University Theatre
100 Bloor Street W,
Toronto,
ON
M5S 1M4
100 Bloor Street W,
Toronto,
ON
M5S 1M4
9 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Famous Players
Architects: Eric W. Hounsom
Styles: Streamline Moderne
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- May 21, 2010 — Happy 30th, "Empire"
- Nov 18, 2009 — Happy 50th, "Ben-Hur"
- Aug 21, 2009 — "Alien" 30th Anniversary
- Aug 15, 2009 — "Apocalypse Now" 30th Anniversary
- Nov 19, 2008 — Remembering Cinerama (Part 12: Toronto)
Opened on March 25, 1949, the University Theatre was one of the first movie theaters in North America to not only feature 70mm projection, but also a THX Dolby Surround Sound system. It was a good-sized theatre with a balcony so large that there was a snack bar on it as well as on the main floor.
It was a very popular theatre for its entire run and screened several significant premieres, including "Apocalypse Now" and a special double bill of "Star Wars" and "The Empire Strikes Back" with a rare preview for the trailer of "Return of the Jedi" before it came out and was known as "Revenge of the Jedi."
Despite a petition of over 25,000 people, it was closed when the property value became too great to continue operating as a theatre. The University Theatre was demolished in 1986 and, today, only its rebuilt facade remains, fronting a newly constructed retail structure.
Contributed by
J.D. Lafrance
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Recent comments (view all 50 comments)
To both GiLG and chuckkahn: Come on people, get a life. Give Mr. Taylor and us a break.
To the taunting jerryross: Why should Mr. Taylor get a break for putting out a book full of errors? If there is a more suitable medium for addressing the errors in Mr. Taylor’s book, please point the way. Otherwise, let’s applaud GiLG’s efforts at documenting them.
Chuck, Thank you for your comments. Much appreciated. I was surprised by jerryross’s post. I would have thought that anyone using this site would want the most accurate details possible. But in this particular case, I guess not. Very puzzling.
Oh, and Chuck, I forgot to mention something about your comment about this book being on library shelves. The Toronto Public Library has 19 print copies in branches across their system (including one in the Reference Library), and e-book downloads. And the University of Toronto has 5 copies (one each located in Innis College, St. Michael’s College, Victoria and University Colleges, and The Robarts Library, the University’s main humanities and social sciences research facility. So this is why I’m so concerned about the dissemination of inaccurate information.
GilG, this is really disturbing that our libraries are being used to disseminate inaccurate information. What was your count for the number of errors in Mr. Taylor’s book?
If you really want inaccurate information go to any historical society.
Why not publish a book with the accurate information and make sure its in the libraries mentioned. That way the accurate information will be out there.
1962 photo added via below link.
https://torontolife.com/city/life/remember-heritage-minutes-guy-creates-toronto-minutes/?fbclid=IwAR0a55a0SXXfCYuVTT0HxlWa6rr7ZtHlMqwadp79MqaHMw7PNZJ7wRKLlG4
1959 picture added to Photos section
Here’s a new 4-page 50th anniversary FIDDLER ON THE ROOF retrospective featuring a roadshow playdate chronology and historian Q&A. The University’s 57-week run is mentioned in the piece.