Membership | Advertising | Gift Vouchers | Using Vouchers | Accessibility | History
If you come to more than 3 movies per year, you can save money with a ByTowne Membership.
Membership costs $12.00 ($6.00 for seniors and full-time students) and lasts for a full 12 months from the date of purchase. When you show your Membership card, you are entitled to the Member's price of $8.00 for any of our regular film presentations (the exceptions are a few specially priced shows and charity fundraiser screenings, always clearly marked in the ByTowne Guide and on the film description page of the site).
You can buy your Membership directly from the cashier anytime you come to the cinema. It becomes effective immediately, so you start saving right away.
- An $12 investment now saves you $4 on each film for 12 months
- Members can have the hard-copy ByTowne Guide mailed to them every two months, FREE
- You MUST show your signed Membership card to get the Member's price. Sorry, no exceptions.
- Lost or stolen Membership cards cannot be replaced.
Everything you ever wanted to know about advertising in the printed ByTowne Guide (but were afraid to ask) can be found on our Ad Rate card (.pdf). For more about the hard-copy ByTowne Guide, see The ByTowne Guide.
We don't run ads on screen before the show, and there are no ads on our web site.
We offer Gift Vouchers which come in three different forms. You can mix and match them depending on who the lucky recipient is, and add them up to whatever value suits you.
1. "Admit One Member" Vouchers ($8 each). Buy one or buy a gazillion, depending on how much love you want to demonstrate. Each Voucher is worth one admission for a ByTowne Member, except to specially priced events. Note that the vouchers have a time-saving feature: the bearer can show his/her Membership to the usher, hand over the Voucher and waltz right in without having to visit the cashier.
2. "Admit One Non-Member" Voucher ($12 each). Same as above, with the same benefit of skipping the cashier, but these can be used by anyone at any regularly priced screening at the ByTowne.
3. Gift Membership Voucher ($12) A Membership to the ByTowne is the gift that keeps on giving, because the lucky recipient will save $4 on every movie she or he sees for a year. And there's no risk that the Membership Voucher will be redundant, even if the recipient is already a Member. A Gift Membership Voucher doesn't bear an expiry date, so if your friend is already a Member, they hold on to your gift until their old Membership expires. To activate the new Membership, she or he simply visits the cashier and it becomes valid for a full 12 months from that day (not from the day you purchased the gift).
ByTowne Vouchers do not have expiry dates. Even if our prices change someday, the Vouchers will still be worth their face value.
So, add up your Voucher needs (example: 1 Membership @ $12 and 4 Member Vouchers @ $8 = $44) and you're ready to make your purchase. All taxes are included, just like our admission prices.
To buy in person, come by at any time that the cinema is open to show movies (although you may want to check our schedule to avoid the busy times just before a movie starts). Please remember to bring cash, because we still don't take any form of credit or debit card.
To buy by mail, add up your purchase then add $2.00 more for postage and handling, write a cheque payable to ByTowne Cinema (all taxes are already included) and send it to us at 325 Rideau St., Ottawa ON K1N 5Y4. Alternatively, while we are closed due to the COVID-19 situation, you can send an Interac e-transfer to cinemail@bytowne.ca. We'll mail the Vouchers back to you. If you prefer, provide us with a card or note for the lucky gift recipient and an addressed envelope, and we'll send the Vouchers directly to him or her.
Thanks for giving the gift of cinema!
Smart ByTowne Members can buy Gift Vouchers for themselves. We don't mind! Save up a walletful of cash and buy as many Member Admission Vouchers as you want (@ $8 each).
Next time you come to the cinema, join the Ticket Holders line (if there's still another movie inside the cinema) or go straight to the usher (if we're letting the show in). Show your Membership to the usher and hand over one of the vouchers, and you're in. There's no need to visit the cashier, which can be a big time-saver. Vouchers won't work for Benefit screenings or special events for which the Members' price is higher than $8, but otherwise they're very handy.
You can also buy pre-paid Vouchers for Non-Members, but they work best as gifts. (If you come often enough to use Vouchers, you probably should become a Member.)
Accessibility
The ByTowne auditorium and washrooms are fully accessible for patrons in wheelchairs. Both washrooms have accessible stalls, too. The only issue is that the doors to the men's room are the old 30" standard width, and there's no automated door opener. There's always someone nearby to open the door for you, though.
When you first arrive, ask our usher about the reserved spaces for wheelchairs. There are several different locations you can choose from.
For hard-of-hearing patrons, the ByTowne has an FM Audio Assist system. Receivers are available free of charge from the candy bar staff. The receiver clips on your belt or waistband and relays the sound to your ears via an earphone (you can use the one supplied, or for a better fit, bring your own earbuds; anything with a standard 3.5mm mini stereo plug will work). Patrons who have a hearing aid equipped with a T-coil should ask us for an induction loop (it fits easily around your neck) that sends the sound to your hearing aid.
History
Yup, the ByTowne is so old that it might be even considered olde by some young whippersnappers.
Only a few years after opening, Mr. Berlin leased the building to the Famous Players chain of cinemas, an arrangement which lasted nearly forty years. A concession stand was put in sometime during the 1950s, and was later moved to its present location. In the early '60s, the Nelson was improved with a bigger screen and 70mm projection facilities. The seats were replaced too, with seating reduced to about 790. 
