Meridian Hall (Toronto)
"The barn that beer built" | |
Exterior view from Front and Yonge Street | |
Interactive map of Meridian Hall | |
| Former names |
|
|---|---|
| Address | 1 Front Street East Toronto, Ontario M5E 1B2 |
| Coordinates | 43°38′48″N 79°22′34″W / 43.6466°N 79.3761°W |
| Owner | City of Toronto government |
| Capacity | 3,191 |
| Type | Performing arts venue |
| Public transit | King |
| Construction | |
| Opened | October 1, 1960 |
| Reopened | October 1, 2010 |
| Rebuilt | 2008–2010 |
| Years active | 1960–2008; 2010–present |
| Construction cost | CA$12 million |
| Architect |
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| Website | |
| tolive | |
Meridian Hall, originally opened as O'Keefe Centre for the Performing Arts on October 1, 1960, is a performing arts venue in Toronto, Ontario, also known as Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts (1996–2007), and as the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts (2007–2019). It was re-branded as Meridian Hall on September 15, 2019. Located at 1 Front Street East, the facility was constructed for the City of Toronto municipal government, paid for by the O'Keefe Brewery, and houses the largest soft-seat theatre in Canada. It is currently managed by TO Live, an arm's-length agency and registered charity created by the city.
Over its history, the Centre, due to its size and acoustics, has catered primarily to large-scale spectacles, being the home of the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada until 2006. It has hosted touring productions of the Kirov Ballet and the Metropolitan Opera, numerous Broadway musicals, music concerts and legitimate theatre.
In 2008, the City of Toronto designated the theatre a heritage building. That year, it also underwent renovations to restore features such as the marquee canopy and York Wilson's lobby mural, The Seven Lively Arts. Restoration of the wood, brass and marble was undertaken, along with audience seating, flooring upgrades, new washrooms and reconfigured lobby spaces. Following two years of renovations and restoration work, the building reopened on October 1, 2010, fifty years to the date of the first opening night performance.