Bell Lightbox

TIFF Bell Lightbox
Established	2009
Location	350 King Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Public transit access	504 King Alternate: ■ St. Andrew 510 Spadina
Website	tiff.net

Festival Tower
TIFF Bell Lightbox and Festival Tower in 2011
General information
Type	Theatre, Residential, Retail
Location	Corner of King Street & John Street Toronto, Ontario
Completed	September 12, 2010
Height
Antenna spire	157 m (515 ft)
Roof	152 m (499 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	46
Design and construction
Architect	Bruce Kuwabara of KPMB Architects
Developer	Toronto International Film Festival Group Daniels Corporation & the Reitman Family
Main contractor	PCL Constructors Canada

The TIFF Bell Lightbox & Festival Tower is a cultural centre and skyscraper in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in the north west corner of the intersection of King Street and John Street.

[edit] Background

The Lightbox opened in 2010.

The entrance for the structure's 46-storey tower is on John Street, set back from the much smaller 19th-century buildings along King Street. The Bell Lightbox cinema complex, the Toronto International Film Festival offices, a ground-floor restaurant and a roof-top terrace are housed in a five-storey structure on King. The five-screen cinema complex also features galleries, workshops and a library.^[1]

During construction, the site was found to contain artifacts belonging to York General Hospital when it was located there in 1829.^[2]

[edit] TIFF

Building detail

The podium, a five-storey complex, is the new headquarters for the Toronto International Film Festival. It contains 5 new theatres of various sizes, a three-storey public atrium, two galleries, three learning studios, a centre for students and scholars, a bistro, a restaurant, and a lounge, a gift shop, as well as a rooftop terrace.

In the theatres are specially curated programming, as well as some new releases. There is also films that tie-in with exhibitions, and retrospectives of actors or filmmakers. The extensive reference library and archives of film, which include publications and archival movies, are open to the public, as well as research and study space.

Since 2009 the Lightbox remains TIFF's centre for the festival, marking the permanent move from Yorkville to King West, and will include the future "Cinema Tower" on the north side on the block, which will add 5 more theatres. The area also includes prominent venues for the festival such as Roy Thomson Hall.

Lightbox entrance with TTC streetcar at right

The complex opened officially on September 12, 2010 with a “free block party”.^[3] Bruce McDonald's Trigger was the first film screened at the theatre.^[4]

[edit] Gallery

The galleries host exhibitions related to film and art history. One gallery on the higher level is free to the public, while the larger main gallery on the first level hosts large paid exhibitions. The first exhibition was the MoMA's monograph on Tim Burton. Subsequent shows have included retrospectives of Federico Fellini and Grace Kelly.

[edit] Financial support

The cost of building the TIFF Bell Lightbox was offset by financial support from Bell, the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, the King and John Festival Corporation, RBC, BlackBerry, Visa, the Copyright Collective of Canada, the Slaight Family Foundation, The Daniels Corporation, NBC Universal Canada, the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation, the Harbinger Foundation, Mackenzie Financial, CIBC, and BMO.^[5]

[edit] Festival Tower

The Festival Tower was developed by The Daniels Corporation and designed by Toronto-based architectural firm Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB). The TIFF Bell Lightbox is the home of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF),^[6] while the Festival Tower contains condominium residences. The project was conceived in partnership by the Toronto International Film Festival Group and the King and John Festival Corporation.^[7]

[edit] 2011 falling glass incident

Glass from the 27th-floor of the condominium tower fell to the ground at around 7:30 pm on August 2, 2011. Police closed off a section of John Street as a precaution, and pedestrian traffic along the side of the building was limited the next day. This incident happened just days after Murano Condos at 37 Grosvenor St. had similar incidents.^[8]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: TIFF Bell Lightbox

• Official web page at tiff.net