Meridian Hall is a performing arts venue in Toronto, Ontario, and it is the country's largest soft-seat theatre.[1] The facility was constructed for the City of Toronto municipal government and is currently managed by TO Live, an arms-length agency and registered charity created by the city.[2][3] Located at 1 Front Street East, the venue opened as the O'Keefe Centre on October 1, 1960. From 1996 to 2007, the building was known as the Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts.[4][5] From 2007 to 2019, it was known as the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. On September 15, 2019, it was re-branded as Meridian Hall.
In 2008, the City of Toronto designated the theatre a heritage building.[6] 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.
History
The Centre was built on land formerly occupied by a series of commercial buildings, including the Canadian Consolidated Rubber Company, and previously it was the site of the Great Western Railway Terminal (later the Toronto Wholesale Fruit Market).[7]
Motorcade for Queen Elizabeth II passes the performing arts venue still under construction in 1959
The idea for a performing arts centre that could serve the needs of an increasingly dynamic city predates the building's opening by almost 20 years. In the mid-1940s, Nathan Phillips issued a challenge to Toronto industrialists to underwrite the cost of a multipurpose centre for theatre, music and dance. Response to Phillips' challenge was not immediate. E.P. Taylor, the racehorse-loving head of Canadian Breweries, which owned O'Keefe Brewing, offered in early 1955 to build a performing arts centre that would not only serve the needs of local institutions but increase the diversity of entertainment options available in Toronto. Toronto City Council immediately accepted the proposal in principle, but not until 1958 was the project finally approved to be built. Among others, United Church spokesmen opposed the idea that money from the sale of beer would be used for community development.[8] Taylor assigned one of his key executives, Hugh Walker, to oversee building what was to be known, during its first 36 years, as the O'Keefe Centre.
Opening night of the O'Keefe Centre in October 1960
Like The National Ballet, The Canadian Opera Company made the Centre its home stage, from as early as 1961 to 2006. Many[who?] of Canada's greatest singers, as well as many international opera stars, have performed for Centre audiences in COC productions. In addition, although touring opera is now rare, in earlier days the performing arts venue played host to The Met and to such well-known performers as Birgit Nilsson, Plácido Domingo and Renata Scotto.
Signage for the performing arts venue from in 2007. From 1996 to 2007, the venue was known as the Hummingbird Centre.
In early February 1996, the facility was renamed the Hummingbird Centre in recognition of a major gift from a Canadian software company, Hummingbird Communications Ltd.[4] The $5-million donation allowed the Centre to undertake a number of capital improvements and repairs, including the installation of an elevator and an acoustic reinforcement system for the auditorium.[12] In October 2006, OpenText acquired Hummingbird and declined to renew its contract with the centre.[13] In September 2007, Sony bought the naming rights to the Centre for $10-million, and a ten-year partnership was born.[5] When the Ballet and Opera moved to the Four Seasons Centre in 2006, it left a hole in the theatre's schedule. At this point, programming shifted to a multicultural schedule by include more content appealing to Toronto's many ethnicdiasporas. Notable performances that reflect this mandate include The Last Empress (a Korean historical musical), the Virsky Ukrainian Dance Company, South Africa's Soweto Gospel Choir, The Shaolin Warriors, Ricky Cheng, David Rudder & Friends and Club Tropicana.[citation needed]
In 2006, the performing arts venue received approval from the City of Toronto for the development of a high-risecondominium building beside the Centre. Designed by architect Daniel Libeskind (who also designed the Crystal addition to the Royal Ontario Museum), the L Tower was built on the southwest corner of the property. The Sony Centre closed on 26 June 2008 to begin the theatre renovations, which were unveiled on October 1, 2010.[14]
On 21 January 2019, the City of Toronto announced a C$30.75 million 15-year partnership with Meridian Credit Union, re-branding the Sony Centre into Meridian Hall, and the Toronto Centre for the Arts into the Meridian Arts Centre. The arts venues formally adopted their new names on September 15, 2019.[16][17][18]
Architecture
Designed by Peter Dickinson, the performing arts venue is an example of a mid-twentieth century modern performing arts venue. It is four stories high and is broken up into three main forms: the entrance block, auditorium and fly tower. The central form of the building is highly symmetrical with an open floor plan. Structurally, the performing arts venue uses steel trusses and concrete to hold the majority of the building together. In addition to the structure, the performing arts venue's auditorium houses an acoustic system, which gives the audience the sense that the sound is surrounding them.[19]
When it comes to materiality, the majority of the original materials are still in the building today. Materials used include: Alabama limestone, glazing, granite, copper, bronze, Carrara marble, carpet, cherryplywoodpanels and Brazilian rosewood. The performing arts venue is very diverse in its range of materials and employs them in such a way that they are not overshadowed by the unique forms of the building.[citation needed]
The Royal Ballet and Opera, formerly the Royal Opera House (ROH), is a historic opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. The first theatre on the site, the Theatre Royal (1732), served primarily as a playhouse for the first hundred years of its history. In 1734, the first ballet was presented. A year later, the first season of operas, by George Frideric Handel, began. Many of his operas and oratorios were specifically written for Covent Garden and had their premieres there.
Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central Melbourne suburb of Southbank in Victoria, Australia.
The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca, the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 by artistic director Hope Muir. Renowned for its diverse repertoire, the company performs traditional full-length classics, embraces contemporary work and encourages the creation of new ballets, as well as the development of Canadian dancers and choreographers.
The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and one of the largest producers of opera in North America. The COC performs at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, which was purpose-built for opera and ballet and is shared with the National Ballet of Canada. For forty years until April 2006, the COC had performed at the O'Keefe Centre.
The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts is a 2,071-seat theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located at the southeast corner of University Avenue and Queen Street West, across from Osgoode Hall. The land on which it is located was a gift from the Government of Ontario. It is the home of the Canadian Opera Company (COC) and the National Ballet of Canada. The building's modernist design by was created by Canadian firm Diamond Schmitt Architects, headed by Jack Diamond. It was completed in 2006, and the interior design includes an unusual glass staircase.
The Meridian Arts Centre is a performing arts venue in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It opened on October 16, 1993, as the North York Performing Arts Centre and was designed by Canadian architect Eberhard Zeidler for musicals, theatre productions and other performing arts. At opening, North York awarded management of the centre to Livent, which sold the naming rights in 1994 to Ford Motor Company of Canada. It became the Ford Centre for the Performing Arts. Later, it debranded as the Toronto Centre for the Arts.
The Queensland Performing Arts Centre is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre and is located on the corner of Melbourne Street and Grey Street in Brisbane's South Bank precinct. Opened in 1985, it includes the Lyric Theatre, Concert Hall, Playhouse and Cremorne Theatre.
The Marcus Performing Arts Center is a performing arts center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Managed by a non-profit organization, it is marketed as Milwaukee's premier presenter of the performing arts. It is located at 929 North Water Street, at the intersection of State Street in downtown Milwaukee, and is a dedicated War Memorial.
The Auditorium Theatre is a music and performance venue located in the Auditorium Building at 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive in Chicago, Illinois. Inspired by the Richardsonian Romanesque Style of architect Henry Hobson Richardson, the building was designed by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan and completed in 1889. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed in the theatre until 1904 as well as the Chicago Grand Opera Company and its successors the Chicago Opera Association and Chicago Civic Opera until its relocation to the Civic Opera House in 1929. The theater was home to the Joffrey Ballet from 1998 until 2020. It currently hosts a variety of concerts, musicals, performances, and events. Since the 1940s, it has been owned by Roosevelt University and since the 1960s it has been refurbished and managed by an independent non-profit arts organization.
Toronto is the largest city in Canada and one of the most multicultural cities in the world. Many immigrant cultures have brought their traditions languages and music to Toronto. Toronto, the capital of the province of Ontario, is a major Canadian city along Lake Ontario's northwestern shore.
The Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium is a 4-million-cubic-foot (110,000 m3) performing arts, culture and community facility, located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, USA, at 16th and Broadway, near the city's Power & Light District, the T-Mobile Center and the Crossroads Arts District. Opened in 2011, it houses two venues: the 1,800-seat Muriel Kauffman Theatre, home of the Kansas City Ballet and Lyric Opera of Kansas City; and the 1,600-seat Helzberg Hall, home of the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra. Both venues host a variety of artists and performance groups in addition to these three resident entities.
Eugene O'Keefe, baptized as Owen Keeffe, was an Irish-born Canadian businessman and philanthropist, well-known in the brewing industry for his signature brews. He incorporated the O'Keefe Brewery Company of Toronto Limited in 1891.
Recreation in Toronto consists of a varied selection of activities and events throughout the city year-round. Toronto boasts renowned theatre and arts communities, has a wide range of recreational public services, and offers many attractions for both residents and tourists.
The Civic Center Music Hall is a performing arts center located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was constructed in 1937 as Municipal Auditorium and renamed in 1966. The facility includes the Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre, the Freede Little Theatre, CitySpace, the Meinders Hall of Mirrors and the Joel Levine Rehearsal Hall.
The L Tower is a residential skyscraper in Toronto, Ontario, Canada designed by architect Daniel Libeskind. The project, which broke ground in mid-October 2009, saw many delays. One cause for delay was a stop-work order caused by safety concerns about the crane at the top of the building. The crane was also considered an eyesore for many residents. Despite the cranes, the building still won the eighth place Emporis Skyscraper Award in 2017.
The Julie Rogers Theatre is a historic performing arts theatre located on Pearl Street in downtown Beaumont, Texas. Built in 1928, the theatre was once Beaumont's City Hall and Auditorium. The capacity is approximately 1,663 seats.
The Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts venue located along Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin, Texas. The Long Center is the permanent home of the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Austin Opera and Ballet Austin and hosts other Austin-area performing arts organizations.
The Odeon Theatre Toronto was a movie theatre located at 20 Carlton Street in Toronto, Ontario. Designed by architect Jay English and operating between 1949 and 1973, the theatre was the Canadian flagship of Odeon Cinemas and one of Toronto's best examples of Streamline Moderne architecture.
The historic Capitol Theatre was built at 50 West 200 South in Downtown Salt Lake City during 1913. Originally operated as a vaudeville house named Orpheum Theater, this was soon renamed Capitol Theater during 1927. And is currently also known as the JQ Lawson Capitol Theater. And this building style is Italian Renaissance and Mannerist architecture.
↑ "Hummingbird to sing a new tune". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. 18 March 2009. Retrieved September 6, 2013. The O'Keefe became the Hummingbird when the head of Toronto-based Hummingbird Ltd., Fred Sorkin, pledged $5-million to help cover the costs of some badly needed renovations to the centre.
↑ Lozowska, Marianna (January 21, 2019). "Sony Centre will be renamed Meridian Hall". NOW Magazine. Retrieved September 15, 2019. On January 21, Mayor John Tory announced that arts organization Civic Theatres Toronto has struck a $30.75 million, 15-year partnership with Ontario's largest credit union that will result in Sony Centre for the Performing Arts rebranded as Meridian Hall and the Toronto Centre for the Arts renamed Meridian Arts Centre. The name changes will take effect on September 15.
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.
King 
GO Transit bus services
