Basecamp Toronto

Seedy Adult Theatre Becomes Climbing Gym

The building that houses the new climbing gym Basecamp in Toronto was built in 1938 as the Metro Theatre. Located on the busy Bloor Street, it was open 10 hours a day all week. It was one of the many Art Deco theatres in the city at the time. It would screen B movies and second-run films. It had 286 seats in one screening room and 320 in another and a third was storage. In 1976, Kar Green’s family bought the theatre and wanted to show Bollywood movies, but they were too hard to get. The Metro Theatre started to show adult films. By the 1990s, the front entrance had signed posters featuring porn stars like Ron Jeremy. Even at its peak, the theatre was never busy. At the turn of the century, you could pay six dollars and watch all day. Old classic porn movies could be watched on 35mm film. There was even a snack bar with popcorn. Green came to know customers by name and once said, “If someone walks in with dirty clothes, the smell will linger. We have health inspectors come in regularly. We don’t permit (lewd acts) from happening here.” In 2013, the theatre closed and was bought for $ 2.9 million by a numbered company directed by Saroj Jain. The building was partitioned to create two commercial spaces. A few climbers saw an opportunity to turn one of the spaces into a climbing gym, the other a coffee shop. Maxwell Summerlee and Matthew Languay would work for two years to turn the Metro into Basecamp. It required investors, city licences, contractors and dealing with property owners. Summerlee and Languay worked day and night to create a fun space for climbers. They had help from friends who built the front desk and lockers. Ontario crusher Mark Smith has been there to help along the way and is now an important part of the Basecamp team. The gym has some of the tallest walls in Canada’s largest city and it is located near the subway line, which makes it easily accessible. The old Metro sign still hangs above the front door.

There are over 70 routes on the more than 650- square metres of wall space. One of the most attractive features of the gym, besides the variety of wall types, is the auto-belay systems. Many gyms in Canada have installed the units in the past two years because they allow individuals to climb on a rope without a partner. This has led to a demand for more auto-belay systems and Basecamp is installing more. Many climbers visit before work in the morning to get a quick pump.

With green, blue and white walls built by Walltopia, every route is set with one colour of holds. On the west wall is a big mural that was painted by someone who responded to an Internet call by Languay to trade labour for climbing. Languay has even reached out on social media asking climbers what to call the routes, given the building’s past as a porn theatre. Some of the names suggested are Glory Hold and the Reach Around. Basecamp is currently installing a large bouldering area on the second f loor.

Basecamp opened this spring and has already had top climbers, such as Sasha DiGiulian and Jimmy Chin, swing by for a visit. It’s an ambitious project by less than half-a-dozen people with a rent around $ 30,000/ month. It proves climbing and climbing gyms have come a long way in the big city. Being Toronto’s most central climbing gym, it promises to also be one of the most popular. If you’re in the Toronto area, be sure to check it out.–