn't fill the Metro... errrr... Scotiabank Centre.
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I agree. The SB Centre has its attractions to be sure but as a performing arts space it is terribly inadequate. After many disappointments I've resolved never again to attend any of the travelling theatre productions that sometimes land there. The acoustics, seating and sight lights are just too deficient to ignore.
A final ramble (I promise) about the late, lamented Capitol. One of the most anticipated annual events there did not appear in the Olde-England-themed main auditorium but deep in the basement. Nova Scotia Light and Power staged its Land of Fantasy (or "Fantasyland") show there every Christmas season from 1957 to 1970. (It moved to Scotia Square for its last three years from 1970 to 1973). Designer Carl Edwards redesigned and built the show every year with a large collection of animatronic and hydraulically-operated creatures. I can recall as a kid lining up for the show at a side entrance off Blowers Street, but photos also show people lined up on Barrington Street so there may have been main floor entrances used as well. A couple of images are below. NSLP called this show the only one of its kind and estimated that something like 700,000 people attended during its run.
(As an aside, I've often thought that memories of Christmas for thousands of Halifax-area baby boomers were shaped by two unique local events: Carl Edwards' Fantasyland and Bill Fulton's uncanny annual Santa Claus portrayal on CBC-TV's supperhour show, with his "Christmas Pledge". CBC used to broadcast Fantasyland annually too and a few years back I asked their archivist if tape of either one survived. Sadly, the answer was no.)
People lined up to see the Land of Fantasy outside the Capitol Theatre building, December, 1959:
Source: NSLP Annual Report, 1959
Land of Fantasy, December, 1969:
Source: NSARM image from
Halifax History