Picadilly Theatre, Williamsburg, Ontario

I saw the The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao there around 1977 as part of a film festival organized by Chris Wilson, showing films mostly at the St. Lawrence College campus in Cornwall but also at this and other venues around the area. The Picadilly had stopped showing films regularly in 1959. It had been reopened in 1976 by Carleton University journalism students Julie O'Neill, a parliamentary reporter for Canadian Press, Mark Harada, who organized a Super 8 festival in 1974 in Ottawa, Danny Malanchuk, who became a CBC journalist, and Sue Donaldson, who wrote for Transport Canada. 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. It was opened in 1935 according to most sources, but one said it was opened in 1920. 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. According to the Winchester Record, Alfred Casselman owned the theatre until his death in 1946  and his wife, Alice owned it until her death in 1976. 

Harada is quoted in the July 7, 1976 Winchester Record as trying to dispel some rumours: "First of all, we're not students doing this for a summer project and second, we're not a bunch of Quebeckers planning to open a pornographic theatre." He also said he was trying to get a film made about Dr. Locke by Columbia Pictures. The theatre had fallen into disrepair after it closed and they were cleaning mildewed carpets, falling plaster and torn seats. They found two boats stowed inside. The projection system was changed to 16mm from 35mm and the number of seats was reduced to move the front row back from the new panoramic screen.

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 Flickr 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.