Once a palace, now a Barn. The façade is all that's left of the former University Theatre on Bloor. (Photo by Simon P.)In 1984, I finally made the move to the Big Smoke. I'd known I'd be living here for as long as I can remember. My family used to come to the city from the 'burbs only for the CNE, special occasions, and birthday events, so it was always a thrill. Every form of entertainment seemed available here; all seemed possible. On one trip to the CNE, I remember getting so worked up on the way that I had to clamp my hands over my mouth for the entire length of the Don Valley Parkway to keep from barfing in the car. As soon as we'd parked just outside the Princes' Gates and dismounted, I belched once and was fine.
Anyway, since moving here, I've watched some of my favourite parts of the city and my life here disappear, so this is a tribute to each of them and to the many pleasures they once provided. In some cases, I was present for the last hurrah of these Toronto cultural icons, for which I am now supremely grateful. So here's the first half of my top ten list of post-9/84 T.O. favourites:
1) The University Theatre. One of the late lamented downtown single-screen cinemas, this giant on Bloor near Avenue Road disappeared in 1986, and is now nothing more than another retail façade. Favourite University memory: seeing Aliens with my friend Niki and practically crawling under my seat in terror.Opening day at the University, 1948. Photo: www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/on-line-exhibits/theatres/big/university_ext.aspx
2) The Ontario Place Forum. Was it just the all-inclusive, feel-good, come-one-come-all hippie attitude of the place that made the Forum such an excellent place to see a summer concert, or was it the fabulous views of the city from the top of the faux hills? Either way, the Molson Amphitheatre is for many of us a cold and soulless substitute. Apparently some performers weren't fans of this venue (I remember Steve Wright cursing a single-engine plane buzzing overhead for ruining a punchline), but there was nowhere better (with the possible exception of the Dream in High Park) for gourmet picnicking while listening to great performances. Favourite Forum memory: Attending the very last Forum event, a Toronto Symphony concert at the end of the summer of '94, and staying behind in the early evening sun, taking pictures and saying goodbye to the beautiful green bowl with the spinning stage.
2) The Ontario Place Forum. Was it just the all-inclusive, feel-good, come-one-come-all hippie attitude of the place that made the Forum such an excellent place to see a summer concert, or was it the fabulous views of the city from the top of the faux hills? Either way, the Molson Amphitheatre is for many of us a cold and soulless substitute. Apparently some performers weren't fans of this venue (I remember Steve Wright cursing a single-engine plane buzzing overhead for ruining a punchline), but there was nowhere better (with the possible exception of the Dream in High Park) for gourmet picnicking while listening to great performances. Favourite Forum memory: Attending the very last Forum event, a Toronto Symphony concert at the end of the summer of '94, and staying behind in the early evening sun, taking pictures and saying goodbye to the beautiful green bowl with the spinning stage.
3) The Uptown Theatre. This one lasted till just a few years ago (2003), but came to not just a sad, but a tragic end, when a botched demolition led to the collapse of an adjacent building, killing a student. Favourite Uptown memory: Seeing a final TIFF screening just before the theatre closed for good and getting a backstage tour (that is, a tour of the Uptown's shuttered "annex," the Backstage 1 & 2 on Balmuto St.) from one of the long-time ushers.
4) Exhibition Stadium. O.K., so when the weather gods were agin ya', it could be nasty perched in an upper row facing the onshore winds, but when the same gods smiled, there was nowhere better, in my opinion, to see a stadium show. Razed in 1999. Favourite stadium memory: There are at least two: The first was seeing Pink Floyd's Division Bell tour in '94 on a balmy summer's evening, with the aromatic clouds of smoke that drifted up over the bleachers providing a communal high as Floyd's recorded birds chirruped; the second was the experience of being part of a near-delirious crowd attending the Bruce Springsteen concert in July '84. We had seats on the field, but only nominally; everyone was not just standing on their chairs, they were standing on the backs of their chairs, and even then, all we could see was a little pink dot (Bruce's shirt) on the distant stage. We didn't care; it was the hottest ticket in town, and he was great. Even better: we won the tickets on the radio!
Photo by Jonathan Goldsbie.5) The Festival Theatre chain. Luckily, though the organization that was the Festival theatres is gone, several of the individual venues continue to function as neighbourhood repertory movie houses. The former members of the chain—the Revue, the Kingsway, the Fox, the Royal, and the Paradise—provided cheap and nostalgic venues to catch second-run movies, as well as a chance for a bit of architectural time-travel. And the monthly Festival newspaper was fantastic. The Revue, Kingsway, Royal, and Fox (which never closed despite the failure of the chain), have all risen from the ashes in various new forms, but they'll never again be siblings. Favourite Festival memory: Attending the round of final screenings and scoring some one-sheet movie posters as a parting gift. Oh, and all those nights when I ventured out to a movie solo but never felt alone.
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