Hollywood Theatre was once located at 1519 Yonge St (north of St Clair Ave on the east side) in the Deer Park neighbourhood of Toronto.
The theatre was built in 1930 and opened later that year. Architect Herbert George Duerr designed the progressive, modernist-style movie palace.
Famous Players purchased the Hollywood Theatre and, in the late 1940s, built an addition on the north side, creating two auditoriums. Mr Duerr, already working for Famous Players as their corporate architect, designed the addition.
As the decades passed, attendance declined, and the theatre eventually closed in 1999.
Today, a three-storey building with retail space stands where the Hollywood Theatre once was.
Hollywood Theatre Photos
1974 – Hollywood Theatre was once located at 1519 Yonge St, north of St Clair Ave on the east side. On the marquee, “The Great Gatsby,” starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow and “A Quiet Day in Belfast,” starring Barry Foster and Margot Kidder, were playing (City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1526, File 1, Item 10) 1944 – Looking southeast towards the Hollywood Theatre, once located at 1519 Yonge St. On the marquee, “Ladies of Washington,” starring Trudy Marshall, Ronald Graham and Anthony Quinn, was playing (Archives of Ontario I0012592) 1943 – Hollywood Theatre interior (Archives of Ontario I0012593) 1943 – Lobby and entrance to the auditorium at the Hollywood Theatre (Archives of Ontario I0012594) 1975 – Looking northeast towards the Hollywood Theatre, once located at 1519 Yonge St. On the marquee, “The Towering Inferno,” starring Paul Newman and Steve McQueen, and “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” starring Ellen Burstyn and Kris Kristofferson, were playing (City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1526, File 1, Item 12) 1974 – Looking northeast from an excavated lot once at Yonge St and Delisle Ave towards the Hollywood Theatre. On the marquee, “The Gambler,” starring James Caan and Lauren Hutton, and “The Odessa File,” starring Jon Voight and Maximilian Schell, were playing (City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1526, File 1, Item 43) 1974 – A night photo of the Hollywood Theatre once located at 1519 Yonge St, north of St Clair Ave on the east side. On the marquee, “Chinatown,” starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway and “The Tamarind Seed,” starring Julie Andrews and Omar Sharif, were playing (City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1526, File 1, Item 11) 1990 – Looking northeast from Yonge St and Delisle Ave towards the Hollywood Theatre, with Yorkminster Park Baptist Church in the background (City of Toronto Archives, Series 1465, File 188, Item 8) 1938 – Hollywood Theatre was once located at 1519 Yonge St. On the marquee, “South Riding,” starring Ann Todd, Edna Best and Ralph Richardson, was playing. Notice the Dominion grocery store to the south of the theatre (City of Toronto Archives, Ken Webster Fonds, Fonds 251, Series 1278, File 83)Early 1960s – Looking southeast from Yonge St and Heath St towards the Hollywood Theatre once located at 1519 Yonge St. On the marquee, “Rome Adventure,” starring Troy Donahue, Suzanne Pleshette and Rossano Brazzi, was playing. Notice the Odeon Hyland Theatre in the background (City of Toronto Archives, Ken Webster Fonds, Fonds 251, Series 1278, File 7)2020 – Hollywood Theatre was once located at 1519 Yonge St, north of St Clair Ave on the east side. The building that housed the theatre was replaced with the present-day structure. Notice Yorkminster Park Baptist Church in the background1931 – The Toronto City Directory showing the address and phone number of the Hollywood Theatre (Toronto Public Library)
