Tag: allen theatres

Toronto Cinemas2 Comments

Allen’s Bloor Theatre

Eric Veillette

For over twenty-five years, Toronto concert-goers and Annex residents have known the building at 529 Bloor St. West as Lee’s Palace. But nearly a century ago, the Allen’s Bloor Theatre was one of the most luxurious suburban movie houses Toronto had to offer. The immaculately detailed 782 seat theatre held its premiere screening on March 10, 1919 with Cecil B. De Mille’s Don’t Change Your Wife, featuring Gloria Swanson. It was the first theatre to be built on that stretch of Bloor Street since the current-day Bloor Cinema, then known as the Madison, opened in December, 1913. Months later, the … Continue reading Allen’s Bloor Theatre

Toronto Cinemas2 Comments

The Danforth Music Hall Turns 90!

Eric Veillette

by Eric Veillette In today’s Saturday Star, I write about the Danforth Music Hall’s upcoming 90th anniversary. On Tuesday, August 18, Heritage Toronto and the Riverdale Historical Society will be celebrating this milestone by unveiling a plaque in its honour. By recreating the events from nearly a century ago, the evening will also feature a silent film, Dollars and Sense, with live accompaniment. The Music Hall, originally known as Allen’s Danforth, remains one of the best examples of this former theatre empire. Other Toronto Allen survivors are the Bloor and Parkdale. The former – a popular midtown cinema until the … Continue reading The Danforth Music Hall Turns 90!