252 Princess Street

The three-storey portion of 252 Princess Street was built in 1908 as the Orpheum Theatre (with 700 seats). This tall, three-storey, four bay, concrete and steel building, built as a theatre, has taller first storey. The upper two storeys have five fluted pilasters rising from plain bases to Ionic capitals which support a simple frieze and dentilled cornice. The top floor windows have plain, square-headed surrounds. The second storey windows, square-headed, have pediments over the two central windows and arched hood-moulds over the two outer, narrower windows. In 1928 the furniture part of the James Reid & Sons company moved into what had been one of the first cinemas in Kingston. Within the building, the furniture showroom still has its soaring pressed tin ceilings to this day. The fine exterior details were repaired and restored in 2023. The property owner received an award from the Frontenac Heritage Foundation in 2024 for restoring this downtown Kingston landmark. More information can be found in our awards section.