Paradise Theatre (Toronto)

The Paradise Theatre is a movie theatre located at 1006 Bloor Street West[1] in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It first opened in 1937, closed in 2006, and was to be turned into a pharmacy.[2][3][4] However, it was restored and re-opened on December 5, 2019.[5] The renovations include luxury features, including an attached restaurant, bar, and table service to the premium patrons in the balcony.[6]

Toronto's Paradise Theatre, in 1937.

Architect Benjamin Brown designed the theatre in the art Deco style.[7] As originally built, the theatre provided 643 seats, 177 of them in a small balcony. It also had a small stage, and two dressing rooms, for live acts.

According to local historian Doug Taylor, the theatre had multiple owners. It showed erotic films in the 1980s that Taylor described as so mild they could be shown on broadcast television today. In the 1990s, until its 2006 closure, it was one of small network of Toronto Repertory Cinemas.

In 2007, the building was given a heritage designation, which, in theory, would prevent it being demolished. However, Taylor noted that Toronto's heritage designation bylaws were weak, and its designation was not a guarantee it would not be torn down.

Moray Tawse bought the building in 2013.[5] In a profile celebrating its re-opening, Toronto Star movie critic Peter Howell wrote that Tawse was motivated to restore it by his love of a cinema of similar vintage where his mother worked, when he was a child.

After Tawse's renovations, the theatre seats 186 patrons on the ground floor, while the balcony has just 22 seats.[5] His renovations include provision for live acts.[6] Tawse's renovations also included turning the small Italian grocery store next door into a restaurant, and adding a second storey to hold a bar - both to open in 2020.

On December 5, 2019, the night of the re-opening, the theatre hosted an instance of the Basement Revue, an ongoing series of live performances.[1]

References
  1. "The Basement Revue". Paradise on Bloor. Retrieved 2019-12-05. As is tradition, each night’s line-up isn’t revealed to the audience or participating talent until each performer takes the stage, creating an exciting atmosphere and adding an extra element of surprise to the evening. Paradise is thrilled to host the series in its thirteenth year, every Thursday night in December.
  2. "Paradise Theatre". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
  3. Doug Taylor (2014). Toronto Theaters and the Golden Age of the Silver Screen. The History Press. pp. 91–92. ISBN 9781626194502.
  4. Doug Taylor (2016). Toronto's Local Movie Theatres of Yesteryear: Brought Back to Thrill You Again. Dundurn Press. pp. 159–160. ISBN 9781459733428.
  5. Peter Howell (2019-12-04). "Once feared lost, the Paradise Theatre is reborn on Bloor Street". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2019-12-05. Tawse cut no corners and spared no expense to realize his vision, but he said he won’t reveal any dollar amounts 'because it would be too embarrassing — I would be thought to be a stupid business person. It makes no economic sense whatsoever, and I’m OK with that.'
  6. Tanya Mok (2019-11-30). "This is what the newly opened Paradise Theatre in Toronto looks like". Blog TO. Retrieved 2019-12-05. The entire space is also completely accessible for the seeing impaired: Paradise worked with the Canadian National Institute For The Blind to install Bluetooth wall beacons throughout the space, which allow people to manouevre Paradise in tandem with a handy app called BlindSquare.
  7. "Toronto's old Paradise movie theatre (Eve's Paradise)". Taylor on History. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
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