Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres facts for kids
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| Address | 189 Yonge Street Toronto, Ontario Canada |
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| Owner | Ontario Heritage Trust |
| Type | Edwardian stacked theatres |
| Capacity | 2,149 (Elgin Theatre) 1,410 (Winter Garden Theatre) 3,559 (total) |
| Production | Plays, opera, music, film |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1913 |
| Rebuilt | 1987–1989 (restoration) |
| Years active | 1913–present |
| Architect | Thomas W. Lamb |
| Designated: | 1982 |
The Elgin & Winter Garden Theatres are two amazing theatres built one on top of the other in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are the last remaining stacked theatres from the Edwardian period (early 1900s) anywhere in the world! The Winter Garden Theatre is located seven floors above the Elgin Theatre.
Contents
History of the Theatres
These two theatres were first built in 1913. They were the most important theatres for Marcus Loew's chain of movie houses. The famous architect Thomas W. Lamb designed the building. He also designed the Ed Mirvish Theatre nearby.
Both theatres were built to show vaudeville acts and short silent movies. Vaudeville was a popular type of entertainment with many different acts. These included comedians, singers, dancers, and magicians. Each theatre was meant for a different type of audience.
The lower theatre, originally called Loew's Yonge Street Theatre, was fancy. It had gold and marble decorations and a domed ceiling. It showed continuous vaudeville and movies. The upper theatre, the Winter Garden, was designed to look like a country garden under the stars. It had murals of plants, tree trunk columns, and lantern lights. This upper theatre was for "Big Time" vaudeville shows. Tickets were more expensive, and it attracted wealthier people.
By 1928, long silent films were very popular. Sound films were also just starting to appear. In 1928, the lower theatre was changed to show movies with sound. The upper theatre, the Winter Garden, was then closed. It stayed closed for about 60 years. Inside, a huge collection of old vaudeville scenery was left behind. This is now the world's largest collection of its kind. In 1969, Loews sold the Elgin to Famous Players. By the 1970s, the Elgin mostly showed less popular movies.
Recent History of the Theatres
Since 1979, the Elgin Theatre has been one of the main places for the yearly Toronto International Film Festival.
In 1981, the Ontario Heritage Trust bought the building. The Elgin stopped showing movies on November 15, 1981. The last movie shown was What the Swedish Butler Saw. From 1985 to 1987, the musical Cats played at the Elgin. It was very successful, even though the theatre had not been fully fixed up. This showed that the theatre was still a good place for big shows.
The building then closed in 1987 for a full restoration. This means it was carefully repaired and brought back to its original beauty. It reopened in 1989.
In 1991, a special sound system called LARES was put into the Elgin Theatre. This system helps to make the sound better for the audience. It uses microphones and many loudspeakers to improve how the theatre sounds.
The Elgin Theatre hosted the first-ever show of the musical Napoleon in 1994. In 1995, it was home to The Who's Tommy musical. From 1996 to 2022, Ross Petty Productions put on fun pantomime shows there every Christmas.
From February 10 to 14, 2004, TV host Conan O'Brien filmed four episodes of his show Late Night with Conan O'Brien at the Elgin Theatre. This visit happened because Toronto wanted to encourage more tourists to visit the city.
The Elgin Theatre also hosted the filming of Bryan Adams in Concert for the TV show Great Performances on PBS. This concert was filmed in July 2014 and first shown on March 1, 2015.
Other Theatres by Thomas Lamb in Canada
- Ed Mirvish Theatre, Toronto
- Uptown Theatre, Toronto
- Capitol Cinema, Ottawa
- The Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts, Brantford
See also
- Opera Atelier
