Hidden/Unknown Toronto

[dt_toronto_geek]

The cemetery behind the stores on Yonge St., west side just below St. Clair.

My Doctor's office overlooks this cemetery, it makes me very uncomfortable!

Although not a "hidden gem" anymore, I had the mind-blowing experience of getting a small group tour of the Wintergarden Theatre around 1982 shortly before Famous Players closed the Elgin as a cinema. It was incredibly creepy, it had no seats, pigeons were in there and it was moldy smelling but it was in surprisingly good shape otherwise.

 

[Peepers]

Last week I "discovered" TAYLOR CREEK PARK for the first time (despite having lived here most of my life) For those who are not familiar with this beautiful Park I would highly recommend a visit especially now with the fall colours.

 

[local123]

My Toronto favorites....

One of my favorite places in Toronto is the Leslie Spit. It a stretch of land/park extending out to the lake at Leslie and Lakeshore. I've made quite a few postings of my favorite places and things to do in Toronto on www.citytikker.com . You can check them out there. It's got postings of Torontonians' favorites about the city.

 

[confusion]

The problem with the Spit I see in coming years is how it will handle the increased pedestrian traffic. I've been cycling to this area on weekends for years now and every year is busier than the last.

I worry that some of the unique characteristics of the Leslie Spit will get destroyed or changed over time with human activity.

 

[mike noland]

I know the theatre well. The old Brighton Theatre. I grew up on Galley Ave. in the 60's. I was wondering if anyone knew the history of the theatre.When I was a kid I used to work at the theatre cleaning up in the mornings after a night of movie viewing. One day I decided to peer behind the movie screen and saw what appeared to be a live preformance stage and circa 1930's lighting fixtures. I always known it as just a movie theatre. This place also had the scariest basement, with one of those old boiler type furnances covered in cob webs.The other thing I remember when working there was the steep slope of the floor(I guess for better viewing) but it was painted concreate , so it was always sticky from soda spills. Also it was in the day when people could smoke in the back rows so there was a ton of butts to sweep up.

 

[freshcutgrass]

I used to go to the Brighton all the time back in the 80's, when it was part of the Festival chain. $5 lifetime membership and a buck a movie....how can you beat that? I used to live in the Junction at the time, and the Revue & the Brighton were both part of the chain and 4 blocks from each other (the Kingsway was also close by). Lots of great films.

Speaking of hidden spaces and theatres, I nominate Toronto Underground Cinema at Queen & Spadina. And lucky you...they are screening Breakin' on Sat night. How can you pass up the opportunity to see Jean-Claude Van Damme and Ice-T both make their film debuts in the same breakdancing film. Com'on...live a little.

 

[androiduk]

I know the theatre well. The old Brighton Theatre. I grew up on Galley Ave. in the 60's. I was wondering if anyone knew the history of the theatre.When I was a kid I used to work at the theatre cleaning up in the mornings after a night of movie viewing. One day I decided to peer behind the movie screen and saw what appeared to be a live preformance stage and circa 1930's lighting fixtures. I always known it as just a movie theatre. This place also had the scariest basement, with one of those old boiler type furnances covered in cob webs.The other thing I remember when working there was the steep slope of the floor(I guess for better viewing) but it was painted concreate , so it was always sticky from soda spills. Also it was in the day when people could smoke in the back rows so there was a ton of butts to sweep up.

I wonder if we knew either Mike. I lived above the theatre in the mid 60's. The doorman was named Mike. I didn't know about the stuff behind the curtains but last summer I went into the variety store that now occupies the building and asked about the theatre but the person behind the cash seemed reluctant to talk about it. I'm going to try again this year and see if I can get back there.

 

[wwwebster]

I was wondering if anyone knew the history of the theatre.

I did a little poking around my usual sources, but didn’t find out much. It does not appear in the 1914 city directory, but it does appear in the 1918 as “Sunnyside Theatre.†By 1921 it was listed as “Brighton Theatre.â€

 

[bAuHaUs]

The cemetery behind the stores on Yonge St., west side just below St. Clair.

Courtesy: Wikipedia:
St. Michael's Cemetery is a historic Roman Catholic cemetery in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located just southwest of Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue. The 10-acre (40,000 m2) cemetery is invisible from the street, being located in the middle of a city block and ringed by homes and stores. It is accessible only through a small alleyway between two stores on Yonge Street. The gates to the cemetery are also usually kept locked.

The city's oldest surviving Catholic cemetery, it opened in 1855. It replaced St. Paul's Cemetery at Queen and Parliament, which had been filled to capacity by the recent influx of Irish Catholic settlers. Some 29,000 people are buried at St. Michael's. It is the final resting place mostly for working class Irish Canadians, but some notable figures are interred there including brewer Eugene O'Keefe and Victoria Cross recipient Denis Dempsey. St. Michael's remained the only Catholic cemetery in Toronto until 1900 when it was near capacity, and the Mount Hope Cemetery was opened.

One of the most notable features of the cemetery is the octagonal mortuary vault designed by Joseph Sheard, who later became mayor of Toronto.

This place sounds like a real must see!!!

 

[Jonny5]

Also tucked away behind the buildings at Yonge and St. Clair is the Toronto Badminton and Racquet Club. You can sometimes see the bubble domes over the courts in the winter from St. Clair.
Has anyone been inside? I know parts of the premises date back at least 100 years.

http://www.thebandr.com/