The Oxford Theatre as it looks today
Once the last free-standing single movie theatre in the Halifax area, the Oxford Theatre opened on Monday, March 1, 1937. The opening was regarded as a great event for this then newly-developing part of the Halifax peninsula, and a great asset to the people of the Armdale area, for whom, according to the Halifax Mail-Star, it had "always been difficult and time-consuming for those... who live at a great distance" to see a movie, as it "meant long rides in auto or tram."
The theatre must have been quite elegant in its early days, incorporating mahogany and stained glass in its interior decor, and "black structural glass" on the exterior.
Early programming in the theatre mainly consisted of double-features, with the films changing every Monday and Thursday!
Poster for 'Theodora Goes Wild'
Irene Dunne
The film chosen for the opening was 'Theodora Goes Wild' (1936), starring Irene Dunne and Melvyn Douglas. Dunne received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for this film. IMDB provides the following as a synopsis for the film's plot:
"The small-town prudes of Lynnfield are up in arms over 'The Sinner,' a sexy best-seller. They little suspect that author 'Caroline Adams' is really Theodora Lynn, scion of the town's leading family. Michael Grant, devil-may-care book jacket illustrator, penetrates Theodora's incognito and sets out to 'free her' from Lynnfield against her will. But Michael has a secret too, and gets a taste of his own medicine."
When I mentioned to my family that I was researching the theatre's history, I discovered that there was a family connection. Dad said that his father had been Secretary of the Board for the company that operated the Oxford in that period, and that, as a result, he and his siblings had free passes to the theatre as kids.
The Oxford unfortunately closed on September 13, 2017 after 80 years. There has been no word yet as to what will happen with the building.
(Thanks once again to the folks at the Reference Desk at the Halifax Regional Library for their assistance in obtaining information on the Theatre's history.)
To find the actual cache, solve the following simple puzzle:
Add 1 to the year of the Theatre's opening; subtract from that the street number of the house the coordinates place you in front of, then find the square root of that result. This will be the number of trees back toward the theatre you will have to go from the street corner at the coordinates.
I can remember being this far down the street a number of times in line-ups for popular movies.
Bring your own writing-stick!