Unfortunately, it was announced today that the drive-in has now closed:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/04/11/torontos-only-drive-in-movie-theatre-is-closing.html
The above link from the Ontario Government Archives no longer works; here is the text regarding the Esquire:
“The Esquire Theatre in Southampton was a primitive operation even for its time. An inspector pointed out in 1943 that there were no toilets of any kind in the building,and not even a wash-basin! After WWII, the Chief Inspector required that the building be upgraded, stating that “as you are no doubt aware, the Esquire Theatre does
not meet with present day building regulations passed under the Theatres and Cinematographs Act. During the years of the War, we hesitated to order replacement or
major alterations due to materials and labour being in very short supply. However, we now feel that steps must be taken to eliminate such hazardous situations and this
is to advise you that the Provincial license will not be renewed upon expiry date of May 31st, 1949. You are being advised at this time so that plans may be formulated
for a replacement of the existing building or, if feasible, major alterations” (RG 56-9-0-67-3). The owner was unable to finance the extensive renovations, and sold the theatre to Southampton Enterprises. The theatre remained in operation until 1974, although in its last years it was only open during the summer tourist season.”
The theatre switched from running censored pornography as the Eden to first run movies as the Bloor on March 16, 1979. It later became a repertory house, while retaining the Bloor name, and that is how most Toronto cinephiles remember it most fondly.
Looks like AMC may have finally pulled the plug on this place. As of today (May 9th, 2014), there are no movie listings available anywhere for the theatre and the showtimes phone number (416-335-5323) is no longer working.
If the Interchange 30 has indeed closed, their final line-up was:
2 States, About Last Night, American Hustle,
Endless Love,
Frozen,
Gravity,
Her,
The LEGO Movie,
The Monuments Men,
Mr. Peabody & Sherman,
Non-Stop,
Philomena,
Ride Along,
300: Rise of an Empire,
In the book Xerox Ferox, writer Jimmy McDonough describes the Cameo as being the “most extreme” theatre he ever set foot in, describing it as “Calcutta with four walls and a movie screen.” (pg. 147)
This entry needs to be updated to include the Uptown Backstage 1 & 2, two additional screens operating on the other side of the building, that opened on May 20th, 1970. I will add an advertisement for the opening to the photo section.
The drive-in installed a Christie digital projector and began its new life as a digital venue on April 5th, 2013 with a double feature of OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN and THE CALL.
It has been announced that, starting Feb. 1st, 2013, there will be a name change to Big Picture Cinemas. The new website URL is http://www.bigpicturecinema.com/
The two locations will be known as Big Picture Gerrard (the address noted above) and Big Picture Metro, the old Metro Theatre. Not clear yet whether there will be another attempt to introduce mainstream programming into the Metro, whose Cinema Treasures listing is here:
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/896
The attempt to add mainstream programming to the Metro was a predictable failure. While horror and schlock audiences may have been willing to attend a dumpy old porn theatre, no one else was. During the fall of 2012, the Metro advertised a series of mainstream movies, but it was not clear how many of them were even shown. I stopped by at the beginning of November for the advertised “Pythonfest” screenings of MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL and LIFE OF BRIAN only to be told that, no, the theatre was showing porn that night. When I called the Projection Booth the next day for an explanation, I was told that the house belonging to the Metro’s owner had been robbed, thus he wasn’t at the theatre that night and the other person there (some older guy named Warren) didn’t know how to run the digital projector, hence them showing porn instead. Bizarre. At any rate, as of January 2013, the Metro is still listed on the Projection Booth’s website, but nothing is scheduled, so it is presumably back to its all-adult programming.
The theatre closed on Aug. 28th, 1975 with WHITE LINE FEVER, a considerably more mainstream feature than Cinecity’s usual fare.
The theatres closed on February 20th, 2022 with a free showing of the original JUMANJI.
https://www.bayshorebroadcasting.ca/2022/02/18/port-elgin-cinemas-movie-theatre-closing-after-this-weekend/
Should be 1987
An action sequence was shot here for the film NIGHTMARE AT NOON: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100261/locations
Unfortunately, it was announced today that the drive-in has now closed: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/04/11/torontos-only-drive-in-movie-theatre-is-closing.html
That 1961 date can’t be correct because the first two films on the bill came out in 1965 and the other two in 1964.
Unfortunately, the drive-in has now permanently closed and the screens were torn down yesterday: http://923thedock.com/owen-sound-twin-drive-torn/
This isn’t the Guelph Mustang Drive-In.
The above link from the Ontario Government Archives no longer works; here is the text regarding the Esquire:
“The Esquire Theatre in Southampton was a primitive operation even for its time. An inspector pointed out in 1943 that there were no toilets of any kind in the building,and not even a wash-basin! After WWII, the Chief Inspector required that the building be upgraded, stating that “as you are no doubt aware, the Esquire Theatre does not meet with present day building regulations passed under the Theatres and Cinematographs Act. During the years of the War, we hesitated to order replacement or major alterations due to materials and labour being in very short supply. However, we now feel that steps must be taken to eliminate such hazardous situations and this is to advise you that the Provincial license will not be renewed upon expiry date of May 31st, 1949. You are being advised at this time so that plans may be formulated for a replacement of the existing building or, if feasible, major alterations” (RG 56-9-0-67-3). The owner was unable to finance the extensive renovations, and sold the theatre to Southampton Enterprises. The theatre remained in operation until 1974, although in its last years it was only open during the summer tourist season.”
http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/explore/travelling/documents/ontario-movie-theatres.pdf
This theatre closed at the end of 2014.
The theatre switched from running censored pornography as the Eden to first run movies as the Bloor on March 16, 1979. It later became a repertory house, while retaining the Bloor name, and that is how most Toronto cinephiles remember it most fondly.
Article on the Metro’s sale and the plans the new owner has for the site:
http://www.torontolife.com/informer/toronto-real-estate/2014/05/30/someone-paid-2-9-million-metro-theatre-wants-turn-gym/
“The twin-screen, two-story theater concluded its comeback run on Saturday evening with a screening of ‘The Monuments Men.’”
The theatre was showing this a month after it hit DVD? Were they still running 35mm? If so, I’d imagine that was a major reason for their decision.
Looks like AMC may have finally pulled the plug on this place. As of today (May 9th, 2014), there are no movie listings available anywhere for the theatre and the showtimes phone number (416-335-5323) is no longer working.
If the Interchange 30 has indeed closed, their final line-up was:
2 States, About Last Night, American Hustle, Endless Love, Frozen, Gravity, Her, The LEGO Movie, The Monuments Men, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Non-Stop, Philomena, Ride Along, 300: Rise of an Empire,
Looks like the curtain has finally come down for the Metro:
http://dailyxtra.com/toronto/news/metro-theatre-closed-good
In the book Xerox Ferox, writer Jimmy McDonough describes the Cameo as being the “most extreme” theatre he ever set foot in, describing it as “Calcutta with four walls and a movie screen.” (pg. 147)
See the photo section for the ad announcing the original theatre’s opening on Aug. 5, 1970.
Opened March 20th, 1970.
This entry needs to be updated to include the Uptown Backstage 1 & 2, two additional screens operating on the other side of the building, that opened on May 20th, 1970. I will add an advertisement for the opening to the photo section.
Article about a conflict between the owners of the cinema:
http://www.blogto.com/city/2013/04/projection_booth_cinema_mired_in_internal_conflict/
Both the interior and exterior of the theatre are featured in the Chuck Norris thriller HERO AND THE TERROR (1988).
The drive-in installed a Christie digital projector and began its new life as a digital venue on April 5th, 2013 with a double feature of OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN and THE CALL.
It has been announced that, starting Feb. 1st, 2013, there will be a name change to Big Picture Cinemas. The new website URL is http://www.bigpicturecinema.com/
The two locations will be known as Big Picture Gerrard (the address noted above) and Big Picture Metro, the old Metro Theatre. Not clear yet whether there will be another attempt to introduce mainstream programming into the Metro, whose Cinema Treasures listing is here: http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/896
The attempt to add mainstream programming to the Metro was a predictable failure. While horror and schlock audiences may have been willing to attend a dumpy old porn theatre, no one else was. During the fall of 2012, the Metro advertised a series of mainstream movies, but it was not clear how many of them were even shown. I stopped by at the beginning of November for the advertised “Pythonfest” screenings of MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL and LIFE OF BRIAN only to be told that, no, the theatre was showing porn that night. When I called the Projection Booth the next day for an explanation, I was told that the house belonging to the Metro’s owner had been robbed, thus he wasn’t at the theatre that night and the other person there (some older guy named Warren) didn’t know how to run the digital projector, hence them showing porn instead. Bizarre. At any rate, as of January 2013, the Metro is still listed on the Projection Booth’s website, but nothing is scheduled, so it is presumably back to its all-adult programming.
Backing up the previous comments, you can see in this video that the theatre is indeed closed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vcgFkJ9RBI