Near the University of Alberta sits one of Edmonton’s oldest theatres — the Garneau — which was built in 1940, and Friday is the theatre’s 85th birthday.

“It’s pretty cool to be here to celebrate such a big birthday,” said Dan Smith, the executive director of Metro Cinema, which is run through the current Garneau operator.

He says the theatre is still alive today thanks to donations and public funding.

Smith says the true theatre experience and unique movie screenings have allowed the building to survive eight and a half decades, even with the rise of streaming services.

“We program a lot of really cool, interesting, different stuff that otherwise probably wouldn’t end up on the screen here in Edmonton, and so that kind of that sort of widens our appeal. We get a lot of different commu

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