Hamilton City Council was unanimous in their decision to speed up heritage designation protection for the Westdale Theatre.

The cinema was built in the 1930’s and was put up for sale in December 2016.

Councillor Aidan Johnson put forth the motion to start the heritage designation protection and the other members of the council agree that it is something that needs to happen.

Westdale Theatre on King St. West is the only single screen theatre left in the city. With more than 593 seats, it’s known for showing mainstream and art films.

Johnson says the next step in the process is to have an architectural expert evaluate the building and pick out specific architectural features that need to be designated in accordance with provincial heritage designation but he hopes that the whole building will be protected.

The building is currently up for sale for $1.8 million and if it is sold before this heritage designation is in place, the new owner could apply for permits to make changes to the building.

Johnson says that his constituents and many other Hamiltonians have made it clear to him that they would be devastated to see such a historic building demolished or drastically altered. He hopes that the building will be protected by the end of this year.