Masonic Temple (Toronto)
The Masonic Temple from the south-east corner in May 2016. | |
Address | 888 Yonge Street |
---|---|
Location | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Coordinates | 43°40′23″N 79°23′18″W / 43.673003°N 79.388293°WCoordinates: 43°40′23″N 79°23′18″W / 43.673003°N 79.388293°W |
Owner | Info-Tech Research Group[1] |
Genre(s) | Rock music |
Seating type | Standing room only |
Construction | |
Built | November 2, 1916–January 1, 1918 |
Opened | January 1, 1918 |
Construction cost | $220,864 |
The Masonic Temple is a six-storey building located at 888 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (on the north-west corner of Davenport Road and Yonge Street).
History
Construction began November 2, 1916 when the contract was signed and approved by the Board of The Masonic Temple Company for the tearing down of an existing church and excavation. The Masonic ceremony of laying the cornerstone occurring November 17, 1917 and the first Lodge meeting taking place on New Year's Day, 1918.[2] At its peak, the Masonic Temple was home to 38 different Masonic bodies: 27 Craft Lodges, six Chapters (York Rite), two Preceptories (Knights Templar), two Scottish Rite Bodies and Adoniram Council.[2]
In the years before its sale to CTV, the building housed live music clubs known as The Concert Hall, and earlier, in the late 1960s, The Rock Pile, a sitting-on-the-floor style concert venue that featured not only showcases for top local talent but also appearances by major international recording stars, including Toronto's first Led Zeppelin concert on February 2, 1969, during the band's inaugural North American Tour.
Although the location remained historically significant and was added to the City of Toronto Heritage Property Inventory in 1974, the building has changed hands a number of times. In 1997, it was threatened with demolition: a developer had planned a new highrise residential building marketed to Asians, solely to exploit its "lucky" address of 888 Yonge Street, [3] It was designated under the Ontario Heritage Act in the same year.[3]
Also in the 1990s, the studio was the home of Open Mike with Mike Bullard, and was one of CTV Toronto's news bureaus. Also, notably, it has been rented as a rehearsal space by the Rolling Stones. From March 2006, the building became the broadcast home of the new MTV Canada and has hosted the Polaris Music Prize since 2009.
The building's fate was once again placed under a cloud on November 2, 2012, when Bell Media announced the moving of MTV Canada studio production to 299 Queen Street West and that the building would be sold, possibly for condominiums.[3] Bell Media officially listed the property for sale on March 4, 2013.[4] On June 17, 2013, the building was purchased by the Info-Tech Research Group.[1] Info-Tech announced that its plans for the building include staging an annual charity rock concert in the auditorium.[5]
List of live shows
Date | Operating Name | Act | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1968-09-20 | The Rock Pile | Blood, Sweat & Tears | |
1968-09-21 | The Rock Pile | Blood, Sweat & Tears | Transfusion opened. |
1968-10-05 | The Rock Pile | Procol Harum[6] | |
1968-10-27 | The Rock Pile | The Jeff Beck Group | |
1968-11-09 | The Rock Pile | Iron Butterfly | |
1969-02-02 | The Rock Pile | Led Zeppelin[7] | |
1969-02-23 | The Rock Pile | Frank Zappa[8] | |
1969-03-02 | The Rock Pile | John Mayall | |
1969-03-08 | The Rock Pile | Savoy Brown Blues Band | |
1969-03-16 | The Rock Pile | Chuck Berry | |
1969-03-23 | The Rock Pile | Spirit | |
1969-03-29 | The Rock Pile | Jethro Tull | |
1969-04-05 | The Rock Pile | John Lee Hooker | |
1969-04-12 | The Rock Pile | The Crazy World of Arthur Brown | |
1969-04-19 | The Rock Pile | Family | |
1969-04-26 | The Rock Pile | Paul Butterfield | |
1969-05-04 | The Rock Pile | Sweetwater | |
1969-05-11 | The Rock Pile | Deep Purple | |
1969-05-17 | The Rock Pile | Kensington Market | |
1969-05-19 | The Rock Pile | The Who[9] | Concert Poster |
1969-05-24 | The Rock Pile | Frank Zappa | |
1969-07-08 | The Rock Pile | Grateful Dead[10] | |
1969-07-12 | The Rock Pile | McKenna Mendelson Mainline | |
1969-08-18 | The Rock Pile | Led Zeppelin[11] | |
1969-09-24 | The Rock Pile | The Mothers of Invention[12] | |
1969-12-31 | Masonic Temple Auditorium | Alice Cooper Teegarden & Van Winkle Keith McVie, Moonshine and more... | |
1979-11-15 | The Concert Hall | City Boy[13] | |
1980-11-18 | The Concert Hall | Siouxsie & The Banshees[14] | |
1981-03-?? | The Concert Hall | Blue Peter | as part of the "March Hop Jump" |
1981-03-12 | The Concert Hall | Iggy Pop | |
1981-05-10 | The Concert Hall | Plasmatics[15] | |
1981-06-10 | The Concert Hall | Goddo[16] | |
1981-06-19 | The Concert Hall | Iron Maiden[17] | Reckless opened, first Canadian Iron Maiden show |
1981-06-21 | The Concert Hall | Iron Maiden | |
1981-07-24 | The Concert Hall | Kraftwerk[18] | |
1981-08-30 | The Concert Hall | The Cure[19] | First show in Toronto |
1981-10-23 | The Concert Hall | King Crimson | 2 shows |
1982-??-?? | The Concert Hall | Public Image Ltd | |
1982-07-06 | The Concert Hall | Duran Duran | |
1982-10-28 | The Concert Hall | Iggy Pop | with The Untouchables |
1982-10-29 | The Concert Hall | Spoons | Show simulcast on CITY-TV and CHUM-FM; later released on DVD |
1983-01-?? | The Concert Hall | Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five | |
1983-??-?? | The Concert Hall | Nina Hagen | |
1984-06-13 | The Concert Hall | Marillion | The Box opened |
1984-07-13 | The Concert Hall | R.E.M. | |
1984-11-12 | The Concert Hall | The Cure | |
1985-01-19 | The Concert Hall | Metallica[20] | |
1985-03-10 | The Concert Hall | Run–D.M.C. | |
1985-03-31 | The Concert Hall | Venom/Slayer/Razor | |
1985-05-05 | The Concert Hall | Cabaret Voltaire | |
1987-??-?? | The Concert Hall | Boogie Down Productions | with special guest Biz Markie |
1987-05-31 | The Concert Hall | Skinny Puppy | |
1988-04-21 | The Concert Hall | Love and Rockets | The Mighty Lemon Drops & The Bubblemen opened |
1988-05-08 | The Concert Hall | Midnight Oil | |
1988-11-06 | The Concert Hall | Skinny Puppy | |
1990-03-30 | The Concert Hall | The Tragically Hip | |
1990-11-25 | The Concert Hall | Jane's Addiction | The Buck Pets opened |
1990-11-27 | The Concert Hall | The Pixies[21] | Pere Ubu opened |
1991-02-24 | The Concert Hall | The Charlatans | venue moved from the Opera House |
1991-04-14 | The Concert Hall | Happy Mondays | Stereo MCs opened |
1991-07-05 | The Concert Hall | The Tragically Hip | |
1991-07-09 | The Concert Hall | EMF | |
1991-09-29 | The Concert Hall | Jesus Jones | |
1991-10-29 | The Concert Hall | The Smashing Pumpkins[22] | |
1991-10-30 | The Concert Hall | The Smashing Pumpkins[23] | |
1991-11-23 | The Concert Hall | Billy Bragg | Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy opened |
1991-11-30 | The Concert Hall | The Pixies | |
1991-12-03 | The Concert Hall | Tin Machine[23] (David Bowie) | It's My Life Tour |
1992-03-30 | The Concert Hall | The Beautiful South | The Waltons opened |
1992-04-28 | The Concert Hall | The Charlatans | Catherine Wheel opened |
1992-05-04 | The Concert Hall | Soundgarden | |
1992-05-15 | The Concert Hall | Sugarcubes[24] | |
1992-05-15 | The Concert Hall | Beastie Boys[25] | |
1992-11-29 | The Concert Hall | Alice In Chains | |
1993-01-25 | The Concert Hall | Ned's Atomic Dustbin | |
1993-01-29 | The Concert Hall | Slik Toxik | |
1993-02-19 | The Concert Hall | Inspiral Carpets | |
1993-03-06 | The Concert Hall | Pantera | Sacred Reich opened. |
1993-03-31 | The Concert Hall | Rage Against the Machine | |
1993-04-13 | The Concert Hall | Midnight Oil | |
1993-04-27 | The Concert Hall | Phish | |
1993-05-17 | The Concert Hall | Danzig | Nudeswirl and Proper Grounds opened. |
1993-06-15 | The Concert Hall | The Flaming Lips | Porno for Pyros opened. |
1993-10-06 | The Concert Hall | Bad Religion | Green Day and Doughboys opened. |
1993-10-18 | The Concert Hall | Stone Temple Pilots | The Mighty Mighty Bosstones opened. |
1993-10-24 | The Concert Hall | Primus | Melvins opened. |
1993-10-28 | The Concert Hall | Rage Against the Machine | Quicksand opened. |
1993-11-21 | The Concert Hall | The Lemonheads | Redd Kross opened. |
1993-12-06 | The Concert Hall | Green Day | |
1994-02-23 | The Concert Hall | Tool | Failure opened. |
1994-04-06 | The Concert Hall | Phish[26] | |
1994-05-16 | The Concert Hall | Rollins Band | |
1994-11-18 | The Concert Hall | Anvil | |
1996-04-03 | The Concert Hall | Foo Fighters | |
1996-04-18 | The Concert Hall | Rusty | |
1996-04-27 | The Concert Hall | Bob Dylan[27] | |
1996-04-28 | The Concert Hall | Bob Dylan[28] | Aimee Mann opened. |
1996-05-11 | The Concert Hall | Dave Matthews Band[29] | |
1996-05-31 | The Concert Hall | The Band | High on the Hog tour. The Mahones opened. |
1996-06-14 | The Concert Hall | Cocteau Twins | |
1996-07-06 | The Concert Hall | Finn Brothers | |
1996-08-18 | The Concert Hall | Steve Earle[30] | |
1996-09-20 | The Concert Hall | Sloan | |
1996-10-27 | The Concert Hall | Billy Bragg | Robyn Hitchcock and Deni Bonet opened |
1996-11-22 | The Concert Hall | James Brown | |
1997-04-18 | The Concert Hall | Rusty | |
1997-06-09 | The Concert Hall | The Tragically Hip[31] | |
1997-10-01 | The Concert Hall | Paul Weller | |
1998-06-27 | The Concert Hall | Cibo Matto | |
2016-05-06 | Info-Tech Research Group | Luke & The Apostles | |
2016-06-02 | Info-Tech Research Group | Platinum Blonde | |
2016-09-09 | 888yonge | Karl Wolf | GLB V after party |
References
- 1 2 "Toronto’s historic Masonic Temple sells to consultancy firm for $12.5-million". The Globe and Mail, June 17, 2013.
- 1 2 "Tale of Two Temples". Retrieved 21 June 2010.
- 1 2 3 "Iconic Masonic Temple closing". torontosun.com. 2012-11-02. Retrieved 2012-11-05.
- ↑ "Heritage Masonic Temple for sale by Bell Media". Toronto Star, March 14, 2013.
- ↑ "Bell Media sells Toronto Masonic Temple to IT consulting firm". Toronto Star, June 17, 2013.
- ↑ http://www.procolharum.com/toronto_051068.htm
- ↑ http://www.ledzeppelin.com/node/333/9895
- ↑ http://www.classic-rock-concerts.com/performances/59481
- ↑ http://thewho.com/gig/may-19-1969-toronto-on-ca/
- ↑ http://jerrygarcia.com/show/1969-07-08-rock-pile-toronto-ontario-canada/
- ↑ http://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/august-18-1969
- ↑ http://www.classic-rock-concerts.com/performances/54494
- ↑ http://www.classic-rock-concerts.com/performances/30306
- ↑ http://www.songkick.com/concerts/825156-siouxsie-and-the-banshees-at-concert-hall
- ↑ http://www.songkick.com/concerts/8770931-plasmatics-at-concert-hall
- ↑ http://www.songkick.com/concerts/8770951-goddo-at-concert-hall
- ↑ http://www.songkick.com/concerts/11515478-iron-maiden-at-concert-hall
- ↑ http://www.songkick.com/concerts/900311-kraftwerk-at-concert-hall
- ↑ http://www.cure-concerts.de/concerts/1981-08-30.php
- ↑ http://www.metallica.com/tour/jan-19-1985-toronto.asp
- ↑ http://www.pixiesmusic.com/tour_date_type/11271990-toronto-canada
- ↑ http://www.spfc.org/tours/date.html?tour_id=87
- 1 2 http://www.spfc.org/tours/date.html?tour_id=88
- ↑ http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-sugarcubes/1992/masonic-temple-toronto-on-canada-1bc6758c.html
- ↑ http://www.songkick.com/concerts/662004-beastie-boys-at-concert-hall
- ↑ http://www.songkick.com/concerts/1814606-phish-at-concert-hall
- ↑ http://www.songkick.com/concerts/1011577-bob-dylan-at-concert-hall
- ↑ http://www.songkick.com/concerts/1011578-bob-dylan-at-concert-hall
- ↑ http://www.songkick.com/concerts/1734671-dave-matthews-band-at-concert-hall
- ↑ http://www.songkick.com/concerts/828070-steve-earle-at-concert-hall
- ↑ http://www.songkick.com/concerts/865946-tragically-hip-at-concert-hall