Corner of Spadina Ave. and Dundas St., looking north-east, 1972, Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives
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Original JPG File | 1050 × 727 pixels (0.76 MP) 8.9 cm × 6.2 cm @ 300 PPI |
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Resource ID
10171
Access
Open
Credit Line
City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 2032, Series 841, File 47, Item 15
Date of Creation
1972
Keywords
Chinatown, Jewish-Canadian Heritage, Spadina, Standard Theater
Program Category
Tours
Rights
City of Toronto
Caption
Corner of Spadina Ave. and Dundas St., looking north-east, 1972, Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives
Description
Erected in 1921, Standard Theater was the first purpose-built Yiddish-language theatre in Canada and a cultural landmark in the local Jewish community. By the 1930s, the Standard had become a movie house and was renamed the Strand, and then the Victory. The Standard was soon an iconic destination for students from the University of Toronto. In the 1960s, the Victory became a popular burlesque house and hosted bands like Rush and the Stooges. The local Chinese community held performances at the theatre and, in 1975, the film company Golden Harvest bought and extensively renovated the venue to show Mandarin and Cantonese action and kung fu movies. The cinema portion of the building closed in 1994.