The Eglinton Grand is a restored 1936 art deco movie theatre at 400 Eglinton Avenue West in midtown Toronto, now run as an event venue with a main ballroom, a mezzanine for cocktail hour, a Gallery Room and a lobby, with in-house catering and one event per day. Its own pages quote seated capacities in the hundreds and cocktail receptions in the high hundreds, though the two figures on its site differ, so the number for your date comes from the venue. This guide collects the public facts, explains how to get there, and sets out what a photo booth, a backdrop or a photographer needs inside a theatre building.
What the Eglinton Grand is
The building opened on April 15, 1936 as the Eglinton Theatre, a stand-alone movie house planned by Agostino Arrigo Sr., who arrived in Toronto from Italy as a teenager and began planning the theatre during the Depression. The venue’s history page says the theatre won the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada bronze medal in 1937 for its art deco furnishings and screened films from The Sound of Music to Titanic before it was restored to what the venue calls its “original 1936 grandeur”. Today it is marketed as The Eglinton Grand, part of the Dynamic Hospitality group of Toronto venues, and the accessibility page names Eglinton Event Venue Inc. as the operating company.
Two features set it apart from a banquet hall. The grand marquee sign and the movie poster boxes on Eglinton Avenue can carry a customized message for your event, and the venue is exclusive to one event per day, so the building is yours for the evening without another party sharing the lobby.
Event spaces and capacities on the venue’s site
| Space | What the venue says about it |
|---|---|
| Ballroom (main room) | Described by the venue as the main ballroom, revealed from the mezzanine by a curtain |
| Mezzanine | A cocktail-hour area above the ballroom with a curtain reveal into the main room |
| Gallery Room | The original movie theatre entrance with updated interiors; the history page lists up to 225 seated theatre-style |
| Lobby | Named on the venue’s floor plans; the art deco entrance under the marquee |
Capacity figures differ between the venue’s pages. The corporate page lists 50 to 420 for a sit-down dinner and up to 1,000 cocktail style; the history page lists 100 to 450 for a sit-down dinner and up to 700 for cocktail receptions. Both are the venue’s own numbers, as of November 2026, so confirm the figure that applies to your layout before you set a guest list. The corporate page also lists an updated surround sound system, an HD digital projector, a screen and lighting effects among the venue features, which matters for anyone planning a presentation, a slideshow or a first-dance video.
Catering is prepared by the venue’s own team, and the wedding and corporate pages point to package and menu PDFs rather than published prices. Planning is handled by the venue’s event specialists, and the site lists a preferred vendors page without stating an exclusive-vendor policy, so ask whether outside suppliers need approval.
Getting there and parking
The venue’s pages give the address, 400 Eglinton Avenue West, Toronto, Ontario M5N 1A2, and say the building is easily reached by public transit. They do not publish parking information, and “Eglinton Grand parking” is a search people run often enough to show up as a related query, so plan it before guests ask.
- Parking: not stated on the venue’s site. Ask the venue whether it has an arrangement with a nearby lot, and check the City of Toronto’s Green P lots and street parking rules along Eglinton Avenue West for the evening of your event.
- Subway: Eglinton station on Line 1 (Yonge) is the nearest open subway station, east of the venue along Eglinton Avenue; the 32 Eglinton West bus runs along the avenue from the station. The Eglinton Crosstown’s Avenue station sits at Avenue Road and Eglinton, close to the venue; check the TTC website for the current service status before you print it on an invitation.
- Drop-off: the front entrance opens straight onto Eglinton Avenue West, a busy arterial street, so tell drivers and taxis where to pull in and confirm the loading spot for vendor vehicles with the venue.
Accessibility
The venue’s accessibility page says Eglinton Event Venue Inc. has a portable wheelchair lift to help guests enter the building, and asks clients to advise in advance if they need ramps, ideally before the venue tour. Service animals are welcome in public areas, and support persons are welcome. The page does not describe elevators or accessible washrooms, so ask about the route between the lobby, the mezzanine and the ballroom for guests who use a wheelchair.
What a photo booth or decor setup needs in a theatre venue
The venue does not publish vendor rules, so these are general notes for a converted theatre. Confirm each point with the event specialist assigned to your date.
Where the booth goes
A theatre venue has three natural booth positions: the lobby, where guests arrive under the marquee; the mezzanine during cocktail hour; and the ballroom once dinner is over. A booth in the lobby catches every guest on the way in and keeps the ballroom clear for the room reveal. A booth on the mezzanine works for cocktail hour but must be in place before guests arrive and may stay there all night, so ask whether the mezzanine remains open after the curtain reveal. In the ballroom, a booth against a side wall near the bar keeps the queue off the dance floor.
Power and footprint
Most booths run from one standard 120 V outlet within about 15 ft of the booth position. Open-air booths such as the Signature Classic, the Glam Booth and the Mirror Booth need about a 10 by 10 ft area with a backdrop against a wall. A 360 Video Booth needs a clear 10 by 10 ft area with about 9 ft of overhead clearance and a flat floor, which rules out any stepped or raked section of a former auditorium; ask where the floor is level. A theatre’s stage lighting and lighting effects can colour a photo, so the attendant positions the booth with its own ring light facing away from coloured wash lights.
Protecting the finishes
Art deco plaster, mirrors and metalwork are the reason to book a venue like this, so nothing attaches to them. Backdrops and flower walls stand on their own weighted frames, marquee letters sit on the floor or a riser, and cables are taped to the floor rather than to walls. If you want the marquee outside in your photos, a roaming photographer or a handheld booth works on the sidewalk under the sign without a fixed setup.
Load-in and timing
One event per day usually means a generous setup window, but the venue’s pages do not state vendor hours, and Eglinton Avenue is a poor place to leave a van. Ask for the vendor arrival time, the entrance for cases, the route to the ballroom and where a vehicle may unload. Many Toronto venues ask vendors for a certificate of insurance; Just Great Events carries $2 million in liability insurance and sends the certificate ahead of the event.
Which services suit the Eglinton Grand
- Vintage Photo Booth: a retro-style booth with printed strips that matches a 1936 theatre.
- Vogue Booth: life-size magazine covers that play on the movie poster boxes outside.
- Glam Booth: black and white studio-style portraits for galas and wedding receptions.
- Signature Classic Photo Booth: prints and digital sharing from an open-air booth in the lobby or the ballroom.
- 360 Video Booth: slow-motion video on a spinning platform, placed on a level section of the ballroom floor.
- Event photographer and roaming photo booth: candid coverage of the lobby, the mezzanine and the marquee without a fixed station.
- Marquee letters and freestanding backdrops: decor that stands on its own and suits the theatre’s lighting.
For the occasion, see our wedding photo booth page for receptions, our corporate event page for galas, award nights and holiday parties, and our school events page for proms and formals, which suit a theatre venue well.
Questions people ask
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Book a booth
Planning an event at the Eglinton Grand? Send us the date and the room
Tell us the date, where in the building the booth should go and the guest count. We confirm the position, the outlet and the arrival window with the venue, then send a written quote with the hours and the extras.