The Bloor Cinema’s most iconic period was in the 1940s, when it was the Midtown Theatre and featured an enormous, cable-supported marquee. Photos courtesy Hariri Pontarini Architects
The custom LED products were ordered from Edmonton-based LED Lights Canada, which has provided bulbs for other Mirvish Productions venues in the past, including the Royal Alexandra Theatre and the Princess of Wales Theatre.
“These LED bulbs had to have the right base to fit into the sign,” says Kenny. “They provide a whiter, hotter light than many other LEDs, with a better ‘twinkle’ effect for a marquee. There’s been a huge influence on this technology from Las Vegas, Nev., the ‘land of the marquee.’ They’ve been converting sign lighting for years to save on power consumption and we’ve piggybacked on that. Everything’s available now, as long as you order enough of it.”
The rebranded marquee was unveiled to the public with a lighting ceremony on May 2, 2012. Fireworks shot into the air from the roof of the theatre.
“We did the whole thing in five weeks, delivering the sign back in time for the next musical opening,” says Kenny. “The marquee’s even more attractive than before, competing better with other signs nearby.”
He credits the improved esthetics to the use of LEDs.
“LEDs have drastically changed our industry for the better,” he says. “It’s gratifying to install signs that are more efficient and effective. Neon is extremely energy-consumptive and negatively affected by cold temperatures. And white sign lighting used to involve white powdercoating inside a tube with argon and mercury; the mercury would also dissipate in winter, leaving dull, faded and blank spots. LEDs have eliminated those issues.”
Bloor Hot Docs Cinema
At the same time, to the west in the Annex neighbourhood, the Bloor Cinema was being extensively renovated under the guidance of Toronto-based Hariri Pontarini Architects. Long known as an independent theatre specializing in independent and second-run films, the Bloor was purchased in 2011 by the Blue Ice Group to create a permanent home for Hot Docs, an annual festival of documentaries. Blue Ice would serve as the landlord, Hot Docs the tenant.
The renamed Bloor Hot Docs Cinema promised to screen documentaries year-round. Despite this new, more specialized purpose and the installation of a larger screen, Christie digital projector, surround-sound system, public address (PA) system, acoustical panels and new carpets and wall treatments, Blue Ice also focused on celebrating the building’s past. Seats from the 1940s, for example, were restored for the upper level.
“It’s not a heritage building, but we respected what was there before,” says Patrick Cox, project manager for Hariri Pontarini. “There was an interest both in freshening it up and in being very sensitive to the community. We didn’t want people to notice all the changes inside.”
The new sign would be illuminated with LEDs.
Though these changes were visually subtle, they were legion, requiring many months to complete.
“When the theatre closed in July 2011, Hot Docs said it would reopen that fall,” Cox says, “but the building was an old lady that needed a lot of work to bring her back to her original glory. And when you open up a building as old as this for renovations, there are always surprises you can’t plan for.”
Similar to Maple Leaf Gardens, the Bloor’s most iconic period began in the ‘40s, when it was the Midtown Theatre and featured an enormous, cable-supported marquee. This sign displayed the brightly lit Midtown name perpendicular to the building’s south-facing façade, so it was visible along Bloor Street to the east and west.
