Elgin Theatre, Dual-screen cinema on Elgin Street, Ottawa, Canada

The Elgin Theatre was a dual-screen cinema on Elgin Street in Ottawa with a combined seating capacity of around 1000 seats. The building housed two separate screening rooms that could operate independently.

The Elgin opened in 1937 with a 750-seat cinema at Lisgar and Elgin streets; its first film was Stand-In, and in 1947 it hosted the world premiere of Mary Pickford's Sleep, My Love. That December owner Nat Taylor of 20th Century Theatres added a second screen on adjacent land, nicknamed "Little Elgin", making it Canada's second dual-screen theatre a few months after Toronto's Hollywood Theatre. Famous Players closed it in November 1994.

The theatre served as a social gathering place in downtown Ottawa where audiences came together for film entertainment. It shaped the city's entertainment life for many decades.

The building stands at the corner of Lisgar and Elgin Street, and its cinema past is not marked on the exterior. What remains is a row of restaurants: Harvey's, Kinton Ramen, Starbucks, Johnny Farina's and others. Look for the address at that corner to place the former 750-seat auditorium.

Owner Nat Taylor created an innovative concept in 1957 where new releases played in one theatre while successful older films showed in the other at the same time. This dual programming strategy was an unusual and effective business approach for that era.