Barrymore's Music Hall, Nightclub and concert venue in downtown Ottawa, Canada
Barrymore's Music Hall occupies the former Imperial Theatre on Bank Street in downtown Ottawa, a building that began as a cinema and later became a nightclub and concert venue. The foyer now houses a cannabis dispensary, while the performance space behind it retains the proportions of the old theatre.
Barrymore's opened in 1978 in the former Imperial Theatre on Bank Street, run by Gordon and Sherry Rhodes. In the 1980s it ranked among Canada's most important music venues. After the owner's 1991 bankruptcy closed it, Eugene Haslam of Zaphod Beeblebrox bought and reopened it in 1996, introducing theme nights.
The building opened in 1978 as Barrymore's in the former Imperial Theatre, and the name recalls actor John Barrymore. Under Eugene Haslam, who took over in 1996, the club started theme nights: Sundays for 1980s retro and Thursdays for 1990s retro, two of Ottawa's most popular nights out.
The building at 323 Bank Street is entered from the street through a foyer that now houses a cannabis dispensary. Themed nights have long shaped the weekly rhythm, with Sunday devoted to 1980s retro and Thursday to 1990s retro. Check the current schedule before travelling, since operations have been suspended and resumed more than once.
The building began as the Imperial Theatre on Bank Street before Gordon and Sherry Rhodes opened the club there in 1978. In August 2008 concerts were cancelled over an apparent sale, and the venue reopened on 11 September under tenants Vince Simeone and George Syriannis. Since August 2025 the foyer has housed a cannabis dispensary.
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