Roxy Theatre was the final name of a theatre that operated from 1935 to 2006 at 1215

Danforth Avenue Danforth Avenue (informally also known as the Danforth) and Danforth Road are two historically-related arterial streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Danforth ''Avenue'' is an east-west street that begins in Old Toronto at the Prince Edward ...

, in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario, Canada's east end. It was designed by the architectural firm

Kaplan & Sprachman Kaplan may refer to: Places * Kapłań, Poland * Kaplan, Louisiana, U.S. * Kaplan Medical Center, a hospital in Rehovot, Israel * Kaplan Street, in Tel Aviv, Israel * Mount Kaplan, Antarctica * Kaplan Arena, at the College of William & Mary in ...

, which designed dozens of neighbourhood cinemas, and opened under the name ''Allenby Theatre''. In the 1930s the Allenby allowed neighbourhood children to enroll in the Popeye Club, where they could watch a double bill, and two episodes of the popeye cartoon serials, for ten cents. During the 1970s, the theatre was run by Gary Topp and Jeff Silverman, reported to have introduced midnight screenings to Toronto. It was the first theatre to play daring films, like John Waters' '' Pink Flamingos''. In addition to serving as a repertory cinema, the location was an early venue for the performance of punk rock. The Roxy is known for playing cult-classic Rocky Horror Picture Show, every week, from 1976 to 1983. In its final decades the theatre was one of the Festival chain of repertory cinemas of similar age. The building's

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

facade earned it a listing as a building of heritage interest. This designation, short of a full heritage designation, only preserved its facade. The building stood vacant, for several years, making the work of conservators more difficult. Following its final period as an English language repertory cinema, it reopened as the ''Apollo Theatre'', and played Greek language films. However, it retained hand-painted Star Wars murals. The bulk of the building was demolished in November 2009, and an

Esso Esso () is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso" (the phonetic p ...

gas station, convenience store, and

Tim Hortons Tim Hortons Inc., commonly nicknamed Tim's, or Timmie's is a Canadian multinational coffeehouse and restaurant chain. Based in Toronto, Tim Hortons serves coffee, doughnuts, and other fast-food items. It is Canada's largest quick-service rest ...

were constructed on the site. The facade of the building was restored with an Allenby Theatre marquee, including its ticket booth. A commemorative plaque was installed on the building with its designation as a heritage site, and historical photos are featured inside.

References

{{Coord, 43.68145, N, 79.33165, W, display=title Former cinemas in Toronto Theatres in Toronto Atmospheric theatres Demolished buildings and structures in Toronto Buildings and structures demolished in 2009 1935 establishments in Ontario Theatres completed in 1935 2009 disestablishments in Ontario