Hayley Mick, writing in The Globe & Mail, offers an interesting piece of information. While the Royal theatre building is up for sale to the tune of 2.7 million dollars, “…the McQuillans are letting the lease run out on the Revue, a property they don’t own.” So who owns the Revue cinema building?

Here is another story on the closing of the Revue, the Royal and the Kingsway from the CBC web site. The CBC note that “The Revue, built in 1912, is Toronto’s oldest standing movie theatre that still shows films.” They also point out that “A community protest and the intervention of the Festival Cinema chain saved the Royal from demolition two decades ago.” This suggests to me, at least, that the Revue’s historical importance as a building and vocal community support are two levers that the can be used to influence the site’s future use.

The Revue Cinema at night (photo by Matthew Cook)

The Revue should be maintained as a theatre and used, if not for film, for something equally artistic and beneficial to the neighbourhood. Again, from the CBC: “The Danforth Music Hall, formerly part of the Festival Cinema group, has returned to life as a theatre and is currently home to the stage musical Song and Dance.” There remains hope.