The Allenby Theatre was at 1219 Danforth Avenue, near Greenwood Avenue. Because I knew that the building where this venerable theatre was located still existed, on a hot summer day in 2013, I travelled on the subway to find it. Having always resided in the west end of Toronto, I had rarely ventured any great distance to the east of Yonge Street.
After exiting the subway at the Greenwood Station, I walked west along the Danforth. I was intrigued and delighted with the streetscape, as the shops, cafes and restaurants were interesting and inviting. However, I must admit that locating the old theatre was the highlight of my trip. When I saw the theatre, I was amazed to discover that its facade and box office remained attractive and in excellent condition. They appeared not to have changed since as the day they were built.
The Allenby commenced its life in 1936. It was designed by Kaplan and Sprachman, the prolific architects who created about 75 percent of the theatres constructed in Canada between 1921 and 1950. The Allenby is one of the finest theatres that they designed in the Art Deco style. The symmetrical yellow-brick facade has strong vertical lines, employing raised bricks to divide the facade into sections. In the cornice at the top, the sections are capped with stone. In typical Art Deco style, the cornice has rounded shapes and corners. A central column of stone rises from the canopy and extends up to the cornice. The overall effect is that of simple elegance. The canopy over the entrance is large, but it does not obscure the facade and detract from the over-all design. The entrance contains an attractive box office, and on either side of it are shops that in their day were rented to offset the costs of operating the theatre.
The auditorium of the Allenby contained 775 seats, in a pattern of eight on either side and fifteen in the centre section. There was no balcony. In 1942, the theatre received permission to allow 25 patrons to stand at the rear of the theatre, behind the centre section. The air-conditioning consisted of water-washed air, typical of the era.
In the late-1930s, the theatre inaugurated a children's movie club—the Pop Eye Club. For the price of 10 cents, children saw two feature films, a newsreel, and two "Popeye the Sailor" cartoons. In the cartoons, Popeye attained magical strength after gulping a tin of spinach. The Pop Eye Club commenced at 1 p.m. each Saturday. At these matinees, children were able to purchase a soda pop and a big bag of candy for 5 cents. Surely this deal was enough to make any kid swallow a tin of spinach.
I located only one complaint against the theatre in the files at the Toronto Archives. In 1947, someone observed that the matrons on duty were not in uniform. This infraction of the rules was officially investigated.
The name of the Allenby was eventually changed to the Roxy. The movie "The Rocky Horror Show' was screened there before it moved to the Bloor Theatre. For a brief period, the theatre enjoyed considerable success. Unfortunately, the Roxy was unable to compete with the popularity of TV and it eventually was closed. For a few years it was named the Apollo and screened Greek films. But this too was unsuccessful.
The building was vacant for a few years and in danger of being demolished. However, it was declared a heritage site in 2007. The building was finally became the location of a coffee shop. Today, to enter the shop, customers pass under the magnificent canopy of the old Allenby and view the box office, where in former decades, eager patrons purchased theatre tickets.
The Allenby in 1935. City of Toronto Archives, Series 1278-15, SC 488-1117.
Lobby of the Allenby, its Art Deco designs evident in the ceiling. City of Toronto Archives, 1119-116.
Entrance and box office of the Allenby. The film "Up Goes Maisie" is displayed on the marquee. The movie was released in 1946. Photo from the Ontario Archives, AO 2258.
The former box office and entrance to the coffee shop in 2013.
Details on the theatre's facade (photo taken in 2013).
The canopy on the north facade, facing Danforth Avenue, and a portion of the west facade that reveals the original yellow colour of the bricks.
The restored Allenby, which now contains a coffee shop, during the summer of 2013. Similar to when the theatre opened, there is a gasoline station on the west side of the theatre.
The Scarboro Theatre was located at 960 Kingston Road, on the north side of the street, west of Bingham Avenue. It was in the area of Toronto that for decades was known as the Beaches, although today it is officially named The Beach. The above photo from the City of Toronto Archives (SC488-1128) was taken in 1936, the year the theatre opened. Its architect was Herbert (Henry) Duerr, who also designed the Hollywood Theatre on Yonge Street, as well as the Village Apartments at 404 Spadina Avenue in the Forest Hill Village.
When Duerr designed the Scarboro Theatre, he created a building with an unadorned facade of yellow brick and a plain cornice of stone, the design reflecting the Art Deco style. The original licence for the Scarboro was granted to a Mr. Slate, but was held by the B&F chain of theatres. Its auditorium contained almost 700 plush seats, with no balcony. It possessed water-cooled air conditioning.
The theatre's ownership changed from B&F to 20th Century Theatres in 1948. The same year, in October, a candy bar was installed. In 1949, a fire broke out in the women's lounge, the cause of the blaze being a cigarette. The furniture in the room was totally destroyed and the plaster severely damaged. The cost of the repairs was $500, a considerable amount of money in that day. Until smoking was banned in theatres, fires were a constant worry for theatre owners.
In February of 1957, the Adam Beck Home and School Association refused to place ads for the Scarboro Theatre in their bulletin as they declared that the theatre screened movies that were "detrimental to our young people, especially teenagers." I would like to know the name of the films that prompted the complaint, as I might wish to view them if they ever appear on TCM.
Many theatres in Toronto gave free dinnerware and silverware on weeknights to encourage people to attend. The Scarboro engaged in these promotions as well, but it was one of the very few that gave away a volume of an encyclopaedia when a patron purchased a ticket. I remember when the Steinberg Supermarket chain did this, and the brand of encyclopaedia was Funk and Wagnalls. Perhaps it was the same time type at the Scarboro Theatre. I also can recall when Silverwood Dairy gave free silver plate serving spoons to its customers. The spoons curled around the neck of the bottles.
I was unable to discover when the Scarboro Theatre closed, but the building remains in existence today.
View of the auditorium from the front, looking toward the rear of the theatre. Photo, Ontario Archives, AO 2136.
The auditorium when the lights dimmed to commence the show. Photo, City of Toronto Archives, 1130-127.
The site of the Scarboro Theatre after it closed. The Art Deco stone cornice is clearly evident. Photo from the City of Toronto Archives.
The Bayview Theatre at 1605 Bayview Avenue, in Leaside, was built by Harry Davidson in 1936. The above photo from the City of Toronto Archives (Series 1278-Fl.20 It. 488-1112) was taken the year it opened. The film on the marquee is "Dark Angel," starring Frederick March, which had been released the previous year. The architects for the theatre were Kaplan and Sprachman, its Art Deco facade typical of their work. The yellow-brown bricks on the facade were arranged in raised sections, creating a strong vertical design from above the first storey, upward to the stone cornice. The 672-seat theatre was managed by 20th Century Theatres. In the above photo, the two shops that were included within the theatre building remain unrented.
In 1943, the box office was held up at gunpoint. The cashier refused to hand over the cash. She pushed the alarm button and the man fled. He was never apprehended. In July 1945, two women reported that they had been molested by five men who were sitting behind them. No matron was on duty when the women reported the incident, and as the men had departed, the authorities were unable to investigate further.
In 1961 the Bayview ceased to operate as a movie theatre. It was renovated and reopened as the Bayview Playhouse, which showcased live theatre. The Broadway musical "Godspell" played at the Bayview for 488 performances, starring Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas, Andrea Martin and Gilda Radner.
The theatre closed in the late-1990s. The building was renovated to create several retail spaces.
The Bayview in 1942, when the shops on either side of the entrance to the theatre were rented. City of Toronto Archives, Series 1278 Fl. 20 (AO 1978).
The Bayview's auditorium, City of Toronto Archives, Series 1278-30 (AO 1979).
Lobby of the Bayview, the Art Deco designs evident in the ceiling. Ontario Archives, AO 1920.
The red-brick Gooderham Building at 49 Wellington Street East is located at the confluence of Wellington Street East, Front Street East, and Church Street, in the St. Lawrence Market area. The present-day building is the second structure that has existed on this small triangular piece of land. The original building on the site was constructed in 1845, and was smaller than the one that exists there today, it having only three-storeys. It was a part of the Wellington Hotel on nearby Church Street, and was referred to as the Coffin Block as the land on which it was built was similar to that of a coffin. The odd shape occurred because the streets of the early-day town of York (Toronto) had been laid-out on a grid pattern, but the straight lines were slanted to accommodate the curve of the shoreline of Lake Ontario.
This photograph from the City of Toronto Archives (Series 1244, It. 7335-1) was taken in 1883. It shows the original three-storey Coffin Block, built in 1845. There is a three-storey bank across the street from the building, on the right-hand side of the photo. It is the structure with the imposing portico.
This is the building that is presently on the site. The photo from the City of Toronto Archives (Fonds 124, Fl.0124, Id.0065) was likely taken in the early 1970s, since one of the towers of the TD Centre is evident in the background. The top of the Royal York Hotel is on the left-hand side of the picture. There is no CN Tower visible, as it was not completed until 1976.
This photo from the City of Toronto Archives (Fonds 124, Fl.0124, Id.0025) gazes east along Front and Wellington Streets. In the picture, the Gooderham building is isolated. Beside it on its western side, there are only parking lots, and where the condo Market Square now exists, is another large parking lot. The St. Lawrence Hall is in the upper left-hand corner of the picture. The South Market Building of the St. Lawrence Market can be seen on the south side of Front Street. The old North Market Building is also evident, which was demolished in the late-1960s.
In 1837, William Gooderham and his brother-in-law William Worts founded a distillery. By the 1890s, it was the largest producer of spirits in Canada. In the early 1890s, George Gooderham, the eldest son of William Gooderham, purchased the Coffin block to construct a new headquarters for the Gooderham and Worts Distillery. He ordered that the building on the old Coffin Block be demolished. He hired David Roberts Junior (1845-90) as his architect, and at a cost of $18,000, instructed that a four-storey building be erected, which was completed in 1892. In the basement, the windows were partially above ground, creating an extra level. The design of Gooderham's building was the inspiration for the famous Flatiron Building in New York City, built in in 1902.
Toronto's Gooderham Building is Romanesque in design, with traces of Gothic. The cornice above the fourth floor has a wealth of intricate Romanesque designs. Above the cornice is a steeply-sloped roof that was originally covered with copper, although the copper has since been removed. The roofline is broken by eight peaked gable windows, four on the north side of the building and four on the south. On the east side, the apex of the triangular shape is rounded and topped with a pointed tower, its top still sheathed in copper. The building has several entrances, but the main entrance is on its north side, on Wellington Street.
Interestingly, a tunnel was built under Front Street that connected the Gooderham Building to the bank across the road on Front Street. It allowed large amounts of cash to be safely transferred between the buildings without being seen from the street. The bank building can be seen in one of the above pictures placed in this post. Also, the first manually-operated Otis elevator was installed in the Gooderham Building.
The Gooderham Building was the headquarters of Gooderham and Worts Distillery until 1952. In 1975, it was officially declared a Heritage site. The building was restored in the late-1990s, and remains coveted as office space. Its rooms, with their 12-foot ceilings, are ideal for companies that wish to rent space in an historic property.
View of the Gooderham Building in April of 2013, gazing west along Front Street.
Views of the apex of the triangular building, the top crowned with a copper-sheathed tower.
The Front Street facade, the iron fire escape attached to the red-brick wall. In the basement, which is partially above ground, there is a pub. (Photo, July 2013).
View of the top of the building, with the ornate cornice and the copper-sheathed pointed tower.
The Romanesque ornamentations in the cornice.
Impressive main entrance on Wellington Street, with its Romanesque surround.
Architectural detailing on the building, with the date of its completion.
The west facade of the Gooderham Building, containing the mural by Derek Besant, painted in the autumn of 1980. It is a mirror image of the Perkins Building across the street. It creates the illusion that there are windows on the west facade of the Gooderham Building.
View facing west along Front Street in July 2013.
The E. W. Gillett Building at 276 King Street West is one of the structures that will be demolished if the Mirvish Condo project receives approval from the City of Toronto. This four-storey building, containing a full basement level, was constructed in 1901. In the 19th century, the campus of Upper Canada College was on the site, before it relocated to the hill atop Avenue Road. The Gillett Building was the headquarters of a company that manufactured baking ingredients. An Edwardian gem, it has survived for over a century, although because its bricks have been covered with white paint, it is difficult to appreciate the attractiveness of the structure.
The windows on the top floor, below the unadorned cornice, have Roman arches. The other floors possess rectangular windows, curved at the top. The magnificent porch on the King Street entrance of the Gillett Building is supported by square columns, which have Doric designs at the top. The cornice of the roof of the porch contains simple parallel lines, and below them is a row of small dentils (teeth-like designs). On the porch roof is an arch that also has dentils. When the Gillett Building was constructed, the grand porch was considered appropriate as the building was situated across the street from the palatial Government House, on the southwest corner of Simcoe and King Streets. Government House was the residence of the Lieu. Governor of the Province. Today, Roy Thomson Hall occupies the site.
During the First World War, the Gillett Building was the home of the Russell Motor Company. In the 1940s, the James Morrison Brass Manufacturers occupied the site. Today (2014), the building contains offices.
The portico of the Gillett Building (left) and the designs on its roof, above the Doric columns.
The Roman arches above the windows on the fourth floor, on the south facade, on King Street West.
View of the narrow south facade of the Gillett Building on King Street, and the east facade that extends to the north from King Street, on Duncan Street.