WINNIPEG — Legendary rocker, Burton Cummings, performed at one of Winnipeg’s most iconic buildings Friday afternoon.
The performance comes a months after True North Sports & Entertainment announced it would purchase the Burton Cummings Theatre.
READ MORE: True North to buy historic Burton Cummings Theatre
True North is keeping the name ‘Burton Cummings Theatre’, and will be giving more details about venue upgrades at 1 p.m., which will be live streamed on this page.
History of The Burt
The Burton Cummings Theatre has a troubled past. The 109-year-old venue has changed hands a number of times since it opened.
Originally known as the Walker Theatre, The Burton Cummings Theatre for Performing Arts, also known as The Burt, was constructed in 1906-07. The theatre has housed ballets, operas and Broadway-style shows.
It was seized by the city in 1944 for $35,000. Just one year later, in 1945 the theatre was converted into the Odeon Cinema and served as the city’s most popular single-screen movie theatre.
After it closed in 1990 Walker Theatre Performance Arts Group Inc., a non-profit organization, took it over and converted it back into a live entertainment venue which opened the following year.
It was that year that it was designated a National Historic Site of Canada as well as a Provincial Heritage Site.
In 2002, the theatre was renamed after Burton Cummings, Winnipeg-born performer, and former lead singer of the Guess Who.
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In April 2014, True North Sports & Entertainment Limited assumed management and operating control of Winnipeg’s historic Burton Cummings Theatre. Under a lease arrangement, True North agreed to provide its programming and entertainment services and expertise to the 109-year-old, 1,604 seat former vaudeville theatre.
With files from Brittany Greenslade