When I was in North Vancouver in 1966 and later in the 70s, there was an Odeon Totem theatre on Lonsdale, would this not be the same one? It was an indoor theater, not a drive-in.
I’ve always wondered WHY they list it as Colossus Toronto. When it first opened it was listed as Colossus Woodbridge which is part of Vaughan, but definitely NOT Toronto.
I was wondering what happened to the terrific photo of this theatre from the old Cinema Treasures site showing “Rally Round the Flag Boys” on the marquee? That was a great shot.
This was opened as one of Famous Players signature brands The Coliseum and was very surprised that Cineplex would have sold it to Empire. Especially when they kept all of the other Coliseums.
Love the new web site! On the old one, there was a place where you could look up theatres by Location, Chain, Number of screens etc..does that feature still exist on the new one?
Especially surprising since New York has the Ziegfeld, Seattle has the Cinerama and Washington has the Uptown. You would think that there would be enough interest in a city like Chicago. Sad indeed.
I wonder how many old, abandoned theatres there are still left in New York. I mean there is this one, plus Loews Kings, Loews Canal, I think a couple of old RKOs….would be interesting to know how many are left.
I would imagine a condo development just like the Tridel one with several towers will be built on the Westwood property and that big patch of land next door. I’ve also read that a grocery store of some kind is badly needed in the area, so maybe that would be included in any development.
The provincial court house that was to be built on this site has been cancelled in the latest provincial budget, so it looks like this will be sold off, probably to condos according to the local city counsellor in the area. So don’t know if the theatre will be torn down this spring as planned, or just sit there empty for years to come. What a shame…
Don’t know what’s going on with this theatre. For the past couple of weeks, they’ve only been showing about a dozen films and only from about 3 in the afternoon. So obviously about half of their screens are closed. Doesn’t mention anything on the AMC website about renovations etc.
Ahh the Hyland. Another one of my favourites (with the Hollywood next door). I remember growing up in the 60s when all of these places were still single screen theatres (Hyland, Fairlawn, Runnymede, Humber, Uptown, Imperial etc) and my favourite spot was the front row of the balcony. And I remember the Westwood when it was one big theatre before they added on the Westwood “Cinema” in 1968…those were the days.
Ahh the Hyland. Another one of my favourites (with the Hollywood next door). I remember growing up in the 60s when all of these places were still single screen theatres (Hyland, Fairlawn, Runnymede, Humber, Uptown, Imperial etc) and my favourite spot was the front row of the balcony. And I remember the Westwood when it was one big theatre before they added on the Westwood “Cinema” in 1968…those were the days.
I always thought on Dundas in the Cloverdale Mall area would have been a good spot. Or replace that awful Honeydale Mall with a SilverCity, that could have been a good site. Or they could have just built it on the Westwood site including that big empty property to the east of it. It could have been called SilverCity Westwood. I used to live in an apartment building on the 18th floor facing west (from 1980-93) and could see the Westwood from my balcony. Could look over and see how busy it was by checking out the parking lot.
I remember years ago writing to then Famous Players president John Bailey asking if they had any plans to build a new SilverCity in Etobicoke to replace all the closures (Westwood, Skyline, Skyway 6) and he said no but that the nearby Coliseum by Square One was open! Anyone knowing the Toronto area will know that the Coliseum is nowhere near central Etobicoke and you would definitely need a car to get there. He had actually given me bus routes to get there. It would take ages to get to Square One by bus. Anyway while North York and Scarborough got several new multiplexes, Etobicoke only got the Queensway 18 which is beautiful, but it’s more or less in Southern Etobicoke so between that and the Woodbine Centre in the north, there is nothing in the central area
I remember after the Canada Square 8 opened, the big pictures would open at the York, stay a few weeks or more and then move over to Canada Square to continue their run, sometimes lasting weeks. It was the perfect set up. Yes, of all the theatres we’ve lost over the years, the York is one of the ones I really miss. But at least it was open for over 30 years, which is longer than the magnificent Odeon Carlton, which lasted for only about 25.
I recently heard something about a condo called The Madison will be built on the south side of Eglinton taking up the whole block, so alas the once beautiful original Odeon York will be coming down. That is why the Yorkville Club broke it’s lease early. Saw a lot of great pictures there at the York, a lot of them in 70MM in the big York 1 upstairs. Loved that curved glass enclosed staircase that led up and down to the cinemas from the main lobby.
This is exactly what happened to the Cineplex Odeon Fairview 9 in St Catharines. The mall kicked them out to build a Winners store. Cineplex said at the time they didn’t want to leave the mall. This happened a few years ago, you would think that Cineplex would have found another location to replace it, especially in the northern part of the city, north of the QEW where the Fairview was located. I wonder if they will re-build in this part of Richmond, or just go with the Silvercity Riverport there.
I remember I was so shocked when Sherway Gardens mall across the street from here opened in 1971 and didn’t have a theatre in it. By that time there were several malls in the Toronto area that had at least one screen, or twins but Sherway never did. That’s why it was so exciting when this was opened in 1987 with 9 screens! Which was a lot in those days.
When I was in North Vancouver in 1966 and later in the 70s, there was an Odeon Totem theatre on Lonsdale, would this not be the same one? It was an indoor theater, not a drive-in.
I’ve always wondered WHY they list it as Colossus Toronto. When it first opened it was listed as Colossus Woodbridge which is part of Vaughan, but definitely NOT Toronto.
I was wondering what happened to the terrific photo of this theatre from the old Cinema Treasures site showing “Rally Round the Flag Boys” on the marquee? That was a great shot.
This was opened as one of Famous Players signature brands The Coliseum and was very surprised that Cineplex would have sold it to Empire. Especially when they kept all of the other Coliseums.
Sounds like Westwood village isn’t such a great place after all. What a shame…
Thanks Ross! I couldn’t see it for looking! LOL
Love the new web site! On the old one, there was a place where you could look up theatres by Location, Chain, Number of screens etc..does that feature still exist on the new one?
Just goes to show you how stupid and short sighted the city council of Cape May NJ is. Such a shame.
Especially surprising since New York has the Ziegfeld, Seattle has the Cinerama and Washington has the Uptown. You would think that there would be enough interest in a city like Chicago. Sad indeed.
The posting here will have to be changed to just the “Humber Cinema” since it’s no longer a Cineplex Odeon.
40 weeks.
I don’t think it’s closed, just checked their website and it showed me their showtimes.
I wonder how many old, abandoned theatres there are still left in New York. I mean there is this one, plus Loews Kings, Loews Canal, I think a couple of old RKOs….would be interesting to know how many are left.
I would imagine a condo development just like the Tridel one with several towers will be built on the Westwood property and that big patch of land next door. I’ve also read that a grocery store of some kind is badly needed in the area, so maybe that would be included in any development.
The provincial court house that was to be built on this site has been cancelled in the latest provincial budget, so it looks like this will be sold off, probably to condos according to the local city counsellor in the area. So don’t know if the theatre will be torn down this spring as planned, or just sit there empty for years to come. What a shame…
Don’t know what’s going on with this theatre. For the past couple of weeks, they’ve only been showing about a dozen films and only from about 3 in the afternoon. So obviously about half of their screens are closed. Doesn’t mention anything on the AMC website about renovations etc.
Ahh the Hyland. Another one of my favourites (with the Hollywood next door). I remember growing up in the 60s when all of these places were still single screen theatres (Hyland, Fairlawn, Runnymede, Humber, Uptown, Imperial etc) and my favourite spot was the front row of the balcony. And I remember the Westwood when it was one big theatre before they added on the Westwood “Cinema” in 1968…those were the days.
Ahh the Hyland. Another one of my favourites (with the Hollywood next door). I remember growing up in the 60s when all of these places were still single screen theatres (Hyland, Fairlawn, Runnymede, Humber, Uptown, Imperial etc) and my favourite spot was the front row of the balcony. And I remember the Westwood when it was one big theatre before they added on the Westwood “Cinema” in 1968…those were the days.
I always thought on Dundas in the Cloverdale Mall area would have been a good spot. Or replace that awful Honeydale Mall with a SilverCity, that could have been a good site. Or they could have just built it on the Westwood site including that big empty property to the east of it. It could have been called SilverCity Westwood. I used to live in an apartment building on the 18th floor facing west (from 1980-93) and could see the Westwood from my balcony. Could look over and see how busy it was by checking out the parking lot.
I remember years ago writing to then Famous Players president John Bailey asking if they had any plans to build a new SilverCity in Etobicoke to replace all the closures (Westwood, Skyline, Skyway 6) and he said no but that the nearby Coliseum by Square One was open! Anyone knowing the Toronto area will know that the Coliseum is nowhere near central Etobicoke and you would definitely need a car to get there. He had actually given me bus routes to get there. It would take ages to get to Square One by bus. Anyway while North York and Scarborough got several new multiplexes, Etobicoke only got the Queensway 18 which is beautiful, but it’s more or less in Southern Etobicoke so between that and the Woodbine Centre in the north, there is nothing in the central area
I remember after the Canada Square 8 opened, the big pictures would open at the York, stay a few weeks or more and then move over to Canada Square to continue their run, sometimes lasting weeks. It was the perfect set up. Yes, of all the theatres we’ve lost over the years, the York is one of the ones I really miss. But at least it was open for over 30 years, which is longer than the magnificent Odeon Carlton, which lasted for only about 25.
I recently heard something about a condo called The Madison will be built on the south side of Eglinton taking up the whole block, so alas the once beautiful original Odeon York will be coming down. That is why the Yorkville Club broke it’s lease early. Saw a lot of great pictures there at the York, a lot of them in 70MM in the big York 1 upstairs. Loved that curved glass enclosed staircase that led up and down to the cinemas from the main lobby.
This is exactly what happened to the Cineplex Odeon Fairview 9 in St Catharines. The mall kicked them out to build a Winners store. Cineplex said at the time they didn’t want to leave the mall. This happened a few years ago, you would think that Cineplex would have found another location to replace it, especially in the northern part of the city, north of the QEW where the Fairview was located. I wonder if they will re-build in this part of Richmond, or just go with the Silvercity Riverport there.
Well said Michael. Thank you.
I remember I was so shocked when Sherway Gardens mall across the street from here opened in 1971 and didn’t have a theatre in it. By that time there were several malls in the Toronto area that had at least one screen, or twins but Sherway never did. That’s why it was so exciting when this was opened in 1987 with 9 screens! Which was a lot in those days.