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Alumnae Theatre

Performing groups established in 1919Theatre companies in TorontoTheatres in Toronto
Alumnae Theatre (40237011003)
Alumnae Theatre (40237011003)

The Alumnae Theatre, known most often as The Alum, is the oldest theatre society in Toronto, Ontario, Canada still in operation. It was founded in 1918 by female graduates of the University of Toronto who wanted to continue to participate in semi-professional theatre after graduation. Originally all performers in all roles were female, but in the 1920s the society began to invite male guest performers to join the performances. Still today the leadership of the society remains entirely female. Its mission has always been to produce the great plays of the western canon, while also sometimes doing more modern works, such as the Toronto premier of one of Carol Shields' works. The society originally performed at the university's Hart House Theatre. In 1957 the society renovated an old coach house, and opened the Coach House Theatre. In 1962 the theatre moved again into a former synagogue on Cecil and Huron streets. In 1970 they were evicted from this location when the site was expropriated by Ontario Hydro. After a brief hiatus, the company found a permanent home in an old fire hall at Adelaide and Berkeley streets in 1972. Originally named Firehall No. 4, the building is one of Toronto's historic fire stations. It was first built in 1900 and was considerably renovated by architect Ron Thom, whose wife Molly was a longtime member of Alumnae Theatre. The firehall had been slated by city council for demolition, until the theatre company intervened and with the help of John Sewell convinced the city to have it saved and restored for their purposes. The building now contains a main performance space on the ground level, which seats 140. There is a smaller studio venue upstairs on the third floor.

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Alumnae Theatre
Adelaide Street East, Toronto

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N 43.652765 ° E -79.364902 °
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Adelaide Street East 525
M5A 1N7 Toronto
Ontario, Canada
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Alumnae Theatre (40237011003)
Alumnae Theatre (40237011003)
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Toronto Sun Building
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The former Toronto Sun Building, at 333 King Street East at Sherbourne (now 333-351 King Street East) was built as the home of one of Toronto's daily English language newspapers, the Toronto Sun. Built in 1975, with a sixth floor added subsequently, the most notable feature of the structure was the large mural on the south side. The mural was 55 metres wide and 7.6 metres high, covering a long brick wall along Front Street. It was done in 1993 for the Sun by artist John Hood to celebrate the bicentennial of the founding of York. It depicts two hundred years of historic events in the city. In 2010, the building was sold to First Gulf. Although the Toronto Sun remained in the building as a tenant under a ten-year lease, the newspaper's operations were consolidated onto the second floor of the six floor building and the printing presses which were located along the south end of the complex have been removed. The rest of the building has been rented out to other commercial tenants including several retail stores, the head office of Coca-Cola Canada and a campus of George Brown College which includes the College's School of English as a Second Language. It eventually became part of the King East Centre where a 17-storey tower at 351 King Street East was built alongside an additional 3-storey addition to 333 King Street East, which was completed in 2013.In 2013, it was announced that the tower at 351 King Street East will house The Globe and Mail newspaper on five floors and be named "The Globe and Mail Centre". Occupancy began in December 2016 with the newspaper committed to a 15-year lease.From 1805 to 1846 the site of 333 King was the location of the York Hotel. The hotel and tavern was built for John Jordan and later operated by Jane Jordan until 1846. The hotel was a 1+1⁄2-storey building with a laneway to stables for horses and stagecoaches at the back. The Legislature of Upper Canada sat there for one sitting in 1813 in the hotel's ballroom. Following the acquisition of the Sun newspaper chain by PostMedia in 2015, it was announced that the Toronto Sun staff and operations will move to 365 Bloor Street East, the same building that houses the National Post, but that the two newspapers will maintain separate newsrooms. The move was completed on March 25, 2016, nine months prior to The Globe and Mail moving in next door.

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