Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre

Visit the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre the last operating double-decker theatre theatre in the world (and National Historic Site). Patrons will learn about the history and restoration of the complex and have the opportunity to view sets from the world’s largest collection of original vaudeville scenery. Year ’round public tours and special group tours available.

The history of the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre is a long and fascinating one, spanning over 100 years. It not only chronicles the magnificent design, architectural and entertainment highlights of an era, it also reflects the evolution and growth of our heritage and culture.

Built in 1913, the  Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre complex was the Canadian flagship of Marcus Loew’s legendary theatre chain. Designed by Thomas Lamb as a “double-decker” theatre complex, it contained the Winter Garden Theatre, constructed seven storeys above the Elgin Theatre (originally known as Loew’s Yonge Street Theatre).

The two theatres were of distinctly different personality: the Elgin was all gold leaf and rich fabrics, a formal theatre of plaster cherubs and ornate opera boxes. The Winter Garden was a botanical fantasy, its walls hand-painted to resemble a garden, its ceiling a mass of real beech boughs and twinkling lanterns. The theatres played host to such greats as George Burns and Gracie Allen, Sophie Tucker, Milton Berle and Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy.

With the decline of vaudeville, the Winter Garden closed in 1928. It remained closed for more than half a century, becoming a time capsule of a bygone era. The Elgin, with its grand domed ceiling, continued as a movie house, gradually slipping into disrepair with the passing of each decade.

In 1981, the Ontario Heritage Trust purchased the building. Prior to the Trust’s ambitious restoration program, the successful production of Cats ran for nearly two years at the Elgin Theatre – the most successful pre-sales theatrical event in Canada at that time. In 1987, a two-and-a-half year, $29-million restoration began. The gilt plaster detail work in the Elgin required more than 300,000 wafer-thin sheets of aluminum leaf. The walls of the Winter Garden had to be cleaned using hundreds of pounds of raw bread dough to avoid damaging the original hand-painted watercolour artwork. More than 65,000 square feet of new space was created, including lobby and lounge areas and an eight-storey backstage pavilion housing modern dressing rooms and two rehearsal halls.

In December 1989, the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre reopened and has once again become one of Canada’s finest theatrical stage complexes. A sampling of shows that have been presented includes: The Wizard of Oz, Kenneth Branagh’s King Lear, Robin Philips’ production of Aspects of Love, the North American premiere of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with Donny Osmond, Napoleon, George F. Walker’s Nothing Sacred, The Who’s TOMMY, STOMP, Forever Tango, Tap Dogs, Mikhail Baryshnikov and the White Oak Dance Project, Grease, The Full Monty, Stones in His Pockets, The Drawer Boy, Copenhagen, Rent, Avenue Q, Tuesdays with Morrie and various productions by Opera Atelier, the Canadian Opera Company and Ross Petty Productions. The theatres have also presented musical and comedy concerts, lectures, award presentations, gala screenings from the Toronto International Film Festival and a variety of special events and receptions.

Thousands of visitors from around the world have toured the complex since its restoration. Weekly – Mondays at 5 p.m – visitors are escorted through both theatres, the lobbies, as well as a backstage exhibit and historic dressing room from the vaudeville era. Group tours are also offered to schools and special interest groups

One of the centre’s greatest treasures, discovered during the restoration, is the world’s largest collection of vaudeville scenery – hand-painted flats and drops dating from 1913. Several restored pieces, including the magnificent Butterfly and Scarab Scenery Flats, are displayed at the Theatre Centre.

The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre was brought back to life with the assistance of government agencies, individual and corporate donors, and volunteers – many of whom continue to assist in its operation. The Ontario Heritage Trust is grateful for their support and is proud of the role they have played in the rebirth of these magnificent theatres.

Tour information

Year-round guided tours of this National Historic Site – the last operating double-decker theatre in the world – are 90 minutes long and recount the history and restoration of the complex. Visit the original and new lobbies, the elegant Elgin Theatre and the unique and whimsical Winter Garden Theatre, and view samples from the world’s largest collection of vaudeville scenery. As well, an exhibit housing the Winter Garden’s original Simplex Silent Film Projector and a dressing room containing artifacts from the time period are on view.

When: Mondays at 5 p.m., (except Holiday Mondays) reserve your ticket online | No walk ups.

Group tours are also available (15 people minimum) and can be booked two weeks in advanced, subject to the theatres’ availability.

Group tours are available in English only.

For more information or to book a group tour, call 416-314-2874.