The Way They Were
By Jacquie Clancy
The buildings you pass every day as you walk along the Danforth all have their own unique histories and stories. If their walls could talk, they would give you a firsthand account of how they came to be. But since they can’t, we’ll do our best to speak for them.
The Music Hall
147 Danforth Avenue. Built 1919.
Built in 1919, Allen’s Danforth Theatre was the original name of what we now know as The Music Hall. Its name changed as the building itself changed. It began as a playhouse, was briefly a movie house, and is now a place for live music and other productions. Before becoming The Music Hall, Allen’s Danforth Theatre became Century. From the beginning, what made Allen’s different was the interior decorating: it wasn’t overdone or flashy. Rather, it was created to be “artistic [with] comfortable surroundings.” The renovations that this 90-year-old cultural stepping stone recently underwent were an attempt to bring it back to its “former glory.” It’s a testament to the theatre that it has remained relevant and important to the community throughout all of its transformations.
Church of the Holy Name
606 Danforth Avenue. Built 1926.
Established in 1913 with a largely Irish-Catholic congregation, The Church of the Holy Name was not opened and officially dedicated until March of 1926. This limestone church’s architect was Arthur W. Holmes. He designed the Church of the Holy Name to resemble the S. Marie Maggiore in Rome. The second church in Canada to use indirect lighting (which uses light bouncing off the ceiling to light the area), this church cost $200,000 to build and can seat 1,050 people. Holy Name remains “unchallenged as the Danforth’s most impressive architectural landmark.”
Danforth Branch, Toronto Public Library
701 Pape Avenue. Built 1929.
In November of 1929, the Danforth branch of the Toronto Public Library opened. The Library was initially built to hold 13,000 volumes, but the collection increased over the years, and the library underwent interior renovations to keep up. Upon its opening, chief librarian George Locke remarked that the library was the “most attractive shop in a district of shops.” The library is a key part of the Danforth community, offering many services and activities for children and adults.
Danforth Baptist Church
60 Bowden Avenue. Built 1914.
The Danforth Baptist Church began as a meeting place for the Jarvis Street Baptist Church in 1884 on Don Mills Road. The church became independent in 1903 with its first minister, Reverend R. H. Mode. The relocation of the church to Bowden Avenue began in 1911, and it opened in 1914. Following World War One, a Toronto artist donated a mural to commemorate the men of the congregation who had fought in the war. The mural is still there today. The church currently offers counselling services, hosts three separate congregations, and is a cornerstone of the community.
In addition to church services dance classes are offered at the Danforth Baptist Chuch. Check out the dance lessons in this video:
For more information about the history of Danforth buildings, check out Barbara Myrvold’s The Danforth in Pictures: A Brief History of the Danforth.
Photos by Christa Johnson
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