CircEsteem

The very first photo you posted, BW, really brings back nice memories. The four line marquee; above it the name LAKESIDE, was in orange neon, if I remember correctly. This I know for sure: under the letter E in LAKESIDE was the box office. Look closely and you’ll see the box office was on a slight angle. It faced south. The entrance doors were also on an angle, facing east. Just to the side of the box office,facing south (not visible in the photo) was space for two 28x22 posters advertising movies coming in a few days…TUES. WED. THURS., for example. Sometimes, management would display posters on the entrance doors…inserts, those 14 by 36 posters. Just past the southern most entrance door…looking left at the photo…was the mens washroom. If you were standing outside the theatre, you could see people going in and out of the washroom, and a small part of the room. Not a very big lobby! Just past the box office, you came to the ticket taker. Past him, and to the right, was the concession stand(facing south).Getting to the auditorium was just a few steps west. Although the lobby was relatively small, the auditorium was fairly large for a neighborhood theatre. Patrons watching movies faced west;the screen faced east. The theatre was super comfortable… in the winter, it was toasty warm; in the summer I remember it being VERY cool. My earliest memory of the Lakeside: I was 8 or 9, my parents dropped me off to see “DAY THE WORLD ENDED”, “PHANTOM FROM 10,000 LEAGUES”, and “BEAST WITH A MILLION EYES”. A great triple feature for a kid. A great theatre.

An extremely colorful tile mural has been applied across the first story of the building. Out of keeping with the architecture but all in all not bad.

The Lakeside was a fairly small, but very comfortable theatre just a few blocks directly east of the Riviera theatre, on Sheridan Rd. In the late ‘50s, would sometimes show second run double features for a full week, after they played downtown. I remember seeing “THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN” plus “CAT GIRL” also “THE MAN WHO TURNED TO STONE” plus “ZOMBIES OF MORA TAU”. But, for the most part,the Lakeside had a 3 change a week policy:Fri. and Sat. ,Sun. and Mon., and Tues. Wed. Thurs. Triple features on the weekend, and a double feature midweek. In the early '60s, really enjoyed going to the Lakeside Tuesday or Wednesday for the more adult fare:third run showings (after they played downtown and the Uptown or Riviera) of “LOLITA”, “LADY IN A CAGE” ,“WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?” and a real find for a teenage guy: Lola Albright in “A COLD WIND IN AUGUST”. A nice variety of movies- for 50 cents admission,as I recall.One of the last movies to play the Lakeside was “MISTER MOSES”. Theatre closed in late '65 or early '66.