CNE Bandshell

Last updated
The Bandshell at Exhibition Place
Toronto bandshell.jpg
The Bandshell with an updated canopy extension (ca 2007)
CNE Bandshell
General information
InauguratedAugust 28, 1936
Cost CA$47,000 ($899,351 in 2021 dollars) [1] [2]
Owner City of Toronto
Design and construction
Architecture firm Craig and Madill

The CNE Bandshell is an open-air concert venue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at Exhibition Place on the shores of Lake Ontario. Built in 1936, it hosts the annual music program of the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) and is also used for festivals and picnic events, for which the "Bandshell Park" can be rented from the City of Toronto.

Contents

Description

Inspired by the Hollywood Bowl, the Art Deco-styled Bandshell was built in 1936 according to designs prepared by the Toronto architectural firm of Craig and Madill. [3] It cost CA$47,000 ($899,351 in 2021 dollars) [1] to construct. [2] The building has two-and-a-half dressing rooms, an office, a "green room", a "switch room" and a sound room. The stage is 338 square metres (3,640 sq ft) in size. [4]

The adjacent green space is known as Bandshell Park. In the north-east corner of the park is the Exhibition Place Carillon. At the north-side of the park is the Garden of the Greek Gods collection of sculptures. South of the bandshell is the "Acqua Dolce" Restaurant facing the rose garden.

History

The Bandshell was dedicated on August 28, 1936, by Ontario Premier Mitchell Hepburn, Toronto Mayor Sam McBride and the Lord Mayor of London Sir Percy Vincent at the opening of the Canadian National Exhibition. [5] Highlighting the initial musical program was the Kneller Hall Band of Great Britain and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. [6]

The Bandshell replaced the 1906 bandstand in the park, [7] one of two bandstands built in the early 1900s, the other was in today's Centennial Square (and subsequently rebuilt). The park was also the site of Canada's tallest flagpole and largest Canadian flag, marked with a small memorial. The flagpole, from a single tree, eventually had to be replaced and was removed. The CNE's largest Canadian flag now is located near the Ricoh Coliseum building. In the 1800s, the park was the site of the Crystal Palace exhibition building, which burnt down and was replaced by the present Horticulture Building to the north of the park.

Notable events

The list of famous acts to have played at the Bandshell is literally almost innumerable. The list of acts includes Salman Ahmad, [8] Louis Armstrong, Glen Campbell, Blondie (band), Johnny Cash, The Diamonds, [9] Esther Ghan Firestone, [10] Bob Hope, [7] Quincy Jones, [11] Guy Lombardo, [7] Don McLean, [12] Joni Mitchell, [7] Bob Newhart, Salt-N-Pepa, [7] Neil Sedaka, [13] The Stampeders, The Glorious Sons The Guess Who, [7] Tommy James and the Shondells. More recently the likes of America, April Wine, Frankie Avalon, [14] Susan Aglukark, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Big Sugar, [12] Chubby Checker, Benny Dayal, José Feliciano, [15] Foghat, Herman's Hermits, Monster Truck, Moxy Früvous, The New Pornographers, Leroy Sibbles, Rick Springfield, The Tea Party, Tokyo Police Club and Trooper have played the open-air venue.

The Bandshell was also used extensively for performance by military bands, such as the United States Navy Band. [9] Danny Kaye once guest-conducted the United States Air Force Band. [16]

On August 25, 2003, as part of the CNE's 125th anniversary celebrations, and as part of Kid's Day, a Guinness World Record was set by the Bandshell as Sesame Street's Elmo hosted the largest Hokey Pokey song and dance routine. [17] The number of participants recorded was 4,431. The record was subsequently broken in 2010. [18]

The Bandshell is the site of the annual opening ceremonies for the CNE, often opened by dignitaries. In the past various Canadian Governor Generals have spoken at the opening ceremonies. Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King opened the fair in 1947 with a speech. [19] In recent years, Bandshell Park has hosted the Toronto Festival of Beer [20] and the CHIN International Picnic. [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian National Exhibition</span> Annual event held in Toronto

The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Labour Day, the first Monday in September. With approximately 1.5 million visitors each year, the CNE is Canada's largest annual fair and the fifth largest in North America. The first Canadian National Exhibition took place in 1879, largely to promote agriculture and technology in Canada. Agriculturists, engineers, and scientists exhibited their discoveries and inventions at the CNE to showcase the work and talent of the nation. As Canada has grown as a country, the CNE has reflected the growth in diversity and innovation, though agriculture and technology remain a large part of the CNE. For many people in the Greater Toronto Area and the surrounding communities, the CNE is an annual family tradition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parkdale, Toronto</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Parkdale is a neighbourhood and former village in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, west of downtown. The neighbourhood is bounded on the west by Roncesvalles Avenue, on the north by the CP Rail line where it crosses Queen Street and Dundas Street. It is bounded on the east by Dufferin Street from Queen Street south, and on the south by Lake Ontario. The original village incorporated an area north of Queen Street, east of Roncesvalles from Fermanagh east to the main rail lines, today known as part of the Roncesvalles neighbourhood. The village area was roughly one square kilometre in area. The City of Toronto government extends the neighbourhood boundaries to the east, south of the CP Rail lines, east to Atlantic Avenue, as far south as the CN Rail lines north of Exhibition Place, the part south of King Street commonly known as the western half of Liberty Village neighbourhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exhibition Place</span> Publicly owned mixed-use development in Toronto

Exhibition Place is a publicly owned mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The 197-acre (80 ha) site includes exhibit, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments, parkland, sports facilities, and a number of civic, provincial, and national historic sites. The district's facilities are used year-round for exhibitions, trade shows, public and private functions, and sporting events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exhibition Stadium</span> Former multi-purpose stadium in Toronto

Canadian National Exhibition Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the grounds of Exhibition Place. Originally built for Canadian National Exhibition events, the stadium served as the home of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1959 to 1988, the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1977 to 1989, and the Toronto Blizzard of the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1979 to 1983. The stadium hosted the Grey Cup game 12 times over a 24-year period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Fort York</span> Former Canadian military facility

New Fort York, later the Stanley Barracks, is a former British and Canadian military base in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It was built in 1840–1841 to replace Toronto's original Fort York at the mouth of Garrison Creek as the primary military base for the settlement. Unlike the older fort, many of the new fort buildings were made with limestone instead of wood. A protective wall was planned for the new fort but was never built. The fort was used by the British army until 1870, and the Canadian military subsequently used the fort to train troops for the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. It also trained one of the first regiments of the North-West Mounted Police. The Canadian military stopped using it after World War II and the fort was demolished in the 1950s. Only the Officers' Quarters building remains on the site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coca-Cola Coliseum</span> Arena at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Coca-Cola Coliseum is an arena at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, used for agricultural displays, ice hockey, and trade shows. It was built for the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) and the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in 1921. Since 1997 it has been part of the Enercare Centre exhibition complex. It serves as the home arena of the Toronto Marlies ice hockey team, the American Hockey League farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs. For the 2015 Pan American Games the venue hosted the gymnastics competitions and was known as the Toronto Coliseum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automotive Building</span> Exhibition building in Toronto, Ontario

The Automotive Building is a heritage building at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, containing event and conference space. In the 1920s, as a result of burgeoning interest in automobiles, additional exhibition space for automotive exhibits during the annual Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) was needed. A design competition was held, and the winning design was submitted by Toronto architect Douglas Kertland. The building opened in 1929, and the "National Motor Show" exhibit of automobiles was held in the building until 1967. It was also used for trade shows. When it opened, it was claimed to be "the largest structure in North America designed exclusively to display passenger vehicles". During World War II, the building was used by the Royal Canadian Navy and named HMCS York. After the end of automotive exhibits at the CNE, the building was used for other CNE exhibits and continued to be used for trade shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Young People's Theatre</span>

Young People's Theatre (YPT) is a professional theatre for youth located in Toronto, Ontario. The company produces and presents a full season of theatre and arts education programming, performing to approximately 150,000 patrons annually. Founded in 1966 by Susan Douglas Rubeš, YPT originally operated out of the now-demolished Colonnade Theatre on Bloor Street. Since its 1977–78 season, the company has resided in a renovated heritage building in downtown Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enercare Centre</span> Exhibition complex in Toronto

Enercare Centre, formerly known as the Direct Energy Centre and originally the National Trade Centre, is an exhibition complex located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is used by the Canadian National Exhibition and the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, as well as by various trade shows. In 2015, it hosted several sport competitions and the broadcasting centre for the 2015 Pan American Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princes' Gates</span> Triumphal arch and a monumental gateway at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Princes' Gates is a triumphal arch and a monumental gateway at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Made out of cement and stone, the triumphal arch is flanked by colonnades on both of its sides, with curved pylons at both ends. The 350-foot-long (110 m) structure serves as the eastern gateway to the Canadian National Exhibition, an annual agricultural and provincial fair held at Exhibition Place.

George Wallace Gouinlock was a prominent Canadian architect. Gouinlock practiced mostly in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, including several designated buildings at Exhibition Place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pure Food Building</span>

The Pure Food Building was a facility opened in 1922 on Exhibition Place at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was demolished after the 1953 CNE to make way for the modernist Food Building, which still stands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CNE Ontario Government Building</span> Exhibition building, Special event space in Exhibition Place

The Ontario Government Building, housing the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex since 2001, is a heritage building located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Built in 1926 to provide exhibit space for the Government of Ontario during the annual Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), that function later moved to the Ontario Place complex. After a period of disuse, Toronto City Council approved a long-term lease with the Liberty Entertainment Group to use the building for private events.

Congregation Habonim Toronto, founded in 1954, is a liberal reform synagogue located at 5 Glen Park Avenue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the first Holocaust refugee/survivor congregations to develop in Canada. Although currently independent of any official denomination, its early founders modeled the synagogue on the example of early Reform Judaism in Germany.

Esther Ghan Firestone was the first female cantor in Canada, although she was not ordained. She began as a cantor in the mid-1950s at Toronto’s Temple Beth-El, and worked in Toronto at Temple Beth-El, Temple Emanu-El (1977), and later at Congregation Habonim Toronto from 1985 until some time in 2015. She was also a member of Kol Nashim, a sextet of female lay cantors founded in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horticulture Building (Toronto)</span> Exhibition building, Special event space in Ontario, Canada

The Horticulture Building, which houses the Toronto Event Centre, is a heritage building at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, containing event and conference space. It was built in 1907 for the display of horticulture during the annual Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), and it is a listed heritage building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shrine Peace Memorial</span>

The Shrine Peace Memorial is a memorial sculpture on the grounds of Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The monument was presented to the people of Canada on June 12, 1930 by the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine as a symbol of peace and friendship between the United States and Canada. It is also meant as "an ongoing reminder that Freemasonry actively promotes the ideals of peace, harmony, and prosperity for all humankind". The location is thought to be the location that American troops landed during the War of 1812 for the Battle of York.

Kingsland + Architects Inc. is a Toronto based architectural firm formed by James Henry Craig (1888-1954) and Henry Harrison Madill (1889-1988).

David Bednar is an American-born former theatre manager in Canada. He served as the general manager of the Canadian National Exhibition Association, which runs an annual fair called the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE). He retired in May 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Wentworth Russell</span> Canadian artist (1879-1959)

John Wentworth Russell was a Canadian painter with a wide range of subjects and media – portraits, landscapes, still life, and the nude as well as illustrations for magazines, such as Vogue. Russell’s large painting A Modern Fantasy, of a reclining female nude echoing Titian but realistically depicted and wearing a hat, caused a sensation when shown at the Canadian National Exhibition (C.N.E.) in Toronto in 1927. Although many adverse comments were published, Prime Minister Mackenzie King stated of the work: "1 saw the painting at the Ex and thought it a marvelous work.

References

  1. 1 2 1688 to 1923: Geloso, Vincent, A Price Index for Canada, 1688 to 1850 (December 6, 2016). Afterwards, Canadian inflation numbers based on Statistics Canada tables 18-10-0005-01 (formerly CANSIM 326-0021) "Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted". Statistics Canada. Retrieved April 17, 2021. and table 18-10-0004-13 "Consumer Price Index by product group, monthly, percentage change, not seasonally adjusted, Canada, provinces, Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit". Statistics Canada. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "History Walking Tour". CNE. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  3. ↑ Heritage Toronto, CNE Bandshell Archived 2012-02-16 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ "Bandshell Park Stage" (PDF) (pdf). Exhibition Place. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Premier Opens C.N.E. Under Drenching Rain". The Globe and Mail. August 29, 1936. pp. 1–2.
  6. ↑ Heritage Toronto plaque "CNE Bandshell". Heritage Toronto. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Bandshell". Ontario Association of Architects. September 1, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Salman Ahmad: opening doors, and minds, through music". Toronto Star. July 26, 2010. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  9. 1 2 Bradburn, Jamie (May 9, 2012). "Mapping Our Music: Before 1960". Torontoist. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  10. ↑ Fitterman, Lisa. "Esther Ghan Firestone: Canada's first female cantor delighted audiences with her voice". The Globe and Mail.
  11. ↑ Billboard August 25, 1973, p. 47
  12. 1 2 "Canadian National Exhibition Bandshell performers line-up". CNE Blogspot.
  13. ↑ Powell, W. Andrew (August 22, 2011). "Canadian National Exhibition celebrates 75 years of the bandshell". The Gate. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  14. ↑ Ouzounian, Richard (August 23, 2013). "Frankie Avalon on beach parties, the simplicity of the past, and Annette Funicello: The Big Interview". Toronto Star. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  15. ↑ Ouzounian, Richard (August 15, 2014). "Jose Feliciano still smoothly persuasive after all these years". Toronto Star. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Danny Kaye Conducting At The Bandshell, 1950". CNE. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Thousands hokey pokey for world record". UPI. August 26, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  18. ↑ "FryFest Breaks Hokey Pokey World Record". KCRG. Archived from the original on September 5, 2010. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Historicist: Johnny at the Fair". Torontoist.
  20. ↑ Parniak, Sarah (July 2, 2015). "Tasting Notes: Indulge your love of gin or beer at these upcoming special events". Now Toronto.
  21. ↑ "Canada Day events in the GTA". Toronto Star. June 30, 2009. Retrieved October 27, 2015.

43°37′52″N79°25′23″W / 43.63109°N 79.42293°W / 43.63109; -79.42293

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.