Picadilly Theatre, Williamsburg, Ontario

I saw the The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao there in about 1976 as part of a festival. It had stopped showing films regularly in 1959. It had been reopened in 1976 by Julie O'Neill, Mark Harada, who organized a Super 8 festival in 1974 in Ottawa, Danny Malanchuk, who became a CBC journalist, and Sue Donaldson. They showed 'The Scarlet Pimpernel', the first film it showed when it opened in 1935, according to the September 14, 1976 Ottawa Journal. Interesting history - there was a 'miracle' foot doctor, Dr. Mahlon W. Locke (1880-1942), living there in the early part of the 20th century who drew large numbers of people to the small town of Williamsburg, Ontario. A wounded World War I vet decided to open a cinema and named it after Picadilly Circus, which was near the hospital he stayed at in London. Sadly, the sign is falling apart but the owner has declined to sell it. Keith Stata, who collects movie memorabilia at his Highlander Cinemas, told me he's tried to buy it.

About 1990:

About 1995:

November 4, 2023, after demolition:

NCPR did a feature on  Mahlon Locke, the foot doctor who brought thousands of patients to the small town. Photos from the Cornwall Community Museum show he would sit at the convergence of several lines of  patients outdoors, sitting in a swivel chair, turning to each new patient, and manipulating their aching feet. Amy Feiereisel: The story of Doctor Mahlon Locke, the 'toe twister'

Dr Locke with patients, Williamsburg, unknown date, Cornwall Community Museum

Update 2023: The sign is now gone. According to flckr user Ulysses , the theatre opened in 1935 and closed in 1959. It seated 380. Earl McRae had a column about it, but it doesn't seem to be available anymore. I doubt the claim that anyone famous appeared there - it was only a small cinema in a small town.

Update Nov 5, 2023 - It's been torn down.