GLOBE THEATRE
Built in 1917, after the last major fire, the theatre was used for magic lantern shows, movies, concerts, dances and funerals.
It was restored
Built in 1917, after the last major fire, the theatre was used for magic lantern shows, movies, concerts, dances and funerals.
It was restored
Prior to its restoration in 1998, the Globe Theatre had been abandoned. The weather leaked in, the roof sagged and rot had taken over the sills.
An Enduring Legacy
Atlin’s Globe Theatre
On August 1, 1998, the Atlin Historical Society celebrated the 100th anniversary of the discovery of gold in our community with the reopening ofAtlin’s Globe Theatre. For the first time n more than fifty years, the Globe was once again a central character in town life.
In 1995, the Society undertook a study, the Community Heritage Strategy Report, to identify priorities and goals for the upcoming years. The rehabilitation of Atlin’s Globe Theatre emerged as a clear priority to be completed in three years as the focal point for the 1998 Gold Rush Centennial Celebrations.
Atlin is a small isolated community of approximately 500 in the northwest corner of British Columbia. A frontier community in spirit and location, Atlin is linked by a 100 km road to the Yukon and Alaska Highway to the north. Atlin is also ahardy northern community that has persevered despite an often intermittent and marginal economy. Gold mining, its booms and busts, big game outfitting, tourism, government support services and a rich artistic community are elements that help describe the twon to the onlooker.
For many centuries before the 1998 Centennial Celebrations, and to this day, the area ishome to the Taku River Tlingit First Nation. Their lives were forever changed in 1898 when placer gold was discovered in the creeeks fo the Atlin area. Thousands of prospectors who were stampeding the Klondike corridor from Skagway, Alaska to Dawson, Yukon, turned their attentions to Atlin.
Atlin’s Globe Theatre is one of the surviving legacies of the Gold Rush. The Globe was built by Edwin Pillman in 1917 after a fire devastated most of the town core. Pillman was a true northern entrepreneur. A prominent merchant, an undertaker and movie operator, he is fondly remembered by the old timers. Typical of the northern architecture fo its day, the Glove was quickly constructed with sills laid directly upo the ground. Rose-coloured craft paper, the weight of light blotting paper, held in place with tin washers, covered the interior walls to keep the drafts out. The unassuming exterior gave no hint of a simple, but marvelous vaulted ceiling inside the building. The economy of the 1930s soon reached Atlin. Tourism which had grown steadily from the early 1900s into the 1920s crashed. Atlin dwindled and when Pillman left the north and retired in the early 40s, the Globe closed.
For the next thirty years Atlin was a quiet place and the Globe decayed. Through the seventies the town grew and by the time of the 1995 Strategy Report, the theartre was owned by the Atlin Historical Society. The AHS had matured over twenty years through a number of heritage proects; converting the 1902 schoolhouse into a museum and archive, restoring the 1900 Provincial Courthouse and restoring and stabilizing the 1917 M.V. Tarhane Lake Boat, one of Atlin’s original transportation links (Atlin gained road access in 1949).
In 1995, the theatre’s sills and joists had rotted. Weather leaked in, walls had sunk into the ground and the mostly rotten floor had heaved and distorted. The 9x12 foot movie screen was torn an doriginal seating had deteriorated.
The AHS began a three-year rehabilitation with a budget of $180,000. $150,000 in assistance was secured over three years through British Columbia’s Ministry of Small Business, Tourism, and Culture. A further $20,000 was secured through the Vancouver Foundation for lighting and projection equipment to enable the Society to take the theatre beyond a heritage piece to a cultural opportunity for this isolated community. The remaining capital, all project administration , research and the hundres of volunteer hours needed to supplement the project, were spearheaded by thte AHS with great community support. Without the volunteer efforts, the Globe would have required many more tens of thousands of dollars.
In Year One the shell was preserved. The perimeter was re-supported, raised and leveled onto anew continuous concrete footing. While jacking the roof line bac into position the entire building was clamped and squeezed back into place. Discrete steel rods were used to hold and support the arch back in its proper position. A new roof skin was applied and glazing replaced as necessary.
In Year Two, the bulding was insulated and drywalled for fire safety. A new insulated concrete floor was installed and 28x16 foot rear addition was added to create a backsgtage t facilitate live entertainment while housing the new heating and plumbing equipment absent in the original theatre.
In Year Three, interior and exterior details completed the project. Outside paint and a sign, replicating the original sign housed in the museum, were installed. Inside, the vaulted arch was padded to improve the acoustics and hand upholstered and tin-washered to replicated the original look of the theatre. Linoleum, an affordable choice with easy maintenance, was installed. Salvaged flooring was used to build the new stage. A lace and grommet movie screen matching the original in size and style was installed and the original seating repainted and reupholstered. Additional used chairs were purchased to complete the seating.
On August 1, 1998, Atlin came together to celebrate the centennial and the opening of the theatre with street-side ceremony of ribbon cutting, volunteer recognition and historic reflection. Edwin Pillman’s great grandson, B.C.’s Lieutenant Governor, many visitors and old timer’s were on hand to take part in the festivities. That evening a nostalgic local show of singing, storytelling and dance launched a new chapter of history for the Globe. As an emotional day and evening drew to a close all the performers returned to the stage to celebrate Pillman’s legacy with an adaptation of Will the Circle Be Unbroken, with verses rewritten to chronicle the theatre’s journey back into Atlin’s life.
The commitment and dedication of volunteers who worked for endless weeks combined with the creativitiy, ingenuity and skills fo our local project contractor, contributed to a stunning project. It has been a most rewarding project. The finished product has exceeded even our highest expectations. Since the hugely successful grand opening , the Globe has fostered a new live theatre group ad hosted a variety of events, including movies, slide shows and concerts. The Historical Society is very proud to see the theatre once more a key player in the life of Atlin.
An Enduring Legacy
Atlin’s Globe Theatre
On August 1, 1998, the Atlin Historical Society celebrated the 100th anniversary of the discovery of gold in our community with the reopening ofAtlin’s Globe Theatre. For the first time n more than fifty years, the Globe was once again a central character in town life.
In 1995, the Society undertook a study, the Community Heritage Strategy Report, to identify priorities and goals for the upcoming years. The rehabilitation of Atlin’s Globe Theatre emerged as a clear priority to be completed in three years as the focal point for the 1998 Gold Rush Centennial Celebrations.
Atlin is a small isolated community of approximately 500 in the northwest corner of British Columbia. A frontier community in spirit and location, Atlin is linked by a 100 km road to the Yukon and Alaska Highway to the north. Atlin is also ahardy northern community that has persevered despite an often intermittent and marginal economy. Gold mining, its booms and busts, big game outfitting, tourism, government support services and a rich artistic community are elements that help describe the twon to the onlooker.
For many centuries before the 1998 Centennial Celebrations, and to this day, the area ishome to the Taku River Tlingit First Nation. Their lives were forever changed in 1898 when placer gold was discovered in the creeeks fo the Atlin area. Thousands of prospectors who were stampeding the Klondike corridor from Skagway, Alaska to Dawson, Yukon, turned their attentions to Atlin.
Atlin’s Globe Theatre is one of the surviving legacies of the Gold Rush. The Globe was built by Edwin Pillman in 1917 after a fire devastated most of the town core. Pillman was a true northern entrepreneur. A prominent merchant, an undertaker and movie operator, he is fondly remembered by the old timers. Typical of the northern architecture fo its day, the Glove was quickly constructed with sills laid directly upo the ground. Rose-coloured craft paper, the weight of light blotting paper, held in place with tin washers, covered the interior walls to keep the drafts out. The unassuming exterior gave no hint of a simple, but marvelous vaulted ceiling inside the building. The economy of the 1930s soon reached Atlin. Tourism which had grown steadily from the early 1900s into the 1920s crashed. Atlin dwindled and when Pillman left the north and retired in the early 40s, the Globe closed.
For the next thirty years Atlin was a quiet place and the Globe decayed. Through the seventies the town grew and by the time of the 1995 Strategy Report, the theartre was owned by the Atlin Historical Society. The AHS had matured over twenty years through a number of heritage proects; converting the 1902 schoolhouse into a museum and archive, restoring the 1900 Provincial Courthouse and restoring and stabilizing the 1917 M.V. Tarhane Lake Boat, one of Atlin’s original transportation links (Atlin gained road access in 1949).
In 1995, the theatre’s sills and joists had rotted. Weather leaked in, walls had sunk into the ground and the mostly rotten floor had heaved and distorted. The 9x12 foot movie screen was torn an doriginal seating had deteriorated.
The AHS began a three-year rehabilitation with a budget of $180,000. $150,000 in assistance was secured over three years through British Columbia’s Ministry of Small Business, Tourism, and Culture. A further $20,000 was secured through the Vancouver Foundation for lighting and projection equipment to enable the Society to take the theatre beyond a heritage piece to a cultural opportunity for this isolated community. The remaining capital, all project administration , research and the hundres of volunteer hours needed to supplement the project, were spearheaded by thte AHS with great community support. Without the volunteer efforts, the Globe would have required many more tens of thousands of dollars.
In Year One the shell was preserved. The perimeter was re-supported, raised and leveled onto anew continuous concrete footing. While jacking the roof line bac into position the entire building was clamped and squeezed back into place. Discrete steel rods were used to hold and support the arch back in its proper position. A new roof skin was applied and glazing replaced as necessary.
In Year Two, the bulding was insulated and drywalled for fire safety. A new insulated concrete floor was installed and 28x16 foot rear addition was added to create a backsgtage t facilitate live entertainment while housing the new heating and plumbing equipment absent in the original theatre.
In Year Three, interior and exterior details completed the project. Outside paint and a sign, replicating the original sign housed in the museum, were installed. Inside, the vaulted arch was padded to improve the acoustics and hand upholstered and tin-washered to replicated the original look of the theatre. Linoleum, an affordable choice with easy maintenance, was installed. Salvaged flooring was used to build the new stage. A lace and grommet movie screen matching the original in size and style was installed and the original seating repainted and reupholstered. Additional used chairs were purchased to complete the seating.
On August 1, 1998, Atlin came together to celebrate the centennial and the opening of the theatre with street-side ceremony of ribbon cutting, volunteer recognition and historic reflection. Edwin Pillman’s great grandson, B.C.’s Lieutenant Governor, many visitors and old timer’s were on hand to take part in the festivities. That evening a nostalgic local show of singing, storytelling and dance launched a new chapter of history for the Globe. As an emotional day and evening drew to a close all the performers returned to the stage to celebrate Pillman’s legacy with an adaptation of Will the Circle Be Unbroken, with verses rewritten to chronicle the theatre’s journey back into Atlin’s life.
The commitment and dedication of volunteers who worked for endless weeks combined with the creativitiy, ingenuity and skills fo our local project contractor, contributed to a stunning project. It has been a most rewarding project. The finished product has exceeded even our highest expectations. Since the hugely successful grand opening , the Globe has fostered a new live theatre group ad hosted a variety of events, including movies, slide shows and concerts. The Historical Society is very proud to see the theatre once more a key player in the life of Atlin.
Before and after; Above the original interior was modest, but enough remained to make restoration possible. Below, the auditorium is finished much like it has been – even down to movie screen modeled on the original.
These Architectural drawings of the Globe provide details of the building’s layout and handsome proportions.
Above, is a cross section through the building showing the vaulted ceiling, and below, is the theatre’s floor plan after renovations. The new backstage addition permitted live use of the theatre and provided space for the mechanical and electrical systems
Above, is a cross section through the building showing the vaulted ceiling, and below, is the theatre’s floor plan after renovations. The new backstage addition permitted live use of the theatre and provided space for the mechanical and electrical systems