The watchmaker, real estate agents, bookbinder and tailor...
They set out on a moving picture theatre venture that became the Revue
by Jason Crowtz
In 1911, if one had brought together a former watchmaker, a recently retired tailor, two real estate agents and a bookbinder, what would have been the result?
Perhaps another butcher-baker-style nursery rhyme, or, at the very least, some quizzical looks. But in Toronto the outcome was a company that would offer "vaudeville, moving pictures, and all forms of theatrical and other entertainment."
Called the Suburban Amusement Company and incorporated in Ontario on Nov. 7, 1911, it was to become the builder, owner and operator of the Revue Theatre on Roncesvalles Ave. And in 2012, the venerable cinema will be celebrating its 100th anniversary.
The company's principals were Ronald Tickner, 39, a real estate agent; Gilbert Sutherland, 45, also a real estate agent; Thomas Gain, 60, a retired merchant tailor; Frederick Saxton, 58, a former watchmaker, and William Ball, 36, a bookbinder at the Methodist Book and Publishing House, later to become The Ryerson Press. (All ages are approximate.)
In the documents of incorporation, Tickner is listed as President, Sutherland as Secretary, and Ball as Treasurer. Ball was also the Revue’s first manager. Tickner and Sutherland were business partners in real estate and related through marriage, but how the others were connected is unknown. Their bonds were sturdy, however: the partnership survived over 25 years even after the deaths of Gain (around 1925) and Saxton (in 1929).
The days after the Suburban Amusement Company was established must have been busy. On Nov 22, 1911, the City of Toronto issued a building permit, allowing the construction of a "1 story brick theatorium" at a cost of $5,000.
The next step was to secure a moving picture licence from Toronto's Board of Police Commissioners. This unleashed a torrent of protest from school trustees, worried about the theatre’s proximity to Howard School.
According to newspaper accounts, the Toronto Board of Education trustees voted Jan. 16, 1912, to condemn any issue of a licence, describing picture shows as "injurious to the morals and the pockets of the children."
These guardians of youth voted to ask Ontario's Minister of Education to pass a law prohibiting picture shows within 1,000 feet of schools. They also approved a motion to have the chief medical inspector report on whether moving pictures harmed the eyes of children.
The trustees’ views were widely reported in Toronto’s numerous newspapers: "No Picture Shows Near the School: School Trustee"
"Would Keep Them 1,000 Feet Away," The Globe headlined an article on Jan. 19, 1912. "Keep Shows Away From Schools," read a title in the Jan. 19, 1912 Toronto World.
Despite the protests, on Jan 31, 1912, the Globe, the Star, the Mail and Empire, the News, the World, and the Evening Telegram all reported that the Police Board of Commissioners had approved the theatre licence.
According to the Mail and Empire: "The people lying in the immediate vicinity did not object to the granting of a licence, and in the minds of the commissioners their views were to be considered in preference to those people who had previously objected."
The theatre appears to have opened later in 1912. By April 18, 1913, the company applied for a second building permit "to erect a 1 story building addition to the theatorium" (at an additional cost of $5,000).
And on April 26, 1913, a full-page ad was published in the Toronto Star Weekly entitled, "Good, clean motion pictures". The ad listed 36 theatres ("recognized to be the best in Toronto"), including the Revue.
What was showing? In early 1914, the theatre was screening the serial, “Adventures of Kathlyn” and after that “The Million Dollar Mystery.” (Both silent serials are considered lost.)
In May, 1936, the Suburban Amusement Company sold the Revue to Jacob Smith, a Jewish Torontonian who had started out in the movie theatre business around 1912. A new era was beginning, and the theatre would have a new art moderne look and a new marquee to go with it.
(Italic endtag) Jason Crowtz has been searching archives, census records, newspapers and other sources to uncover the history of the Revue.