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ABOUT PARADISE
A 1937 heritage-designated Art Deco venue in Toronto’s Bloorcourt neighbourhood, Paradise reopens in 2019 following a highly anticipated renovation. The building on this site has operated as a cinema since 1910, and we are proud to continue its century-long tradition of bringing Torontonians together.
Paradise offers a unique, welcoming experience through food, drink and the arts. The complex includes:
PARADISE THEATRE
A state-of-the-art venue presenting a curated mix of newly released films, older classics and undiscovered gems, as well as live music, talk series and multi-arts events.
OSTERIA RIALTO
A full-service restaurant offering up fresh, seasonal ingredients in dishes that innovate on classic Italian cuisine.
BAR BILTMORE
Spritzes, sours and negronis are enjoyed alongside small bites and dishes from the raw bar.
HISTORY OF PARADISE
In 1910, the “one-storey brick theatorium” Bloor Palace is built on the corner of Bloor and Westmoreland.
The venue is renamed The Kitchener in 1918, purportedly in recognition of the WWI British war secretary whose mysterious demise at sea spawned endless conspiracy theories.
Paradise Theatre is born in 1937, built in the Art Deco and Art Moderne styles under the direction of one of Toronto’s earliest practising Jewish architects, Benjamin Brown. The new venue had 643 seats, including a balcony where you could “smoke if you wish.”
In the following decades, Paradise changed hands between the Odeon Theatres chain, and local German (Paradise Kino) and Italian (Nuovo Cinema Paradise) owners.
In 1966, a local family, the Giacominis, purchased the venue and operated it as a beloved neighbourhood Italian filmhouse in 1981. Every three months, Francesco Giacomini brought un-subtitled 35mm film prints back from Italy to share with a local audience.
Paradise is re-named “Eve’s Paradise” in 1986, part of the “Eves and Edens” chain of adult theatres.
The Festival Cinemas chain takes on Paradise in 1990, showing repertory and arthouse fare until 2006.
In 2012, the still-empty Paradise is purchased by Moray Tawse.
After 12 years shuttered, Paradise re-opens in 2019!