The Opera House (Toronto)
 The Opera House in 2015. | |
| Former names | La Plaza Theatre, Acropolis, Dundas, Cinema Ellas |
|---|---|
| Address |
735 Queen Street E Toronto ON M4M 1H1 |
| Location | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Coordinates | 43°39′32″N 79°20′56″W / 43.658949°N 79.348752°WCoordinates: 43°39′32″N 79°20′56″W / 43.658949°N 79.348752°W |
| Type | Theater/Music Venue |
| Capacity | 950 (680 Main Floor and 270 Balcony) |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1909 |
| Opened | 1909 |
| Website | |
| theoperahousetoronto.com | |
The Opera House is a music venue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the city's most historic performing venues, opening in 1909.[1] It has also been a cinema and a live theatre venue. It is located at 735 Queen Street East, east of downtown in the Riverdale neighbourhood.
History
It opened in 1909 as the La Plaza Theatre, a vaudeville stage. Seating almost 700, it was the main entertainment venue in the primarily working-class neighbourhood. As films eclipsed vaudeville the theatre was turned into a cinema, continuing to use the name La Plaza Theatre until the 1960s, and later under a series of other names.[2][3]
As multiplexes made large single screen venues no longer viable as cinemas, it became a performing arts venue. In the late 1980s it was home to the successful gospel musical Mama, I Want to Sing!. In the early 1990s it became The Opera House music venue.
References
- ↑ Doug Taylor (2016). Toronto's Local Movie Theatres of Yesteryear: Brought Back to Thrill You Again. Dundurn Press. pp. 14, 88, 89. ISBN 9781459733428.
- ↑ "History". Opera House. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
- ↑ https://tayloronhistory.com/2014/09/03/torontos-la-plaza-theatre-the-opera-house-on-queen-east/