Massey Hall
Toronto, ON
Restoring and Expanding Canada's Longest Continually Operating Performing Arts Centre.
![](https://cdn.charcoalblue.com/uploads/images/_full/16077_Massey_Hall_c_Jag_Photography_N3_medium.jpg?v=1698767251)
Photo by: Jag Photography
In June 1894, Toronto’s Massey Hall celebrated its inaugural concert series. The building was a memorial to the late son of famed Canadian businessman and philanthropist Hart Massey. He envisaged a space dedicated to the development of the arts. More than 120 years later it is a 2,700-seat, internationally-revered concert venue and the longest continually operating performing arts centre in Canada.
In what is being treated as a “sensitive, strategic revitalisation of the hall” by architects KPMB, the building has been both restored and expanded. Classic details such as its iconic Moorish-style arches and plaster ceiling were cleaned and the original front signage restored. The entrance now includes a more accessible box office area and external walkways that connect visitors to the new South tower. The South tower houses a “new flexible performance space with an audience capacity of 200-500 people. A new cabaret venue will be designed below the main hall.”
Charcoalblue has provided theatre planning, stage lighting and stage engineering for the project. This included a new concept for flexible auditorium seating to enable a greater audience capacity with standing room and wider variation of event types.
![](https://cdn.charcoalblue.com/uploads/images/_sectorListingImage/16077_Massey_Hall_c_Scott_Norsworthy_N2_medium.jpg?v=1698767257)
Photo by: Scott Norswrothy
Team Members
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