Police are searching for an arson suspect after the shuttered Lido Theatre in The Pas was set ablaze.
The fire at 220 Edwards Ave. was reported to RCMP at about 4:40 a.m. Monday. Firefighters from The Pas and Opaskwayak Cree Nation extinguished the blaze after a few hours, RCMP said Tuesday.
The theatre was built in late 1929 by contractor John George Hartmier of Roblin and was the first in Western Canada designed specifically for movies with sound, the Manitoba Historical Society’s website states.
The shuttered Lido Theatre in The Pas was gutted in an arson on Monday. The suspected cause is arson. (Supplied)
The theatre was designed by Winnipeg architect Max Zev Blankstein. He also designed several former movie theatres in Winnipeg, such as the Uptown on Academy Road, the Tivoli on Maryland Street — which is now a Food Fare — and the Roxy on Henderson Highway.
Mounties said that, with help from the Office of the Fire Commissioner, the preliminary investigation has determined the fire was arson.
Police are asking anyone with information about the blaze to call 204-627-6204 or Manitoba Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
fpcity@freepress.mb.ca