Westwood Theatre
3743 Bloor Street W.,
Toronto,
ON
M9A 1A2
3743 Bloor Street W.,
Toronto,
ON
M9A 1A2
3 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 51 comments
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.
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
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.
I spent a day last November (2006) driving around the Toronto area doing a photo essay on old cinemas. The Westwood held special memories for me, as I used to go there a lot in the 1980’s. There are a few photos of the Westwood from my visit, along with some other Toronto area cinemas at:
http://globecontact.com/photoessay/cinemas.htm
Ok Tim you win. I can’t argue with someone who has been there. Thanks for clearing it up.
Well sorry to have to tell you this srcushing but I went to the Westwood many, many times during my childhood and it WAS only 1 theatre and yes it was very large. It was where at the end, cinema 2 and 3 were. I also have newspaper clippings of the NEW Westwood Cinema as it was called when it opened in 1968 and whas where Cinema 1 was at the end. Around Christmas 1980, the huge Westwood was divided and became cinemas 2 & 3 making the theatre a triplex. This is all documented in newspaper clippings as well as a feature cover page story in the Etobicoke Guardian when it closed in April of 1998.
Hi all,
I was the last manager of the westwood in April of 1998. I put the sign up directing people to the similar fated Skyway Cinemas. I am strangely proud that the sign is still there.
I have to debate the theory that it was a single screen coverted to 2 and then 3. It is my understanding and the buildings set up supports this this point of view that it was built as a twin screen.
The large central hall between the 2 theatres was not there, it was part of theatre 2. The doors to the managers office, and the washrooms are mirrored on the theatre 1 side, but on that side they are locked now. Before it was 3 auditoriums this gave guests access to the washrooms without having to leave the auditorium, the manager had the same access to both theatres from the office. As well the stairs to the projection both were inside where theatre 2 would be, to the left of theatre 3 as it stands now. Finally if it had of been a single screen then it would have been huge, over 1000 seats (I may be off here its been a while but 1 = 500 seats, 2 = 300 seats and 3 = 225 seats). This would make it bigger than Uptown 1, York 1 and the Eglinton, and it was not. Finally the design of the projection both straddling the middle (over top of the hallway) faces both ways. Up there you can see where a wall was brought down to create a booth for screen 3,in probably what was the blast room for making up and breaking down film in the days when film was nitro based and caught fire easily.
I have been told that the lobby was once a sunken lobby with seating for guests, in the days before long concession lines. The basement had a great Freddy Kruger like black oil furnace with 2 settings hot and off, and a 3 ft high duct by my office door that rythmicly tapped like there was someone doing a code, and stopped when I came out to have a look for the source of the sound.
Titanic was one of the last movies as was Wild Things, the 3rd evening feature escapes me but the Borowers was there for matiness.
It was closed because of the Silver Cities , specifically the one on the Queensway that was never built but was as a Cineplex 3 years later. The Westwood had lots of life left, it was a discount theatre with first run films and I was selling out shows up until the end.
Thanks for listening
And it still stands July 15 2007.
I can’t believe that in March of 2006, this poor old theatre still stands. It will be 8 years next month that this theatre closed after 47 years…think of all the films that could have played there in the past 8 years! I believe the city of Toronto owns the property but you would think they would do SOMETHING with it! Across Kipling Ave are 3 new condo towers next to the subway station and across Bloor St is a whole new village of condos and townhouses. Either they should tear this place down and build some spanking new condos or open it up again and let all these new home owners in the area see a movie on the big screen. But please, don’t let it sit there looking so derelict after all these years. What a sad way to end this theatre’s life eh?
Read the posting above and just had to drive down there to check for myself. Good news — the exterior of the Westwood Theatre still stands. It is the grocery store across the street that has been demolished.
Spoke with a chap today at the Etobicoke Driving school, one of the long time tenants of the Westwood building. He reports that the interior is pretty much stripped of any theatre dressings. The seats were all removed and concrete floors are all that remain.
He also recalled that newer seats had been transfered to the Westwood from the Runnymede when that theatre was closed down and renovated. All in vain as the Westwood was the next neighboodhood cinema to close.
Peeked in the lobby through the large square windows in those big, black front doors. The wavy drop ceiling is still there. You can kinda tell where the snack bar stood on the right. Otherwise, the lobby area, at least, looks like it has all been white washed since it was used during the filming of Resident Evil.
Incidentaly, the filmmakers were the ones who dinged one of those giant orange “WESTWOOD” letters on the roof, according to driving school dude. Shame on them. If you grew up in that part of Etobicoke, that is as sacred as the Hollywood sign.
The property, I am told, is owned by the city of Toronto. There have been rumors for years of building some sort of city hall west on the land. The TTC also covets the property. Developers see more space to cram in condos.
I just see the cool neigborhood dream palace where I saw all those Disney movies as a child — 101 Dalmations, The Sword In The Stone, The Jungle Book — and weep.
Your right, they totaly destoyed the inside and the outside of the
Westwood. I remember when
I saw that movie ( Resident Evil 2 ) and you can tell it was the Westwood because of the guy that was on the roof of the theater shooting at the zombies below. The last time I drove down there it was all gone. ~RIP~
This theate was destroyed during/for the filming of Resident Evil II
Actually the Westwood was built as a large single screen theatre in 1951. In 1968 they added on an addition to the east side of the building and that became the Westwood Cinema. In 1980 just in time for the Christmas attactions, the large original screen was divided down the middle and became Westwood 2 & 3 and the former Cinema became the larger theatre Westwood 1. The theatre closed in April of 1998 and one of the last attractions was “Titanic”. The building has sat empty ever since. What a waste!