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Allen’s Danforth Theatre

Eric Veillette

Nearly a year after celebrating its 90th anniversary, the Danforth Music Hall has closed its doors last week. When the Festival chain of rep cinemas let it go in 2004, the venue re-opened as a live entertainment space, hosting memorable concerts like the Arcade Fire in 2005. Last year, with the intention of creating a new theatre district on the Danforth, its owners entered into an agreement with DanCap Productions. I’m not sure of the specifics, but its first big production, The Toxic Avenger, closed within a few months. At the anniversary, over 800 people gathered to see a silent film … Continue reading Allen’s Danforth Theatre

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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!

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Lecture on Toronto Theatres at the Revue Cinema

Eric Veillette

Above image from January 1929 shows Yonge St. facing north from Queen St. On the bill at the Loews Yonge St. is a Buster Keaton film, probably Steamboat Bill. Source: Toronto Transit Commission. Ten-cent admission, newsreels, adventure serials and slapstick. That’s what you would find if you could return to the early days of movie-going. As this site, dedicated to preserving the stories of our varied theatres, nears its first anniversary, I am partnering with Toronto’s Revue Cinema on a new lecture series chronicling the history of local movie theatres. On August 22, the first lecture, “Toronto Movie Theatres: Palaces … Continue reading Lecture on Toronto Theatres at the Revue Cinema