Initially hosting touring productions and vaudeville, the Sherman Grand, soon evolved into the most renowned theatre in the Pacific Northwest. The theatre has a storied past. As the biggest theatre in Western Canada it attracted stars like Sarah Bernhardt, Fred Astaire, Ethel Barrymore, the Marx Brothers, George Burns, Arthur Rubinstein, Paul Robeson, among others. Both the Liberal and Conservative Parties held rallies here, as well as speakers such as Nellie McClung of the “Famous Five”, Prime Minister Robert Borden and Premier William Aberhart.