Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre, Toronto

The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres in Toronto are a unique pair of theatres stacked on top of each other. The Winter Garden Theatre is located seven stories above the Elgin Theatre, making them the last remaining Edwardian stacked theatres worldwide.

Originally constructed in 1913, these theatres served as the flagship of Marcus Loew's theatre chain. The renowned architect Thomas W. Lamb, who also designed the nearby Ed Mirvish Theatre, was responsible for their design.

Two theatres were built for vaudeville acts and silent films. The Elgin Theatre catered to a lower-class audience, featuring vaudeville shows and movies. The Winter Garden Theatre targeted a wealthier clientele, providing a unique garden-like atmosphere with painted murals, tree trunk columns, and lantern lights. It focused on the high-end vaudeville market, offering reserved seats at premium prices.

By 1928, silent feature-length films had gained immense popularity, while sound films were just emerging. Consequently, the lower Elgin Theatre underwent a conversion to accommodate sound films, leading to the closure of the upper Winter Garden Theatre. For nearly sixty years, the Winter Garden Theatre remained closed, housing a vast collection of vaudeville flats and scenery, which is now recognized as the largest surviving collection of its kind.

Notable events in the Elgin Theatre's history include the world premiere of the musical "Napoleon" in 1994, which later transferred to London's West End in 2000. The venue also hosted "The Who's Tommy" musical in 1995. Since 1996, Ross Petty Productions has staged pantomimes at the Elgin Theatre during the Christmas season.