Feb. 9: Pantages opened; Leonard Cohen performed; Golden Boy was lowered.

February 9, 1874 - The City of Winnipeg Archives was created.

February 9, 1914 - Pantages Playhouse Theatre on Market Street was officially opened.

The building permit for the $180,000, 1700-seat Vaudeville theatre was taken out in July 1913. The architect was G. W. Northwood and the contractor J. McDiarmid Company. The land was owned by a group called the Unit Ownership Co. and leased to Pantages for 20 years.

Opening night featured speeches by mayor Deacon and Alexander Pantages. The entertainment included jugglers, singers and Adgie and Her Lions.

The building has been vacant since 2018 while a sale agreement is being worked out.

The building is a provincial and national heritage site. For more, see my five part series on the history of Pantages Theatre.

February 9, 1924 - The Greater Winnipeg Winter Carnival opened at River Park.

February 8, 1964 - Leonard Cohen was on his first visit to Winnipeg. On this date, he took to the stage at the Manitoba Theatre Centre for Poetry and Jazz.

February 9, 2002 - The Golden Boy was lowered from atop the Manitoba Legislature for refurbishment.

© 2012, 2020 Christian Cassidy