Westwood Theatre
Toronto,
ON
3 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 36 comments found
Yeah since they took down the basics there by Power the closest ones are the Basics and No Frills by East Mall and Dundas, not bad for the driving set, but a little off the beaten track for the condo guys there.
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.
Yeah one of my friends works for the ministry of housing and this announcement came across his desk, he actually lives at the Tridel block across the street and says its a shame. With it being the city owned land would have been at least great if a brand new project is just going to be built there it would be good for the former site to be finally brought down so they would have an easier time to flip it. Every time I drive by the theatre and keep seeing it wear further and further down getting pretty bummed.
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…
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.
Yeah it is pretty weird that happened, but outside of expropriating the land at the Westwood site, i Have the feeling that there wasnt too many sites in the central etobicoke area where they could have put it without a lot of money invested with the heavy urban areas and industrial. Only real thing I can think of maybe is actually putting one actually in Sherway Plaza finally?
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
Yeah I found the article and it is going to be a shame for sure that it went derelict for so long, although would have required a lot of work to at least convert it back to auditoriums since the property was gutted on the inside into office space which is tragic in itself. And yeah would have been cool if they found a way to make it work since the Kingsway reopened a few years ago and although it is still being pushed back that Humber Odeon is well along the way to getting there.
I remember reading in my local newspaper that it will probably be torn down this spring, so we shall see. Imagine all the movies that could have played there these last 12 years! Such a shame. The Kingsway is back open, the Humber is re-opening, I’m sure the Westwood could have worked too.
Has anyone actually heard when the actual Westwood is being brought down? Last time I heard the courtrooms and redevelopment of the cloverleaf were about to begin….. still really missed this space.
A quick post on the opening night of the Westwood over at Silent Toronto.
We hated when they added the outdoor poster doors.
http://www.chaseclub.com/westwood.jpg
Originally the posters were displayed inside on frames. After they added these guys we had to go out and unscrew 3 allen screws and tape the posters inside. This was ok most of the year but in winter it was bitterly cold. You couldn’t wear gloves because the space was so small…
I worked here from 1980-1984 and lived through the splitting of the big theatre into 2 smaller ones. We originally wore blue suit jackets – later replaced with icky polyester brown jackets with beige Famous Players bowties.
Save the Westwood Theatre Sign! Join the Facebook group today! Don’t let this Toronto landmark wind up in a land fill site. Get more info here: View link
City council has given the green light to construct a new Court house on the Westwood lands, so I guess the old building won’t be standing much longer. Can’t believe the theatre has been sitting empty since April of ‘98…I often drive by and think of all the movies that could have played there in that time. And there is nothing else in the immediate area except the Kingsway so at least Central Etobicoke has that again.
The March 8, 1952, issue of Boxoffice reported that the Westwood Theatre had opened on February 28 that year. Ontario Premier Leslie M. Frost cut the ribbon. The Century Theatres house was designed by theater architects Kaplan & Sprachman.
Harold Kaplan and Abraham Sprachman were among the leading theater designers in Canada from the early 1930s through the 1940s. They designed upward of 100 Canadian cinemas (one Wikipedia page says 300.) Abraham Sprachman’s son Mandel Sprachman also became a theater architect, designing many of the multiplex theaters in Canada.
has anyone seen or even have any photos of the building interior? Would love to get some of the old shoots of the insides of the theatre itself.
Yeah I have been hearing that rumbling too, they are just in the process of building another drop off/pu right behind the venue so there is finalyl some rumblings of activity. So tragic ;–(
I agree igoudge. Apparently the city will be building a new west end court house on this site. Just waiting for final approval. But you are right, would have made a perfect Rainbow cinema all these years!
It is totally unfortunate since we are now 11 years past the closing of the theatre and no one has attempted to rejuvinate the lands and the theatre which would have been brilliant. Especially for the marquee. Anyone living in the area in the 80’s and early 90’s went here to see movies growing up (managed to see the whole disney catalogue here from 80-94 upon theatrical release along with Batman (Returns), Lethal Weapon 3 and the Rock. I understand Famous building newer infrastructure but would have been great to see either Rainbow reopen with slight renovations or AMC by the land and site and build a completely new venue with the original sign and features refurbed.
Here is another recent photo.
WHAT A COMPLETE WASTE OF A PERFECTLY GOOD 3 SCREEN CINEMA!! This building has been sitting empty for the past 10 years….think of all the movies it could have shown at reasonable prices if it had been taken over by say…Rainbow Cinemas or something. And especially since the Kingsway closed, Central Etobicoke would have had a cinema again. The only 2 are at the southern end, the very expensive Queensway 18 or way up at the north end, the Rainbow Woodbine Centre cinemas. And there the Westwood sits, rotting away. Tsk Tsk
Here is a photo of the Westwood Theater.
I remember that scene in Resident Evil: Apocalypse. Pointless, like the rest of the film.
I grew up in the Rexdale area of Etobicoke in the 1960’s – 70’s and have very fond memories of making the trek down to the Westwood Theatre with my siblings, especially to see Walt Disney movies. As a child this was a magical place for me… the crowds of excited kids, the smell of popcorn in the air, the HUGE screen and the cartoons before each movie. You couldn’t ask for more.
I stopped by the Westwood Theatre this past weekend to take some pictures, because I know its days are numbered, and it’s only a matter of time before the condos spring up there. The old girl is still standing, but she’s a little rough around the edges and the parking lot has been converted to TTC commuter parking. Also, according to a recent Toronto Star article I read, the whole area around the Westwood Theatre, including the police station and snow storage facility to the east, and the Six Points traffic interchange to the northwest, are ripe for re-development. I guess this kind of change is inevitable, but it will be sad to see the Westwood go. I’m glad and grateful however, that it has stood this long, and that I got a chance stop by, reminisce and say one last “goodbye†before the wrecking ball moves in. They can tear down bricks and mortar, but they can’t tear down our treasured childhood memories.