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1913 – December 15: Loew's Yonge Street Theatre opens as the flagship for Loew's chain of Canadian vaudeville theatres. Built by Marcus Loew and designed by architect Thomas Lamb

1914 – February 16: the Loew's roof garden theatre, the Winter Garden, opens

1928 – May: Due to the decline of vaudeville's popularity and the advent of talking pictures, the Winter Garden is closed to the public; the lower auditorium remains open and is wired for sound

1930 – October 3: Loew drops vaudeville in favour of an all-movie program in the Yonge Street Theatre

1978 – March 17: The Yonge Street Theatre is re-named the Elgin

1981 – December 1: The Ontario Heritage Trust purchases the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres to restore them for use as a performing arts complex. What is believed to be the world's largest collection of vaudeville scenery is purchased along with the building – pieces from the collection are displayed in the cascading lobbies

1982 – June: The Winter Garden Theatre is declared a National Historic Site; designation of the Elgin follows shortly thereafter

1984 – October: Retrofit of the Elgin Theatre and restoration of the colonnaded lobby takes place

1985 – March 14: The celebrated production of "Cats" opens in the Elgin Theatre for a two-year run

1987 – May: Full restoration begins

1989 – December 15: After almost three years of restoration, the grand reopening of the historic Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres takes place – exactly 76 years after the original opening of the Loew's Yonge Street Theatre

1990 – Movies return to the Elgin Theatre with the arrival of the Toronto Film Festival (TIFF)

1995 – A new marquee – reminiscent of the 1913 original – is installed with 1,240 light bulbs

2011 – Work is undertaken to restore the terracotta façade and three arched windows overlooking Yonge Street

2013-14 – The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre celebrates its 100th anniversary

2018 – A new canopy of leaves is installed in the ceiling of the Winter Garden Theatre with approximately 20,000 artificial branches, maintaining the magic of the garden setting.

2023 – The theatre’s heritage Loew’s sign – painted on the building’s south wall – is restored and becomes fully visible again from the sidewalk below.