Toronto's Forgotten Landmarks: A Night at the Roxy
Few of us will recall frequenting Toronto's Allenby Theatre at 1213 Danforth Avenue, even under its later name, The Roxy. This 1930s art deco theater is a perfect example of inter-war architecture and style, and typified the classic neighbourhood theatre, or 'nabe', as author John Sebert calls them, before it was abandoned.
An anonymous tip led me to this spot on a derelict strip in an old part of town. After a daytime scout (and the realization that 80s anti-climb grid, unlike its modern antecessor, acts more like a sideways-ladder), me and a friend returned quite early one evening.
The chief architectural designers of this low-rise theatre were Kaplan & Sprachman, responsible for many of the smaller concert venues and theatres in the area. The popularity of this kind of building peaked in the 1940s, long before the creation of the urban multiplex which began to draw movie-goers out of their individual neighbourhoods.
Thankfully, the Roxy was designated Ontario heritage privileges, but when I took a look at the city council's meeting minutes regarding its future plans, I discovered something dreadful (and dreadfully popular in Toronto): only the facade was given the historical designation. The late Jeff Chapman gave a humorous name to this very Torontonian persuasion - the 'facadiotomy'.
The interior scene of the building as it stands today is akin to something out of a decaying Disney nightmare, or a bad trip at Lucas' Skywalker Ranch. The moldy walls are covered in horrendous renditions of Star Wars and Indiana Jones scenes (done by hand), tacky gold (painted) ornamentation, as well as a bizarre rainbow-unicorn theme. Coupled with no natural light, peeling paint, and an overwhelming smell of water-damaged fabric, it perfectly encapsulates the rise and fall of an utterly ridiculous by modern standards, if somewhat endearing era of film-going.
The peculiar experience of attending this spot in its heyday must have been quite a different experience than visiting a Silvercity, or (insert bank name) centre to see a movie nowadays; maybe all of this is why it was called 'going to the pictures'.
Arguably better than a full-scale demolition, the Esso station that will take the building's spot in the future will have an 'On the Run' mini grocery store with the Roxy's current fronting (the same Esso owners who used to have a small station at the corner of the currently derelict adjacent lot).
The slow death of this theatre could be seen well into the 80s, where during its final years, it aired 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' exclusively; unfortunately, even some of Toronto's more metropolitan independent theatres seem to rely on these niche cult-films for their bread and butter.
Perhaps I spend my nights differently than most, but I have a very special spot for these bits of architecture which history tends to overlook; that there is dignity in the work of the common man, and also in his workplace. Forgotten places dot the landscape, their fences and signs stand as psychological, rather than physical barriers. And the law? Natural Law stands above the laws of man...
Below are the rest of the snaps from this odd old theatre; keep in mind that these are all merely documentation snaps, rather than artistic ones - I will re-visit the spot and update the gallery in following weeks.
Comments (20)
Jonathan,
These sites are fragments our background and identity and I think it's important they're documented. I look forward to seeing your creative captures of this site.
Thanks guys!
I hope to get back in there soon to get some artistic shots (as opposed to mere documentation...which is fun but not as aesthetically pleasing); I am going to try and contact the contractors when work begins, so that I might save some of those tacky (yet oddly nostalgic / beautiful) paintings (I have my eyes on the 'around the world...' one).
: )
Jonathan.
What a fantastic post. The Roxy is one of many derelict theatres in our city that needed to be explored. There are plenty of ground-level and basement theatres hiding behind long-gone facades.
Anyone interested in the history of Toronto's forgotten theatres should check out 32elvismovies.com!
Eric - it's amazing how many there are! I found 2 in Little India just by looking at the roofline-styles of the older buildings (the graduated step-down toward the back) - walked in, took some back passages and stairs, and lo and behold, found myself looking at theatres either abandoned, or used for storage-
There was a HUGE one in the basement of the old Sheraton (now a banquet centre), and there is/was a really neat one buried below yonge and bloor (as well as a disco).
China Town has its fair share as well...
I will definitely check that site, thank you!
Jonathan.
Jonathan, thanks for posting this. I saw "200 Motels" here in the late 70s and smoked pot watching it.
I remember there were so many theatres on College St. especially in the Bathurst and Spadina areas.
Does anyone remember the theatre below the TD Centre?
Also, there's still a sign on a building on Spadina just north of Queen St. where there's a big Golden Harvest theatre in the basement.
I remember when they renovated it back in the late 90s. A whole bunch of money was poured into it to put in DTS sound, stadium seats and curved screens. They made three theatres and was gearing up for a huge opening as the new Roxy Laxmi.
They opened by screening Lake Placid. Yeah, Lake Placid. A bombed aquatic monster movie. They continued to screen that single film in all three auditoriums for well over a month, and then moved to Star Wars Episode I. They had three screens and showed one movie. Those were the only two films I ever saw screened at that theatre.
I went there when they did in hopes of seeing them, but they had just started their final show for the night, and this was at like 9 o'clock. The owner was working there, and was all but pleading for me and my friends to come in and see a movie.
Eventually, around 1999, the theatre was shut down. Officially, the distributors of films apparently found their theatre to be in geographical conflict with the Silver City at Yonge and Eglinton (?!?!), so refused to show movies. They turned into a Tamil theatre, and then went derelict.
Why they didn't decide to stay alive and do what the Bloor & Festival chains did, I'll never know. As I understand it, the owners of the Bloor looked into buying the theatre out, which would have been a godsend, but the owners were asking an insane amount due to the restaurant above it. Four years later and they were still desperate to sell... I didn't know Esso bought it, I had heard Tim Hortons was going to do so.
Goodbye, the Roxy :-(
Wow, what great stories! Feedback like this makes me want to go check out some other theatres I've had my eye on...hmm...
Steve - you are technically correct about Tim Hortons, as one will be 'inside' the 'On The Go' : )
Jonathan.
Wow. I always wondered what the inside of that place looked like. I've lived around the corner for about a year. Who would have thought the place held a Yoda door and a Tan-Tan mural.
Seriously tough, it is a shame it couldn't have survived as a revue theatre like the Bloor. I suspect that with the influx of new people buying homes in the area, a theatre could have survived.
Thanks Jonathan.
I stumbled into this by accident.
This is a wonderful document and you've done a wonderful service.
As I also try to document what's left of Toronto's history, this should be archived, I didn't even know this existed
ahh, i always love these. and how much nicer they look now that the photos are not being saved as gifs!
lovely work, as always.
Love this entry and looking forward to more like it. My family has been in Toronto for many generations and we all have a soft spot for this kind of thing. I'm going to show my dad this entry and I'm sure he'll enjoy it.
PS Personally, I'd sooner see a movie in a charming place like this any day. :)
I have fond memories of going to the Roxy. There were weekend movie marathons featuring gems like "Reefer Madness" and free chili was served to quench the "munchies". You could get high by just walking into the theatre, sometimes films would get interrupted by a seat bursting into flames after a "roach" feel between the cushions and a stoned patron wouldn't notice it until almost fully engulfed. Ah yes..good times, good times. :)
for anyone who is interested here is what it looked like in 1930's:
http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2008/te/bgrd/backgroundfile-9419.pdf
and here is some drawings from the initial building plan (although probably will change slightly, especially since they bought one of the adjacent houses)
http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2008/te/bgrd/backgroundfile-9422.pdf
http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2008/te/bgrd/backgroundfile-9421.pdf
Thanks, Jonathan, for the memories...
I spent more than one weekend at the Roxy's all nighters, watching silliness such as Pink Flamingos. It wasn't about the movies, it was the ambiance!
I remember the Roxy well from the late 70's /early 80's when I went to Rocky Horror every week end as a teenager. It was not really that run down then and I had no idea it was so old. There was The Peanut Gallery adjacent to it ,which sold confetti and Rocky Horror posters, roach clips etc.
One could smoke cigs and dope in there and the people were all regulars who knew each other and would do acid and sing and dance infront of the screen. The place would be covered with confetti afterwards.
The lines to get in were all up the street with drug dealers making a mint[but it was all innocent, really]. Even the ushers ,a long haired, hot one,Byron, who wore a tux jacket and jeans, would sit and have a toke with the young girls.He wore a button on his jean zipper which read:' Ask me. I might.' I am 44 now but recall him from when I was 16.
The architecture and ambiance of this theatre were amazing and it's sad it's fallen into disrepair and have all those ugly paintings in it[which were not there in early 80's]
The Roxy alone made the whole street come alive with excitement.
LOL@ Jimmy. Yes, one could get high just breathing the air. It's a wonder it never got raided by the police. They had to have known what was going on in there.
I LOVED that place. The ticker price then was $3.00 and they had 2 showings of Rocky Horror every Fri and Sat night and then closed for the rest of the week.
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