The original Princess Cinemas, located at 6 Princess Street W., will be closing its doors by Jun. 1 due to an eviction notice on Friday, Apr. 12 from the owners of the Heuther Hotel, the building which cinema owner John Tutt rented the space from.
In a press release from the Tutt family, the cinema owners wrote, “owners of the Princess Cinemas John and Wendy Tutt received sudden notice from the landlords of the Huether Hotel, informing them that the premises of the Original Princess Cinema on 6 Princess Street W., Waterloo, must be vacated by June 1, 2019. The landlords have other plans for the space, which will not include a cinema.”
The space will be occupied by a company who is offering virtual reality experiences to customers and will apparently be paying double the rent for the space that the owners of the Princess Cinema did.
The Princess Twin Cinema, located across the street at 46 King Street N., will still operate as the Tutt family owns the building where it operates, but the news still comes as a shock to both the owners and movie-goers alike.
“In two months, the Original Princess will be emptied of its state-of-the-art equipment and historic contents. The stage where live concerts periodically entertained, and sometimes soothed aching souls will be gone,” Tutt writes in the press release.
“Events like the Willie P. Bennett concert that didn’t happen because he shockingly passed away days before. On the day that was to be his performance, famed and fellow artists played tribute to him instead. It was an evening of grief and collective celebration. In some ways, that’s what’s ahead in these last few weeks of screenings at the Original Princess.”
This past fiscal year was one of the best for the original Princess Cinema and the establishment continued to fare well through the years despite consistent construction in the Uptown area making it difficult to access the building by vehicle.
“Having to close the doors of a successful independent single-screen is disheartening. Heartening is that independent cinema is alive and well at the Princess Twin and will continue to be a prescription for keeping a community strong and vibrant. The Princess Twin will be a busy venue, as it carries the weight and spirit of The Original Princess,” Tutt writes in the ending of the press release.
“The notice to vacate 6 Princess St. was a deep blow. The Princess crew and community spirit that drives it will prevail.”
