The Elgin & Winter Garden Theatre is a National Historic Site constructed in 1913 as a double-decker Vaudeville theatre. In the 1960s, the demand for new technology and new forms of entertainment resulted in the closure of the Winter Garden Theatre and the transformation of the Elgin Theatre into a cinema.
Decades later, the theatre’s rare double-decker design and extraordinary decorative interior gained international attention, and the site was restored as a feature cultural institution.
THA was commissioned by the Ontario Heritage Trust to undertake a coordinated review of the building’s exterior and interior and to prepare a Conservation Plan for its long-term conservation and stabilization.
THA then completed the conservation and restoration of the theatre’s terra cotta façade. The firm prepared contract documents for tender, and monitored mock-up and testing procedures at Boston Valley Terra Cotta.
Selected terra cotta masonry units were re-manufactured using traditional techniques of production and installation. The work also included a complete restoration of the canopy and coffered ceiling woodwork, the ticket booth and the restoration of windows.