Ed Mirvish Theatre

About

The Ed Mirvish Theatre (branded as the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre for naming rights reasons) is a historic performing arts theatre in Toronto, Ontario, located in the Garden District, near Sankofa Square. Owned and operated by Mirvish Productions, the theatre has approximately 2,300 seats across two levels. There are two entrances to the theatre, located at 263 Yonge Street and 244 Victoria Street. Opened in August 1920, the theatre was designed by Thomas W. Lamb to host vaudeville performances and films. The theatre was originally named the Pantages Theatre, after its first manager and theatre magnate Alexander Pantages (1867–1936). From 1930 to 1973, the theatre was named the Imperial Theatre, and, following the 1973 multiplex renovations, was renamed the Imperial Six. In 1989, the original Pantages Theatre name was restored, until 2001 when it was renamed the Canon Theatre under a naming rights agreement. In 2011, after the theatre was acquired by Mirvish Productions, it was renamed the Ed Mirvish Theatre. The name was amended to the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre in 2021 as part of a naming rights agreement with the regional chapter of the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA).

In the early 1900s, theatre magnate Alexander Pantages had steadily built many vaudeville theatres, which became known as the Pantages Theatre Circuit. By 1920, Pantage's entertainment company had owned as many as 30 theaters and controlled several others. All of these venues were located across the western United States and western Canada. Seeking to expand into eastern Canada, Pantages became interested in building a vaudeville venue in Toronto. The Toronto theatre was the easternmost house of the Pantages Theatre Circuit.

The venue, which was named the Pantages Theatre, was designed by theatre architect Thomas W. Lamb and was the largest cinema in Canada at the time (originally 3,373 seats). Although construction of the theatre was commissioned by Famous Players founder Nathan L. Nathanson, Pantages managed and booked performances for the venue.

The Pantages Theatre officially opened on August 28, 1920 as a combination vaudeville and motion picture venue. During the first week of the theatre's opening, there were six acts that performed, which included Sick Abed, High and Dizzy, and On the High Seas.

By 1929, Pantages was involved in a highly publicized legal battle, in which he was charged with the rape of a 17-year-old actress named Eunice Pringle. Pantages was originally convicted and sentenced to 50 years in prison, but his conviction was overturned on appeal. Despite this, the scandal and legal costs severely harmed Pantages. As a result, he was forced to sell his theatres and other assets.

In 1930, Famous Players assumed complete control of the venue. The theatre was renamed the Imperial Theatre, and began only showing movies. This continued until 1972, when the Imperial Theatre closed for renovations. The final movie that played at the theatre was The Godfather.

In 1972, the Imperial Theatre underwent renovations to be divided into six separate cinemas. The design was managed by Toronto architect Mandel Sprachman.

In the theatre, much of the interior was retained while dividing the theatre into six cinemas:

- Cinema 1: Built starting at the edge of the balcony, extending out towards the top half of the stage's proscenium arch

- Cinema 2: Located on the original balcony

- Cinema 4: Built in the original stage house, on the stage. Located underneath Cinema 3, with both Cinemas 3 and 4 being accessed by a long glass walkway that ran the length of the building exterior above Victoria Street.

- Cinemas 5 & 6: Located in the original main floor (orchestra) seating area, divided in half by a partition wall. In addition, the gold leaf and faux marble balustrades were painted over with bolder colours - yellow, red, blue, black, and silver. The walls were now carpeted in red and blue.

On the exterior, the Yonge St. façade was replaced with a new aluminum-paneled front signage without a canopy. The sign featured a large circle opening above the entrance, into a brightly lit open outdoor square with bright modern marquee panels above on three sides. There were six television screens airing movie trailers on each side leading to the entrance doors. However, these television screens were later replaced by poster cases due to visibility problems with sunlight washing out the TV screens and technical problems. [ citation needed ]

In 1973, Mayor David Crombie officially re-opened the venue. Following the renovations, the theatre was renamed the Imperial Six.

Throughout the 1970s and into the early 1980s, the Imperial Six was a financial success for Famous Players. The theatre played all of the big theatrical releases, which included all of the James Bond and Rocky movie releases.

The Imperial Six was located on three separate lots, with two different owners. Famous Players owned the Yonge Street entrance, which bridged an alley and connected to the main building on Victoria Street, and they also owned the front half of the main theatre building, from the centre of the dome to the back wall of the stage house. However, the other half of the main theatre building, from the centre of the dome to the north wall of the main lobby, was leased from Edna Rakas, whose family had owned this section of the property prior to the venue's original construction in 1920.

On May 24, 1986, Famous Players had accidentally allowed their lease on Rakas' part of the property to expire. Rakas rebuffed Famous Players' attempts to renegotiate the lease at a rate that was more favourable to the company. Famous Players were convinced that any other company would not be interested in owning only "half a theatre". Shortly thereafter, Rakas approached Famous Players' main rival, Cineplex Odeon with an offer to take over the lease.

On May 30, 1986, Cineplex CEO Garth Drabinsky met with Rakas and quickly signed the lease. The following day, Cineplex Odeon seized control of their part of the Imperial Six building. This effectively locked Famous Players out of the theatre offices, some of the projection booths, and some of the cinemas. The Supreme Court of Ontario dismissed Famous Players' application of an injunction blocking Cineplex Odeon's lease on June 2, 1986.

Since Cineplex Odeon lacked an entrance on Yonge Street, the company considered gutting their half of the building and creating a new multiplex cinema. However, Cineplex Odeon quickly dropped these plans to preserve the grand lobby, staircase, and other parts of the existing interior. Instead, a plan was made to create a single-screen 800-seat cinema with its own entrance on Victoria Street.

On December 11, 1987, Cineplex Odeon opened the Pantages Cinema. The first film that played at the theatre was Wall Street, starring Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen.