The world's last operating double-decker theatre — the Elgin (downstairs) and Winter Garden (upstairs) are a UNESCO-designated heritage site from 1913. The Winter Garden's forest-like ceiling of preserved beech leaves and hanging lanterns creates one of the most extraordinary theatrical interiors anywhere on Earth.
Neighbourhood: Downtown / Yonge · Address: 189 Yonge St, Toronto, ON · Hours: Production-based + heritage tours | Check heritagetrust.on.ca
Why Visit
Stepping inside the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre is like time-travelling into theatre history, from golden Edwardian décor below to a surreal indoor forest above. It’s a rare chance to catch a show—or even just a tour—in North America’s last surviving double-decker theatre.
What Makes It Unique
Nowhere else in Toronto (or the world) can you experience two stacked theatres built in 1913, each with completely distinct interiors—a lush Victorian playhouse downstairs and a fairytale garden theatre above, with real preserved leaves on the ceiling. The Winter Garden is also the only remaining example of its kind, making every visit feel like theatrical archaeology.
If you only pick one historic theatre in Toronto, make it the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre. Actually, scratch that—it’s two theatres stacked on top of each other, which is why people get so obsessed with it. The Elgin sits downstairs, all velvet, gilt, arches, and old-school glamour. Then, seven storeys above it, the Winter Garden feels like someone decided a theatre should look like an enchanted woodland and somehow pulled it off. It’s the last operating double-decker theatre in the world, and once you’ve seen it, that fact stops sounding like trivia and starts sounding completely unbelievable.
The Winter Garden is the part people remember for years. You walk in, look up, and there it is: a ceiling dressed with real preserved beech leaves, hanging lanterns, branches, painted trellises, and a trompe l’oeil sky that makes the whole room feel half stage set, half dream. It doesn’t read as gimmicky at all. It’s strange, elegant, a little surreal, and honestly one of the most extraordinary interiors in Toronto—maybe anywhere. Photos don’t quite capture the effect because what gets you is the atmosphere: the dim amber light, the hush before a show, the feeling that the room itself is performing.
Even if you’re not a huge theatre person, this place can convert you. The Elgin often hosts larger productions and touring shows, while the Winter Garden is more intimate and is the one I’d aim for if you want the full wow factor. If there’s a performance upstairs, book it. It’s worth it just to sit under that ceiling for two hours. For a special occasion, it’s about as good as Toronto gets without feeling stiff or overly formal. You can dress up a bit if you want, but nobody’s going to glare at you for keeping it simple.
If you’re the kind of person who likes knowing how a building works, do the heritage tour. Seriously. You get both theatres, the backstory, and all the little details you’d otherwise miss, from the vaudeville-era design to the mechanics of how these spaces were restored and kept alive. Since the site is UNESCO-designated and dates to 1913, there’s a lot going on beyond the pretty ceiling.
It’s right at 189 Yonge, easy from either Queen or Dundas Station, and very easy to pair with dinner downtown. I’d suggest arriving early enough to take in the lobby and staircases instead of rushing to your seat at the last second. Check the schedule on heritagetrust.on.ca because hours depend on performances and tour times. Price-wise, it lands in that fair-for-a-special-night-out range. If you return—and you probably will—it’ll be for the Winter Garden again. Everyone says the ceiling is the reason, and they’re right.