Elgin Theatre (Ottawa)

Owner Nat Taylor, of 20th Century Theatres, opened a second screen on an adjacent patch of land in December 1947.

This was the first time a choice was offered at a North American cinema box office, and Taylor is credited as the inventor of the multiplex.

The building was in disrepair, and ironically small downtown theatres were of little use in the era of megaplexes that the Elgin had launched.

Despite community efforts and a petition signed by 3,500 to get the company to reconsider, the cinema was shuttered in November 1994.

The Great Canadian Theatre Company expressed a desire to move into the location, but Ottawa City Council did not support this idea.