A Neighbourhood Theatre

The Tarragon Theatre is a neighbourhood theatre which is home for contemporary plays. It was founded in 1970 and has two stage spaces. The building was originally a cribbage board factory.

Taking part in Signs2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world. 

Theatre In A Church Building

 

This is the Randolph Theatre which is in an old church building on Bathurst St. The Gothic Revival church was built in 1888 but by the mid 1960s the congregation had shrunk and the church became a theatre.

The Royal

 

The Royal is found on College St in Little Italy. The building was finished in 1939 and has had several names through the years as it functioned as a cinema. It is now an event space but also shows second run films and also takes part in film festivals.

Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Theatre In A Church Building

This is the Randolph Theatre which is located on Bathurst St near the Honest Ed's apartment tower construction site which I showed you on Tuesday. Built in 1888, the church was converted into a theatre in 1985 and the Randolph College For The Performing Arts is part of the theatre complex.

Getting Back To Normal

Things are starting to get back a bit to normal here and the theatres are able to open with reduced seating capacity. It has been a difficult 2 years for the theatre crowd so I hope they find that people come out to support them. 

Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Golden

 I felt the need for something lovely after so many months being locked down so went digging in my archives. This is the ceiling in the entrance hall of the Ed Mirvish Theatre on Yonge St. The theatre was built in 1920 as a cinema and vaudeville venue and opened under the name Pantages. It had many name changes through the years until finally being named after Ed Mirvish who was a great theatre impresario and also owned Honest Ed's. At some point in its history all of this gorgeous decoration was covered up with drywall until the theatre was finally restored back to its glory.

Massey Hall

Massey Hall is a venerable old performing arts theatre in downtown Toronto. It was built in 1894 and has been the site of many wonderful concerts and events through the years. It has heritage protection and has been closed for a couple of years to undergo needed renovations which will also include the removal of those fire stairs that ruin the look of the front of it. It seats only about 3,000 people so is a great place to go to hear your favourites.  

Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Modern Concert Hall

Contrasting with yesterday's vintage church, directly across the street from it you will find Roy Thomson Hall. It was designed by Canadian architect Arthur Erickson and built in 1982. It is now the home of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as well as the location for many other events and concerts during 'normal' times.

The Royal Aexandra Theatre

The Royal Alexandra Theatre is found on King St W and like all other theatres here it is quiet these days. Built in 1907 it has heritage protection and has been renovated and updated extensively inside. The play that was on when it closed in March was "Come From Away" which is based on the true story of how almost 7,000 passengers and crews from 39 airplanes were grounded in Gander Newfoundland on the horrible day of 9/11. Gander is the farthest east airport in North America and the transatlantic flights were all halted there on their way to the USA. The town has a population of around 10,000 and the townsfolk came out en masse to feed and house all the visitors.

 Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.  

Studio Theatre

This pretty little building was built in 1914 as a Lutheran church and continued to be a church until 1966 when it was sold to U of Toronto and turned into a theatre in 1968. Now named the Luella Massey Studio Theatre it is used as a teaching facility and is also rented out for private events.  
Taking part in Signs2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Saved

This is almost a drive-by pic as I was driving along Dandforth Ave in the east end of the city, an area I don't often go to and I spotted The Allenby Theatre and quickly pulled over. This Art Deco beauty was constructed in 1935 and was hugely popular until being renamed The Roxy in the 1970s. It became famous in the city for showing the Rocky Horror Picture Show and did well for many years until finally closing. In 2007 it was given historical protection and so it avoided being torn down but it no longer operates as a theatre. The facade and box office have been restored but the rest of the building was changed and it is now a Tim Horton's outlet (the famous Canadian coffee & donut shop). I intend to go back one day to check out the details and have a look inside. 
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

An Oldie Saved

I first showed  a pic of the Bloor Cinema back in 2012 (HERE) bu the theatre has recently been renamed the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema after a $4million gift from the Ted Rogers Foundation. For the last several years it has been showing wonderful documentary films from around the world and is the site of many doc film festivals as well.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Royal Cinema Revisited

I first showed you the Royal Cinema in Little Italy back in 2011 (HERE) and was down on College St for a Sunday brunch recently and took another pic. There have been a few changes such as the marquee being redone but overall it still retains its 1939 Art Deco glory. And it is still functioning as a movie theatre!  
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

The Real Kingsway Theatre

I showed you the Kingsway Theatre in a mural on Monday and thought I should give you a pic of the real thing. It still operates a theatre and even though the sign could use a bit of a touch up the interior is said to be in good condition. Once again I have to make a point of heading out that way to get a night shot and see how many of those lights are working. I love the Art Deco details at the top.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

The Kingsway

This is the next part of the mural I started to show you last week, titled "Our Community at Sunset". This section shows the venerable Kingsway movie theatre on Bloor St as it might have looked in days gone by. It was opened in 1939 and was renovated in 2009 and still shows movies! I will show you a pic of it as it looks today on Wednesday.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.

Red Boots

I showed you a hint of these boots a couple of weeks ago when the sidewalks were crowded with people but I went back and managed to get a pic of the giant red boots outside of the Royal Alexandra Theatre where "Kinky Boots" is playing. It is nearly impossible to get a shot without someone posing in front of the boots!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Runnymede Pillars

There are several pillars positioned around the walls of the Runnymede Theatre/Chapters Bookstore space, all of them topped by a beautifully carved basket of fruit and flowers. You can really see here the attention that was given to restoring all the wonderful carvings in the building.

Runnymede Shells

These shell-shaped wall sconces run all around the upper part of the wall in the Runnymede Theatre/Chapters Bookstore space and up in the balcony you can get an up-close shot. They are so beautiful  that one has to hope they survive the conversion of the building into a drug store. The building has heritage designation so they should be safe.

Runnymede

This is a close-up of the Runnymede sign which was located in the centre above the stage in yesterday's shot of the old Runnymede Theatre/Chapters Bookstore. You can see some of the detail work and the beautiful restoration that was done before the bookstore opened. There are features like this all over the interior of the space!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click here for more signs.

What A Bookstore!

This is the inside of the Chapters Bookstore on Bloor St W which is located in the old Runnymede Theatre. The theatre was built in 1927 as a vaudeville theatre which only lasted until the 30s when it was converted into a movie theatre that finally closed in the late 1990s. There was huge resistance at that time to Chapters taking over the space but the deal went through and Chapter spent just under $4 million restoring the beautiful details of the space and converting it to suit their needs. It has become a much-loved bookstore but unfortunately it is closing and a large drug store is moving in. I thought I had better catch it while the books are still there so this is the scene from the balcony looking down into the main auditorium. If you look towards the bottom right you will see a lovely Border Collie who was also checking out the books! A few detail shots to come over the next few days.