Shea's Hippodrome

For the theatre in Buffalo, see Shea's Hippodrome Theatre.
Shea's Hippodrome
the “Hipp”

Taken from Albert street, on the north corner of Old City Hall
Address Canada
Location Queen and Bay
Toronto, Ontario
Coordinates 43°39′07″N 79°22′57″W / 43.65184°N 79.38241°W / 43.65184; -79.38241Coordinates: 43°39′07″N 79°22′57″W / 43.65184°N 79.38241°W / 43.65184; -79.38241
Owner Jerry and Michael Shea
Operator Famous Players
Capacity 3,200 [1]
Construction
Opened April 27, 1914
Closed December 27, 1957
Construction cost $245,000
Architect L H. Lempert

Shea's Hippodrome was a historic film and play theatre in Downtown Toronto, Canada. At its opening in 1914, it was the largest movie palace in Canada, and one of the largest vaudeville theatres in the world.[2]

Located on the corner of Queen and Bay, (now Nathan Phillips Square), it included 12 opera boxes, a Wurlitzer organ, as well as a full-size orchestra pit. It debuted some of Canada's first non-silent films.

It was built by brothers Jerry and Michael Shea in 1914, directly across from Toronto's Old City Hall, operated by Famous Players, and managed for decades by Ken Bishop.

It was demolished in 1957 to make way for Toronto's new City Hall.[3]

Venue

Prior to Shea’s Hippodrome, the Shea brothers built smaller theatres Shea’s Yonge Street and Shea’s Victoria.[2] A hippodrome historically is a large circular ancient Greek theatre. Though Shea's was not round, the word was sometimes adopted for large theatres at the time.[4]

The theatre was constructed in renaissance style, with arched (and 'electrified') ceilings. The theature featured an allegorical painting by George Brant, and uniquely included a coin-operated candy dispenser.[5]

Before installing a Wurlitzer organ in 1926,[4] Shea's included an Orchestron machine, a punch-tape programmed precursor to a modern synthesizer.

After 1926, house organists included Kathleen Stokes, Colin Corbett, Quentin Maclean and Al Bollington.[6]

Vaudeville

'The Hipp' was on the Family Time, and later the Super Time vaudeville circuits. It hosted many of the world's greatest vaudeville acts including:[3][6]

Talkies

In 1924, Shea's debuted its first 'talkie' - a non-silent film, called a 'phonofilm'. The first talkie was called 'The Studio Murder Mystery'. Originally thought to be a novelty, talkies later became the main source of income for supporting the declining vaudeville revenue.[5]

Over years, Shea’s screened films such as the Ten Commandments (1956 film) and many of Elvis Presley's movies. In 1941, the Abbott and Costello film Buck Privates played for a record 14 weeks.[4]

Closing

Shea's Toronto was one of the last remaining vaudeville theatres in North America to remain open during Word War II. The theatre closed just after Christmas in 1957. The last film to play at Shea's was Elvis Presley's Loving You (1957 film). The Wurlitzer organ was sold to Maple Leaf Gardens (and later sold to Casa Loma).[4] Though closed, the building was not demolished for some time, and Toronto's replacement 'civic center' was not completed until 1965.[5]

Further reading

References

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