The Uptown Theatre was a historic movie theatre in Toronto, Ontario which was demolished in 2003. The entrance to the theatre was located on Yonge Street just south of Bloor. Like many theatres of the time (including the Elgin & Winter Garden Theatre) it was constructed so that only the entrance was on a major thoroughfare while the main building fronted on a side street. A bridge connected the two buildings.
The 3000-seat theatre opened as Loew's Uptown Theatre in 1920, originally serving as a venue for both vaudeville and films. [1] It was designed by acclaimed theatre designer Thomas W. Lamb. [2] Although built for different chains, the Uptown Theatre and Pantages Theatre (today's Ed Mirvish Theatre) were sisters, designed by the same architect, [2] and opened less than a month apart. The Uptown was smaller than the Pantages and with a much smaller lobby, but the two had similar Yonge Street entrances and their auditoriums were of the same style. The original paint colours for the auditorium were rose, grey and gold. For several years noted choreographer Leon Leonidoff was employed by the theatre. [1] It was at the Uptown that Leonidoff developed the style that he would later give Radio City Music Hall's Rockettes. [1] The name Uptown was fitting for its time, as downtown Toronto in 1920 did not extend much north of Queen Street.
In 1960 the Uptown was damaged by fire, fueled by extremely flammable material on the seats. The theatre was quickly restored, but all the original ornate plasterwork in the dome, proscenium arch, boxes, and organ grilles was lost, being replaced by only smooth plaster and drapery. Theatre owner Nat Taylor closed the cinema on September 5, 1969, and renovated it, dividing the Uptown into five theatres, one of the world's first multiplexes. The architect for the multiplexing project was Toronto architect Mandel Sprachman, who later did many similar projects for rival Famous Players across Canada, including the Uptown's sister, the Imperial (now a live theatre, the Ed Mirvish Theatre). On December 25, 1969, the rebuilt facility opened. The Uptown 1 on the original balcony now sat 1000, and was one of the earliest instances of an all stadium seating auditorium in a cinema. Uptown 2 and 3 were the original main floor seating divided by a partition wall down the middle. Uptown Backstage 1 and 2 were built in the original stage house and could only be accessed through a separate entrance and box office on Balmuto Street. The Uptown 1, 2, and 3 played all the major releases, while the Uptown Backstage 1 and 2 usually played "art" films, such as extremely long runs of A Clockwork Orange and The Gods Must Be Crazy during the 1970s. Eventually the Backstage dropped the word "Uptown" and was considered a separate cinema.
In the mid 1970s, Nat Taylor sold his chain of theatres known as "Twentieth Century Theatres" (no relation to the studio) to Famous Players, including the Uptown and the Yonge Theatre (later renamed the Elgin). Mr. Taylor would later found a new chain of multiplex cinemas in 1979 with Garth Drabinsky, called Cineplex Entertainment.
The Uptown was a favourite place to see films, always doing good business. It was the last remaining large-audience big-screen, old-style movie theatre still operating in downtown Toronto for Famous Players. In addition to the sudden closure of another major downtown historic Famous Players movie theatre, the Imperial Six, in 1986, many other Famous Players theatres in the Yonge and Bloor area closed during the 1980s, including The Plaza 1 and 2 Cinemas in the Hudson's Bay Centre and the University Theatre on Bloor Street West (now a Pottery Barn). Following the loss of the Imperial in 1986, the Uptown became the theatre of choice for many movie goers in downtown Toronto and regularly played midnight shows on the weekend. The Uptown was also an important venue for the Toronto International Film Festival.
In 2001 new regulations mandated that the theatre be made wheelchair accessible. Famous Players balked at paying to estimated $700,000 expense and announced that they would be closing the cinema. The five screen cinema made little financial sense in the era of megaplexes, especially when the land it was on was worth millions of dollars. Despite community protests the cinema was closed on September 14, 2003 immediately after the 2003 TIFF. The last film to be shown there was Undead . [2]
The site was sold to developers who planned to replace it with a condo. In December 2003 Priestly Demolition was engaged in demolishing the structure, when a large section of the building collapsed. [3] An operator cut vital steel support beams on a roof truss. [4] The roof suddenly collapsed onto the balcony structure below, pushing out the brick exterior walls. [5] No workers were hurt, but parts of the brick walls fell on the neighbouring Yorkville English Academy. [6] Fourteen people in the school were injured and one, Augusto Mejia Solis, a 27-year-old Costa Rican, was killed. [7] In April 2004, five civil lawsuits were filed against Priestly Demolition and property owner Marco Muzzo. [8] After a government investigation lasting almost a year, six charges were laid in the incident including failure to take the reasonable precaution of ensuring that a competent person inspected the internal roof structure before removing the main roof truss. [9]
The Uptown Residences, a 48-storey, 284 suite condo was completed on the site of the former theatre in 2011. A small portion of the lobby facing Yonge Street remains.
Yonge Street is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, John Graves Simcoe, named the street for his friend Sir George Yonge, an expert on ancient Roman roads.
Yonge–Dundas Square, or Dundas Square is a public square at the southeast corner of the intersection of Yonge Street and Dundas Street East in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Designed by Brown and Storey Architects, the square was conceived in 1997 as part of revitalizing the intersection. Since its completion in 2002, the square has hosted many public events, performances and art displays, establishing itself as a prominent landmark in Toronto and one of the city's prime tourist attractions. Central to the Downtown Yonge entertainment and shopping district, the square is owned by the city and is the first public square in Canada to be maintained through a public–private partnership. The intersection is one of the busiest in Canada, with over 100,000 people crossing the city's first pedestrian scramble daily.
Koreatown is an ethnic enclave within Seaton Village, a neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located along Bloor Street between Christie and Bathurst Streets, the area is known for its Korean business and restaurants. The ethnic enclave developed during the 1970s, as the city experienced an influx of Korean immigrants settling in Toronto. Toronto has the largest single concentration of Koreans in Canada with 53,940 living in the city, according to the Canada 2016 Census.
Yehuda Edwin "Honest Ed" Mirvish, was an American-Canadian businessman, philanthropist and theatrical impresario who lived in Toronto, Ontario. He is known for his flagship business, Honest Ed's, a landmark discount store in downtown Toronto, and as a patron of the arts, instrumental in revitalizing the theatre scene in Toronto.
Honest Ed's was a landmark discount store in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was named for its proprietor, Ed Mirvish, who opened the store in 1948 and oversaw its operations for almost 60 years until his death in 2007. The store continued to operate until it permanently closed on December 31, 2016.
Queen is a subway station on Line 1 Yonge–University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located under Yonge Street north from Queen Street to Shuter Street. Wi-Fi service is available at this station.
Dundas is a subway station on Line 1 Yonge–University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Yonge Street and Dundas Street. Wi-Fi service is available at this station.
Wellesley is a subway station on Line 1 Yonge–University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Wellesley Street East, east of Yonge Street. Wi-Fi service is available at this station.
Bloor–Yonge is a subway station on Line 1 Yonge–University and Line 2 Bloor–Danforth in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located in Downtown Toronto, under the intersection of Yonge Street and Bloor Street, it is the busiest subway station in the system, handling over 200,000 passengers on an average weekday. Wi-Fi is available at this station.
Sheppard–Yonge is an interchange station on Line 1 Yonge–University and Line 4 Sheppard of the Toronto subway. The station is located at the southern end of North York City Centre. It is the fourth-busiest station in the system, after Bloor–Yonge, St. George and Union, serving a combined total of approximately 134,076 people per day in 2019.
Bathurst is a subway station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The station, which opened in 1966, is located on Bathurst Street just north of Bloor Street West. It is a major transfer point for both bus and streetcar routes, including the 511 Bathurst route, which provides services to Exhibition Place.
The Elgin & Winter Garden Theatres are a pair of stacked theatres in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Winter Garden Theatre is seven storeys above the Elgin Theatre. They are the last surviving Edwardian stacked theatres in the world.
The Ed Mirvish Theatre is a historic performing arts theatre in Toronto, Ontario, located near Yonge–Dundas Square. Owned and operated by Mirvish Productions, the theatre has approximately 2,300 seats across two levels. There are two entrances to the theatre, located at 263 Yonge Street and 244 Victoria Street.
Famous Players Limited Partnership was a Canadian-based subsidiary of Cineplex Entertainment. As an independent company, it existed as a film exhibitor and cable television service provider. Famous Players operated numerous movie theatre locations in Canada from British Columbia to Newfoundland and Labrador. The company was owned by Viacom Canada but was sold to Cineplex Galaxy LP in 2005.
Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Street to the northwest, Lake Ontario to the south, the Don Valley to the east, and Bathurst Street to the west. It is also the home of the municipal government of Toronto and the Government of Ontario.
The University Theatre was a single-screen cinema located at 100 Bloor Street West along the Mink Mile, just west of Bay Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The area was once home to a number of cinemas, most notably the Uptown Theatre.
The Toronto Theatre District is a part of the Toronto Entertainment District in Downtown Toronto that contains the largest concentration of stage theatres in Canada. It is the third largest English-speaking theatre district in the world, after West End in London and Broadway in New York City.
Mirvish+Gehry, also known as Forma, is a planned two-tower mixed-use building complex in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The towers were designed by Frank Gehry in partnership with David Mirvish. The project is located on King Street West at Duncan Street in Toronto's Entertainment District.
The One is a supertall skyscraper currently under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If completed, it will be the tallest building in Canada. At 328.4 metres and 91 storeys, it will be taller than First Canadian Place, which has been Canada's tallest building since 1975. It will also be Canada's first supertall skyscraper, as defined by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Construction of the building is estimated to be completed by March 2025.