# @toronto_archives on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DXeaAnGjJuG
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/64722784-toronto-archives-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/771219805f.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-04-23T13:01:33.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** City of Toronto Archives (@toronto_archives) — https://gondola.cc/toronto_archives

## Caption

It's Hot Docs opening day! 

First held in 1994, the opening night film of the National Documentary Film Awards was 'André Mathieu, musicien', screened at the Bloor Cinema. The cinema at Bloor and Bathurst became a regular screening venue for the festival in the early 2000s, and following renovations, the venue was reopened in March 2012 as the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema. 

For over a century, this site has been home to a theatre. The original venue opened as The Madison Theatre in 1913, one of Toronto's earliest picture palaces, and over the decades the theatre has experienced several iterations. 

In 1940, the Madison was largely demolished when prolific Toronto architects Kaplan & Sprachman designed the new Midtown Theatre. In 1967 it was renamed the Capri under Famous Players management, only to change names once again in the early 1970s to the Eden, showcasing adult films. 

After a brief year-long stint as the Bloor Theatre, the building was taken over by Carm and Paul Bordonaro and the Bloor Cinema was established in the early 1980s. 

Since 2016, it has been Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema.

1. Bloor Street cinema, south side, 1989, Fonds 564, Series 2847, File 127, Item 1. 

2. Madison Theatre, north side of Bloor Street east of Bathurst Street, 1919, Fonds 1231, Item 800.

3. - 4. Midtown Theatre, Fonds 251, Series 1278, File 103.

5. Midtown Theatre, Fonds 251, Series 1278, File 103.

6. Bloor Cinema, Fonds 251, Series 1278, File 103.

7. 504 Bloor Street West, Bloor cinema, 1989, Fonds 2043, Series 2573, File 117. 

#TOhistory #TorontoArchives #HotDocs

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## Tags

hotdocs, torontoarchives, tohistory

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