Roseland Theatre (Nova Scotia)

The Roseland Theatre is landmark theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Originally built for silent films, it is one of the oldest film theatres in Nova Scotia but it is best known as the location of a human rights case involving Viola Desmond who challenged racial segregation in 1946. It operates today as a nightclub known as the Roseland Cabaret.

Origins

The Roseland Theatre was built in 1913 at the corner of Forbes and Provost Streets after a fire destroyed a hardware store and Oddfellows Lodge which had previously occupied the prominent location in downtown New Glasgow.^[1] The new theatre was built by John D. Grant, a local builder who later became the mayor of New Glasgow.^[2] Constructed of brick with three stories, the theatre included a marquee and two large display windows promoting current and coming attractions. The first owner was Henry (Harry) MacNeil. The theatre was renovated and updated for sound in 1929. The theatre marquee was topped with a large neon rose, which became a landmark in New Glasgow as the pre-eminent theatre in the town.^[1] It was also one of the two main film theatres for the Pictou County area - and the only one with a balcony.^[3]

Viola Desmond Case

Viola Desmond was a successful and respected businesswoman who ran a Halifax-based beauty parlour and beautician school. She was driving through New Glasgow on November 8, 1946 on business trip where her car broke down. While her car was being repaired, she went to the Roseland to pass the time seeing a movie. The Roseland was showing the film “The Dark Mirror”, a psychological thriller starring Olivia de Havilland about good and evil twins. Desmond bought a ticket for the 7:00 pm show, asking for a downstairs seat as vision problems made it hard for her to see the screen from a distance. Unknown to her, the Roseland was a racially segregated theatre. Nova Scotia law did not require racial segregation, but similar to other Canadian provinces, it allowed theatre owners to enforce racial segregation if they wished. At the Roseland, Black people were only allowed to sit in the balcony. Desmond was sold an upstairs seat for 30 cents, which included the two-cent provincial tax. A downstairs ticket was 40 cents and the tax was a penny more. Confronted by first an usher and then by the manager, Desmond politely and repeatedly asked to pay for a downstairs seat. She refused to leave her seat and said she had a right to quietly enjoy the film like any other customer. The manager, Henry MacNeil, the son of the theatre’s original owner called the police. MacNeil and a policeman dragged the stoic Desmond up the aisle of the theatre into the lobby inflicting numerous bruises. She was taken to jail in a taxi where she was imprisoned for the night. The next day she was convicted of not paying the extra cent in provincial tax and paid a $20 fine as well as $6 to the Roseland Theatre’s manager for legal costs. Desmond appealed the conviction but Nova Scotia’s supreme court dismissed the appeal over a legal technicality. The conviction was left on her record and she later moved to the United States where she died in 1965. Her appeal of the Roseland Theatre conviction, while unsuccessful, drew attention to segregation in Nova Scotia and helped started a process among Black Nova Scotians that successfully ended the legal basis for segregation in theatres and other businesses in 1954.^[4] The case is now regarded as a pioneering challenge of racial segregation in Canada and Viola Desmond is often called Canada’s Rosa Parks. The province of Nova Scotia issued a posthumous pardon and apology in 2010 to recognize Desmond.^[5]

Later History of Theatre

The Roseland Theatre later became part of the Odeon Cinemas chain. It was converted to a nightclub in the 1970s as filmgoers switched to multi-screen theatres in malls. The marquee and namesake neon rose were removed, but the Roseland name has remained and the building exterior has otherwise changed little over several renovations, the most recent being in 2011. Today the theatre operates as the Roseland Cabaret with local live local music and dancing. The Roseland theatre marquee has been depicted prominently in several artworks associated with the Desmond case included a first day cover by Canada Post.^[6]

References

External links

• "CBU Honours Viola Desmond", Cape Breton University: Photograph of Roseland Theatre in 1957

Coordinates: 45°35′11.4″N 62°38′42.6″W / 45.586500°N 62.645167°W / 45.586500; -62.645167