The Carlu (Toronto)
| The Carlu | |
|---|---|
The Round Room
|
|
| Location | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Area | 50,000 sq. ft. |
| Built | 1930 |
| Architect | Jacques Carlu |
| Website | www.thecarlu.com |
| Official name: Eaton's 7th Floor Auditorium and Round Room | |
| Designated | 1983 |
The Carlu is an historic event space in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Known for many years as the "Eaton's Seventh Floor", the Carlu is one of Toronto's best examples of Art Moderne architecture. The venue is owned by restaurant firm Oliver & Bonacini.
In 1930, the Eaton's department store chain, at the time Canada's dominant retailer, opened "Eaton's College Street", an imposing Art Deco store at the intersection of Yonge Street and College Street. The matriarch of the Eaton family, Lady Eaton, was a member of Eaton's board of directors, and the Eaton's restaurants were one of her responsibilities. She retained the noted French architect Jacques Carlu to design the seventh floor of the edifice, which was to contain the 1300-seat Eaton Auditorium, the Round Room restaurant, lounges and a private dining room. All of the facilities were to be connected by a long foyer, designed in the style of the ocean liners of the day. Between 1931 and 1965, the theatre was home to the Eaton Operatic Society.
Itself an Art Moderne masterpiece, the Eaton's Seventh Floor was at the heart of Toronto's cultural life for many years. The Auditorium played host to the major performers of its day, including Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and Frank Sinatra.
The first performance of the National Ballet of Canada was on the stage of the Eaton Auditorium. Canada's own Glenn Gould, fond of the Auditorium's excellent acoustics, used the hall for a number of his recordings.
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