Movie House Lofts

History of Movie House Lofts

The Orange Order, a Protestant fraternal society named for King William III, was a power in Toronto, sometimes called the Belfast of Canada. Its western lodges planned this hall in 1911 to replace a smaller one at 273 Euclid, and it opened in 1912 at 542 College Street, costing $70,000. George Martel Miller, who also designed the Gladstone Hotel, gave it neo-classical columns, a cornice and a large arched window, and the figure of King William on a white horse is still on the College Street front.

As the city changed, the Order's influence faded. In 1989 the hall became the Euclid Theatre, a home for independent film and video, which screened the early editions of the Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival that became Inside Out; 4,000 people came over 10 days for the second one. From late 1993 it was the Metropolitan Theatre, showing commercial films, until the bank sold it under power of sale in 1996 for $830,000.

John Berman and Matthew Rosenblatt, with Jackson Goad Architects, converted it in 1998, keeping the ornate front; the lofts took the address 394 Euclid, while the shops below keep 542 College. Most of the 18 lofts are multi-level, from about 730 to 1,300 square feet, with 16-foot living rooms under mezzanines, big windows or skylights, and roof terraces on top. There's no elevator and no parking.