If you look hard enough, you can find an abandonment of any style. Normally movie theaters get closed down and the buildings reused, but not always. Famous Players Parkway in eastern Richmond Hill (on the edge of Markham) is proof of that.
| Location | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond Hill | ||||||
| (Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada) | ||||||
| Built :: Closed | Status | Difficulty | ||||
| Unknown :: Unknown | Formerly Abandoned | ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ | ||||
| Hazards Risk | Security Risk | AUE Rating | ||||
| ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ | ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ | ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ | ||||
| Hazard Observations | Security Observations | |||||
| None Specified | None Specified | |||||
It's interesting to see what was left behind, and what was salvaged. None of the theaters retain their seats, or their screens. But, they do have their aisle lighting (although a fair amount has burned out since closing). The main lobby area is mostly intact, including the escalator. Concessions, however, has been gutted.
Up in the staff areas, most things have been removed. There is still the odd desk, but all of the projection equipment is long gone. The letters for indicating what was in each theater remain, however, as does all of the functioning electrical equipment.
You can also access the roof of the building from inside the theater... but be careful. There is still active equipment (HVAC, antenna arrays, etc.) on the roof of the building, and people do legitimately go up there to service these devices. On one exploration there, I was about to go up and take pictures when I heard footsteps and voices up on the roof. On my way out I took a look and there were two technicians up there working on an HVAC unit, so it does happen.
Security was non-existent, which wasn't surprising. Hazards were also non-existent... it was a movie theater, not some industrial location. I'd be worried if there were any hazards to begin with. That being said, it is located in the same building as active stores and restaurants, so occasionally there will be people hanging around, making it harder to get into the building. In times like this, be patient; people won't hang around forever.
All in all, it's not a bad location, but it's also not anything special unless you don't happen to go into theaters.
DECEMBER 26, 2015 UPDATE
Got an email from someone earlier this week asking for details on this location, as they couldn't find an abandoned theatre that matched the description I gave. And for good reason.
The property has been reactivated as the independent York Cinema, specializing in Hindi and Tamil movies. I can't get any details on when this happened, but that's really a moot point now; Parkway 6 is no more.
