Runnymede Theatre was a playhouse located in Bloor West Village

Bloor West Village

Bloor West Village is a shopping district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located along Bloor Street, it encompasses all businesses along Bloor Street between Jane Street and Ellis Park Road, consisting of more than 400 shops, restaurants and services. The mix of stores include specialty clothing...

, an affluent west end Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 neighbourhood. In 1999, it ceased its operations as a movie theatre to become a Chapters

Chapters

Chapters is a Canadian big box bookstore banner owned by Indigo Books and Music. Formerly a company in its own right competing with Indigo, the combined company has continued to operate both banners since their merger in 2001.-History:...

 bookstore. Its original address, before Chapters' takeover, was 2223 Bloor Street West, at the southwest corner of Runnymede Road.

History

Commonly known as the "Runny", the Runnymede was built in June, 1927 by the Capitol (later Famous Players) as an atmospheric vaudeville

Vaudeville

Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...

 theatre, first of this type in Toronto. It officially opened with a popular MGM comedy, “The Rookies.” The playhouse was designed by Alfred Chapman, father of Chris Chapman, an accomplished Toronto filmmaker. Known for its music and stage shows, the large 1400-seat theatre, branded “Canada’s Theatre Beautiful”, quickly became popular and brought prestige to the west end of the city. As an atmospheric theatre

Atmospheric theatre

An atmospheric theatre is a type of movie palace which has an auditorium ceiling that is intended to give the illusion of an open sky as its defining feature...

, the interior of the Runnymede was designed to transport its guests to an exotic place. The painted blue sky ceiling was adorned with clouds, where a complex lighting system projected an array of stars and airplanes. The walls were decorated with a mural, which produced an illusion of being in a courtyard. The building discontinued to be used for plays and live entertainment with the gradual death of vaudeville, and was subsequently converted to a movie theatre sometime in the late 1930s.

External links

• Cinema Treasures: Runnymede Theatre
• Toronto Ghosts and Hauntings Research Society: Runnymede Theatre
• Stories from Ontario's Movie Theatres: Capitol Theatre, Cornwall - photographs of Runnymede's demolished sister theatre
• Petroff Partnerships - the firm responsible for the restoration of the theatre; also include a picture of the interior before Chapters-Indigo merger
• World19 - Community Action in Bloor West Village, newsletter #86, May 30, 2001
• “Save the Village” Campaign - depicts the fears of Bloor West Village residents associated with the arrival of Chapters
• http://webhome.idirect.com/~jleeson/runnymede.jpg - a picture of the theatre before the Chapters' takeover and subsequent restoration
• http://home.flash.net/~ral1/starbucks/bigimages/DSCN6585.jpg - a photograph depicting the building as a Chapters bookstore, before the merger with Indigo; current condition