Music venue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Danforth Music Hall
|
Exterior of building in 2010
|
|
Former names
| Allen's Danforth Theatre (1919?23)
Century Theatre (1929?69)
Titania Theatre (1970?78)
The Music Hall (1978?2011)
Danforth Music Hall (2011?present)
|
---|
Location
| 147
Danforth Avenue
Toronto
,
Ontario
, Canada
|
---|
Coordinates
| 43°40′35″N
79°21′25″W
/
43.67631°N 79.35704°W
/
43.67631; -79.35704
|
---|
Owner
| Impresario Inc.
|
---|
Type
| Music venue
|
---|
Capacity
| 1,427 (general admission)
1,145 (reserved seating)
|
---|
|
Broke ground
| November 1918
|
---|
Opened
| 18 August 1919
(
1919-08-18
)
|
---|
Renovated
| 1929, 1934, 1947-48, 1985, 2005-06, 2010-11
|
---|
Closed
| 2004-06
|
---|
Architect
| Hynes, Feldman, and Watson
|
---|
|
thedanforth
.com
|
|
|
Designated
| 1985
|
---|
|
---|
|
---|
The
Danforth Music Hall
(originally
Allen's Danforth Theatre
) is a
music venue
and event theatre on
Danforth Avenue
in the neighbourhood of
Riverdale
in
Toronto
,
Ontario
, Canada.
[1]
It is served by
Broadview station
on the
TTC
's
Bloor?Danforth
line. The building was designated as a property of historic interest under the
Ontario Heritage Act
in 1985.
[2]
History
[
edit
]
Opening
[
edit
]
Originally constructed as a
movie theatre
in 1919, the building was first known as Allen's Danforth Theatre, after its owner the
Allen Theatres
chain.
[3]
[4]
Promoted as "Canada’s First Super-Suburban Photoplay Palace", the theatre opened in the midst of both a building boom along Danforth Avenue (due to the opening of the
Prince Edward Viaduct
) and a boom in the construction of movie theatres following the
First World War
.
[4]
[5]
[6]
Allen's Danforth Theatre opened on August 18, 1919, and the first feature film shown was
Goldwyn Pictures
'
Through the Wrong Door
, starring
Madge Kennedy
.
[7]
Architecture
[
edit
]
Although the Danforth Theatre was one of the jewels in the Allen Theatres chain,
[5]
it followed the same general architectural style of all Allen theatres. Instead of the heavy ornamentation that characterized many cinemas of the period, the interiors were primarily intended to be spacious and comfortable, with muted and complementary colours, and restrained classical plaster detailing.
[4]
[8]
Building exteriors were symmetrical, typically containing both
Palladian
and
Georgian Revival
elements, including repeating low-relief classical ornamentation.
[5]
[8]
The front facade of the Danforth building retains most of its original architectural features, including extensive patterned brickwork (
Flemish bond
and
herringbone
), opal glass windows and a marquee of chains.
[4]
Stylized "AT" symbols, representing the Allen Theatres chain, also remain on the facade.
[5]
Post-Allen incarnations
[
edit
]
In 1923, the Allen Theatres chain was facing financial pressures, and most of its theatres were acquired by the
Famous Players
chain. The name of Allen's Danforth Theatre was changed to the Century Theatre, and it was managed by a Famous Players subsidiary, the B&F chain.
[3]
The theatre remained a first-run movie house until the late 1960s, and it subsequently served as a
Greek language
cinema known as the Titania Theatre from 1970 to 1978.
[9]
[10]
The theatre gained the Music Hall name when it started featuring live acts in the late 1970s.
[10]
Later, it began showing second-run films, ultimately becoming part of Toronto's Festival Chain of repertory cinemas in 1998.
[11]
Over the years, a number of films and television series have had scenes filmed in the theatre, including
Highlander: The Raven
,
Chicago
,
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
,
54
,
Bulletproof Monk
,
Focus
and
Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows
.
[12]
2006 re-opening
[
edit
]
The theatre closed in 2004,
[11]
and it remained vacant for a year and a half. Age and neglect had taken their toll, and the building had almost deteriorated beyond repair. New owners acquired the theatre, retaining the Music Hall name, and renovated and restored it, including the installation of a new sound system and new seating.
[5]
[13]
Operating as a venue for live performances, the theatre was named the "Performing Arts Centre of the Year" (under 1500 capacity) at the 2008 Canadian Music Industry Awards.
[14]
In August 2010,
bailiffs
seized the property and closed the theatre due to non-payment of rent.
[15]
The venue was used for the occasional show during its closure, and it has been reopened since December 1, 2011, under the ownership of Impresario Inc.
[16]
Since December 2011, the hall has hosted notable shows by the likes of Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Lorde, Disclosure, Father John Misty, St. Vincent, Metric, Iggy Azalea, Run The Jewels, FKA Twigs, Lights, Billy Bragg, Dave Chappelle, RuPaul's Drag Race, and Ripe.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Doug Taylor
(2016).
Toronto's Local Movie Theatres of Yesteryear: Brought Back to Thrill You Again
.
Dundurn Press
. pp. 36?37.
ISBN
9781459733428
.
- ^
"City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties"
. Retrieved
2011-01-09
.
- ^
a
b
Sebert, John (2001).
The Nabes: Toronto's Wonderful Neighbourhood Movie Houses
. Oakville: Mosaic Press. p. 82.
ISBN
0-88962-770-3
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"History of the Danforth"
. The Danforth Business Improvement Association. Archived from
the original
on 2009-03-21
. Retrieved
2009-03-15
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Minto Skyy: Welcome to the Neighbourhood"
.
Summer 2008 newsletter
. MintoUrban Communities Inc. Summer 2008
. Retrieved
2009-03-15
.
- ^
Wickens, Stephen (2 May 2008).
"Take a walk on the Danforth"
.
Toronto Star
. Retrieved
15 March
2009
.
The street was a dirt road with small wooden bridges over swamps and creeks until pavement and streetcar tracks arrived in 1913. Its market gardens supplied produce to the nearby city, but gave way to a 1920s building boom that followed the close of World War I and the opening of the Bloor viaduct.
- ^
Toronto Star
. 12 August 1919. p. 20.
- ^
a
b
"Metropolitan Theatre"
.
Historical Buildings: Theatres
. Heritage Winnipeg. Archived from
the original
on December 5, 2008
. Retrieved
2009-03-15
.
- ^
Allen, Robert Thomas (10 October 1970). "The Old Familiar Danforth is Vanishing as a Cosmopolitan Strip Takes it Place".
Toronto Star
. p. B1.
- ^
a
b
Dickison, Stephanie (9 May 2006). "Return of the Music Hall".
Toronto Star
. p. C3.
The theatre had many reincarnations over the years - The Century Theatre, a Greek movie house, and it was known as The Titania Theatre from 1970 to 1978. It then became a live concert venue that hosted talents such as James Brown.
- ^
a
b
"Danforth Music Hall Now Closed?"
. 11 March 2004
. Retrieved
2009-03-15
.
- ^
Dickison, Stephanie (9 May 2006). "Return of the Music Hall".
Toronto Star
. p. C3.
You might recognize it in such films as Chicago, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, 54, Bulletproof Monk, Focus and the ABC Mini- series Life with Judy Garland Me and My Shadows.
- ^
Dickison, Stephanie (9 May 2006). "Return of the Music Hall".
Toronto Star
. p. C3.
The ceiling leaked and crumbled in parts, the plumbing all but stopped and it looked like yet another historical Toronto building had come and gone.
- ^
"Canadian Music Industry Awards"
. The Music Hall. March 2008. Archived from
the original
on February 23, 2009
. Retrieved
2009-03-15
.
- ^
DeMara, Bruce (19 August 2010). "Danforth's Music Hall shuttered".
Toronto Star
.
- ^
Raju Mudhar (1 December 2011).
"Danforth Music Hall is back in business"
. Toronto Star
. Retrieved
9 January
2012
.
External links
[
edit
]