In 1923, the Allen Theatres chain was sold to Famous Players, which by 1928 financed major renovations to the theatre including building an orchestra pit. The venue remained an active movie theatre until 1957. The Blue Orchid Following a period of almost ten years during which the property remained vacant, in 1967, the venue was purchased for Can$129,000 by local entrepreneur Ed Silverberg who then invested further Can$250,000 in order to convert it into a cabaret named the Blue Orchid. Inspired by the New York City drag shows, it functioned as a dinner theatre featuring burlesque shows and plays with all-male casts. It was Silverberg who decided to turn the venue's upper balcony level into a tucked away, speakeasy-type bar with a dance floor. The Blue Orchid went away by 1976 and was replaced with Oriental Palace, a dinner and dance hospitality venue. Lee's Palace By mid 1980s, the building was purchased by Chong Su Lee a.k.a. Mr. Lee, owner of a nearby Stop & Go corner store on Bathurst and Harbord, who had become interested in the music venue concept through The Cameron House and the rest of the 1980s Queen West scene. On Thursday 5 September 1985, Lee's Palace was opened as a music club by Mr. Lee, the venue's namesake, with dancing on the top floor and live music on the main floor, much as it is today. The very first live show at the new venue on its opening night was Handsome Ned. The second live show—Blue Rodeo, who were booked on Handsome Ned's recommendation—took place two weeks later on 19 September 1985. The club was open seven days a week initially with Sundays becoming its signature night featuring local Toronto entertainer Frank Fazi's recurring Sunday Night Jam showcase with various local scene participants such as members of Greg Godovitz's Goddo. The venue's early live concert booking policy—bringing fledgling local rock bands plus emerging international (mostly British and American) indie acts—established a formula that would be continued throughout the decades that followed. Initially, local Toronto-area and other Canadian acts were routinely recruited from the nearby Queen West scene: doing well at Queen West spots such as The Cameron House, Horseshoe Tavern, and The Rivoli would usually result in being booked at Lee's Palace. The venue's chief booker Craig Morrison—hired by and answering directly to the owner Mr. Lee—was reportedly extremely diligent about determining a local young