The Terrebonnoscope, formerly located in the building where the Bygs operates today, is the first silent movie theatre in the area (the first in Canada being the Ouimetoscope in Montreal). Urgel Poitras, Terrebonne electrician –the first resident to travel by car through the streets of Terrebonne – begins its operations in 1908. At the time, his house was adjacent to the Terrebonnoscope, where the parking lot is today. The Terrebonnoscope offers 350 seats.
The entrance fee is 10 cents, but it was possible to book a seat for 15 cents. At the death of Urgel Poitras, his son takes over the family business and shows films during the next year, but a fire destroyed the building around 1916. The business was then moved into a room in the city hall, which also happens to burn down in the 1922 fire. It was moved again to a building in Des Braves Boulevard and returned to the new city hall in 1931, where shows went on for 17 more years.
The Terrebonnoscope is the predecessor of the Figaro Theatre, which opened in 1948 on Saint-Pierre Street. The cinema experiences many difficulties over the years. At its closure in 1985, the City of Terrebonne buys the building, which will become the first home of the Théâtre du Vieux-Terrebonne. With no movie theatre in the city, Terrebonne’s citizens will have to wait until 1990 for the opening of the Terrebonne Cinema (now Mega-Plex Terrebonne 14).