Cineplex Odeon Humber

Drove by the Humber the other day only to see a large application sign on the front to build a 13 story building on the site! That won't fit into the surrounding area of Bloor West Village! So much for keeping the theatre intact like they did at the nearby Runnymede which is now a Chapters bookstore. You can still see the old theatre there and they did a marvellous job restoring it. Why couldn't someone with imagination turn the Humber into something like that. The old Odeon Danforth-the only other original Odeon in Toronto still standing is now a fitness club and when you go in there you can still see the old long lobby and the theatre itself with the balcony yet! Why couldn't the Humber become a fitness club? Or an event theatre for the west end like the Capitol, York and Eglinton are for North Toronto. Anything to keep that lovely old theatre the way it was. Bloor West village used to be a great entertainment destination with the Runnymede twin and Humber twin and all of the great restaurants and coffee shops mixed in with the stores. Since the Humber closed, I have less reason to go there anymore. Oh well it's Toronto's loss, another old movie palace biting the dust.

I agree. The Chapters at Runnymede did a really good job of keeping the theatre feel. I really liked the Humber, and would walk there from a friend's house who lived in the area. Great neighbourhood theatre. I saw Cider House Rules there. And Scream 3. Great theatre.

Humber is STILL sitting there empty after all these years. What a shame. Made a great "neighbourhood" theatre, something Toronto is sorely lacking.

I totally wish they would do something better withe the project other than more office towers/condos. And consdiering a lot of those new projects are currently stalled as well, provides enough time for somewhere better and more movie inclined to make a run for it. And besides, I still rememebr it being my first movie memory catching Return of the Jedi here *sob*

I am still wondering if there are any chances to contact the company leasing the building to see if one coule go inside to take a bunch of photos if the structure is still intact hmmmmmm

This was always one of my favourite theatres. I worked there as an assistant manager for Canadian Odeon then many more times as a relief projectionist later on in the 80s and 90s. It featured a huge auditorium downstairs and I remember a sweeping staircase down from the main floor, with brass handrails that were polished regularly by the floor staff. And static. LOTS of static zaps! The one thing I remember the most was that I was on duty the day the Blue Jays won their first World Series. I heard Bloor Street erupt while I was sitting in the downstairs booth.

Speaking of which, before it became a one-man theatre, they had two of the most unique booths in Toronto. Downstairs they ran Vic Ten machines (same as the Albion) with 6000' reels and upstairs they had a pair of Gaumont-Kalee GK21's and 2000' reels. They eventually plattered both booths (Drive-in platter downstairs, IIRC, and a Christie AW-3 up) in later years and eliminated the upstairs operator.

Pictures of the Humber, dated 2003-->
http://www.cinematour.com/tour/ca/48.html