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Windsor Arms Hotel

City of Toronto Heritage PropertiesCondo hotels in CanadaGothic Revival architecture in TorontoHotel buildings completed in 1927Hotels in Toronto
Residential condominiums in Canada
Windsor Arms Hotel
Windsor Arms Hotel

The Windsor Arms is a boutique hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 18 St. Thomas St. in the heart of the Yorkville neighbourhood. The hotel includes The Living Room, Court Yard Cafe and a Spa. This neo-gothic style building was designed by architect Kirk Hyslop of Toronto and built in 1927. It was listed as a historic property by the City of Toronto in 1983 and designated under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1992. Run down by the 1980s, the hotel closed in 1991. After purchasing the property in 1995, developer George Friedmann commissioned architect Sol Wassermuhl of Page + Steele to rebuild the hotel as a skyscraper which included condominium suites while maintaining the St. Thomas Street facade.The Toronto International Film Festival was founded in the hotel in 1976, and the hotel's involvement in the Festival continues to this day.The hotel has been known to be frequented by many celebrities such as Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Woody Allen, Richard Burton, and, more recently, Richard Gere, Britney Spears and Tina Turner. It was featured in the 1973 film, The Paper Chase. It has twice been used by Atom Egoyan in films: Speaking Parts in 1989 and Chloe in 2010. The Windsor Arms Hotel is also home to a luxury condominium with 25 residences. Square footage per condominium range from 2,800 to 4,800 square feet (450 m2) and cost between $2,500,000 & $8,000,000.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Windsor Arms Hotel (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Windsor Arms Hotel
Bloor Street West, Old Toronto

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Latitude Longitude
N 43.668865 ° E -79.39123 °
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Bloor Street West 101
M5S 1M1 Old Toronto
Ontario, Canada
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Windsor Arms Hotel
Windsor Arms Hotel
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University Theatre (Toronto)
University Theatre (Toronto)

The University Theatre was for several decades one of the premier movie cinemas in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was located at 100 Bloor Street West along the Mink Mile, just west of Bay Street in an area that was once home to a number of cinemas, most notably the Uptown Theatre, and was a centre for the Toronto International Film Festival. At the time of its closing it was the largest movie house in Canada.The University Theatre opened in 1949, and aimed to be the premier cinema in the city. It was a single screen theatre that sat some 1300 people. The first film shown was Ingrid Bergman's Joan of Arc. The cinema would host many of the most important films, and for major productions would use reserved seating where patrons would buy specific seats well ahead of time. The cinema also helped introduce new technologies to Toronto such as CinemaScope and 70 mm film. In 1981 owner Famous Players announced plans to demolish the theatre. One screen cinemas were no longer economic in the era of the multiplex. For several years a campaign was waged by film aficionados and heritage groups to keep the cinema open. Among those who voiced their opposition to its closing was mayor Art Eggleton and local city councillor Ron Kanter. This delayed its closing, but did not prevent it. It shuttered soon after the 1986 film festival, where it hosted the gala opening screening of The Decline of the American Empire. One of the prime reasons for its demise was that the property owners thought they could get far more value from the land at one of the most exclusive sites in Toronto. However, soon after the theatre was demolished, the 1980s property boom collapsed. Despite the closure, it was agreed that the unique façade of the building would be preserved. Thus when the theatre was torn down the front wall was left standing with a scaffolding at the rear supporting it. This arrangement was meant to be a temporary measure but was left in place for well over a decade due to the early 1990s recession and property bust, and the facade was allowed to deteriorate over the years. Once redevelopment of the property began, it was deemed necessary to pull down the original facade due to its poor condition, and replace it with a reproduction (albeit a picturesque and very accurate reproduction). With the revival of the property market in the late 1990s, developments were again proposed for the site. The first plan called for a new nine screen cinema to be topped with a 26 floor condominium. However, the cinema plans were abandoned and the building was constructed with retail along Bloor Street. The rebuilt façade of the University Theatre serves as an entrance to a two-level store space, which was a Pottery Barn from 2001-2017.