Boy, when I was a kid it was impossible to walk along any busy street in Toronto and not pass a movie theatre. The vast majority of these neighbourhood movie houses were privately owned and operated. The flicks they showed were very rarely first run films, that was left to the studio chains such as 20th Century. The Parliament was possibly the only one that showed first run movies in the Cabbagetown area.

I have heard many times that television nearly killed Hollywood and, after viewing some of these shows closing dates, I'd have to agree. Many of them seemed to have given up the ghost in the early to mid fifties during television's golden years.

Cabbagetown had it's fair share of movie houses, and a lot more that were well within a half-hour walking distance. My favourite was the Gay at Parliament and Dundas. Up until 1954 it had been known as the Bluebell; at this time it was renovated and renamed. It was owned by Mr. Zelig Unger who ruled it with an iron fist on Saturday afternoons. This was because of the rowdy kids that attended. There was even a guy there whose job it was to toss out any misbehaving kids. It was not uncommon to receive a boot to the ass upon ejection.

Ted Plantos once commented that Mr. Unger looked quite a bit like Edward G. Robinson of movie gangster fame. When I thought about it I had to agree. I remember him standing out front before the matinees, always in a suit and tie, blocking troublemaking kids from entering the theatre. The bouncer who was also the ticket taker stopped the ones that he missed. It seemed to me that Mr. Unger's eyes gleamed as kid after kid slapped their quarters down at the box office. The Saturday matinee always guaranteed a full house. This was before theatres were allowed to open on Sundays in Toronto. So it was the Saturday matinee or nothing.

Another area show that was down at Queen and Tracy was the Empire. I could only describe this place as being the worst dump I'd ever been in. The place was about as rundown as possible with torn seats and gaping holes in the screen. Unlike the Gay, it was easy to sneak in but was rumoured to be infested with rats, and I had a morbid fear of rats even though I'd never seen a real one. I had this fear because a neighbour's baby had had it's hand gnawed on by a rat while resting in it's crib. So I usually steered clear of the Empire.

The Parliament, which was probably the classiest joint around, had photo nights on Thursdays. A couple of kids accompanied by two adults would be admitted free and get an autographed picture of whoever was starring in the film that was showing at the time. If our parents didn't feel like going we'd just wait until some adults that we knew came along and get them to bring us in. Due to a severe lack of money we had to get our freebies any way we could.

Although I’d been in most of the theatres within a reasonable distance to my home there is one that I never got around to visiting that I wish I had. That was the Island Theatre on Centre Island. My family used spend a great deal of time on Centre Island before the city tore down all the houses there, but that‘s another story. There was just so many things to do over there that I never got around to attending that movie house.

Below is a list of theatres that are no longer around with one or two exceptions. I only concentrated on the ones located east of Yonge Street because that’s where I lived. At the bottom of this page are links to a couple of very good sites that I researched this material from. I suggest that you visit them if you would like more info on Toronto theatres both past and present.

Ace - See Iola

Allen - Tivoli Theatre 17 Richmond E. closed 1973

Allenby Theatre 1215 Danforth closed 1970

Avalon Theatre 2923 Danforth closed 1955

Bayview Theatre 605 Bayview closed 1961

Beach Theatre 1971 Queen E. closed 1970

Belsize Theatre 551 Mt. Plesant closed 1950

Birchcliff Theatre Kingston Road at Warden closed 1974

Bluebell - Gay Theatre 309 Parliament closed 1964

Bonita Theatre 1035 Gerrard E. closed 1964

Broadview Theatre 348 Broadview closed 1945

Cameo Theatre 989 Pape closed 1957

Carlton Theatre 511 Parliament closed 1954

Century - See Danforth

Classic Theatre 1300 Gerrard E. closed 1956

Community Theatre 1202 Woodbine closed 1955

Crown Theatre 589 Gerrard closed 1956

Danforth Theatre - Century 151 Danforth now the Music Hall

Donlands Theatre 397 Donlands Ave. closed 1969

Eastwood Theatre 1430 Gerrard E. closed 1966

Eclipse Theatre 387 Parliament closed 1951

Elane Theatre Eglinton and Danforth Rd. closed 1985

Empire - See Rialto

Esquire - See Rialto

Family Theatre Queen and Lee closed 1948

Fox Theatre 2236 Queen E. Still Operating

Gay - See Bluebell

Gerrard Theatre 1908 Gerrard E. closed 1953

Granada Theatre 413-7 Danforth closed 1960

Grover Theatre 2714 Danforth closed 1956

Guild Theatre 1275 Gerrard closed 1951

Ideal Theatre 210 Main Street closed 1952

Iola - Ace Theatre 605 Danforth closed 1954

Island Theatre, Centre Island closed 1955

Joy - See Rex

Kingswood Theatre 992 Kinston Rd. closed 1938

La Plaza Theatre 735 Queen E. closed 1958

La Reta Theatre - Pape Theatre 336 Pape closed 1955

Lake Theatre 2173 Queen East closed 1953

Manor 202 Kingston Rd. closed 1940

Model Theatre 416 Danforth closed 1933

Oxford Theatre 1510 Danforth closed 1955

Palace Theatre 664 Danforth closed 1987

Parliament Theatre 427 Parliament closed 1963

Prince of Wales Theatre 2094 Danforth closed 1966

Queen Theatre 1574 Queen E. closed 1944

Regent Theatre 225 Queen E. closed 1950

Rex - Joy Theatre 1130 Queen E. closed 1953

Rialto - Esquire - Empire Theatre 408 Queen E. closed 1955

Scarboro Theatre 958-60 Kingston Rd. closed 1966

Tivoli - See Allen

Towne Cinema 57 Bloor E. closed 1985

Victoria Theatre 83 Victoria Street closed 1952