Ontario Place Cinesphere
955 Lakeshore Boulevard West,
Toronto,
ON
M6K 3B9
955 Lakeshore Boulevard West,
Toronto,
ON
M6K 3B9
1 person
favorited this theater
Opened in 1971, the Ontario Place Cinesphere was the world’s first permanent IMAX theatre.
The theater was also capable of projecting both 35MM and 70MM format film. The Cinesphere had a massive 24,000 watt digital sound system, installed for <em>Rolling Stones: At The Max</em>. It was one of the first theaters to offer full stadium seating, and offered one of the larger seating capacities in Toronto.
Film offerings varied from IMAX amd large format documentaries to 2nd run Hollywood, as well as ethnic content such as South Asian and European films.
It was closed on February 1, 2012.
Contributed by
David Calado
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
This theater is just as amazing today as it was upon opening in 1971. It is part of a complex know as Ontario Place, which is actually 3 man-made islands on the Toronto shoreline. The triodetic-dome structure appears to be rising out of Lake Ontario apart from these islands.
Living in Buffalo at the time, I was a frequent visitor here. One day, I got up the nerve to talk my way into the projection room and was rewarded by not only a complete tour of the working equipment but also obtaining a few frames of a Imax print – which I still have to this day.
The Ontario government closed most of Ontario Place, including the Cinesphere, on February 1, 2012. Interestingly enough, the Cinesphere had just underwent a $2-million renovation the previous year which included the installation of a new IMAX GT 15/70 projector. The park will be closed until 2015, when it will reopen for the Pan Am Games, and then the park will be “redeveloped.”
A real shame…