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Evocative Images of Lost Toronto

Speaking of movie makers in Toronto:

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Roy Tash was always admired during his long career as one of Canada's newsreel cameramen.

The Roy Tash Award is presented each year by the Canadian Society of Cinematographers for outstanding news filming.
 
One of said Moving Picture Theatres, the Auditorium (later the Mary Pickford Theatre, NW corner of Spadina & Queen) 1910:

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And another: The Red Mill Theatre, 183 Yonge, south of Queen, April 8, 1913 (we can even track the time of each picture):

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Another view 1911:

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The first-ever showing of a movie in Toronto was at the Toronto Industrial Fair in 1896.
Shortly afterwards (1897), a movie house opened in a vacant store at 96 Yonge St.
It was the Lumiere Cinématographe that was being demonstrated at both locations.
 
Toronto used to be a city filled with many small movie houses. Some no larger than storefronts. Every neighbourhood seemed to have one. Outside of the odd survivors like the Revue on Roncesvalles or the Fox on Queen E, most of the buildings are completely gone. In their latter days they were home to B movies, horror and exploitation films, and old serials....i remember growing up there was one on Weston Road in Mount Dennis: classic Three Stooges, Tarzan, Dr. Phibes, Saturday afternoon matinees...seems like it was about 150 years ago!

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And a few of the larger ones:

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And the Rialto's Yonge front got re-facaded c1920 and became what up to now was Pier One...

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When did "One Way" signs first hit Toronto?
 

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