Featured Image for Sean Kelly on Movies' Gallery of the Demolition of the Humber Cinema

From Historic Cinema to Rubble – Demolition of the Humber Cinema

I spent a lot of time over the years writing about my love of the Humber Cinema and even started a failed petition to save the cinema from demolition, arguing that it should be a historic landmark since it was the last remaining of the original five Odeon cinemas in Toronto. The cinema was sadly shut down for good in May of 2019, with the cinema becoming the latest historic building in Toronto to be torn down to be replaced with condos, a plan I very publicly opposed when it was announced.

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The Odeon Humber in 1949 (photo Ontario Archives AO 2154)

Since I no longer live in the Bloor West Village neighbourhood, I never really gave a second thought about the Humber since its closure. However, Anne Gallagher, a friend and fellow film festival volunteer does still live in the area and she actually had a bird’s eye view of the Humber Cinema’s demolition last year, sharing many photos of the cinema as it was turned into a pile of rubble over the course of a six month period.

I have been given permission to share the photos here and I am going to do so without any further comment. Just remember that this is the destruction of one of the oldest cinemas in Toronto, first opened in 1949.

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  • January 21 2021

Rest In Pieces to the Humber Cinema 1949-2021


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Sean Patrick Kelly

Sean Patrick Kelly is a Toronto-based freelance film critic and blogger with a Bachelor of Arts in Cinema and Media Studies from York University. Since founding his site in 2004, Sean has shared his passion for cinema through insightful reviews and commentary. His work has also been featured in prominent outlets, including Toronto Film Scene, HuffPost Canada, Screen Anarchy, ScreenRant, and Rue Morgue Magazine.

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