Massey Hall: Past, Present and Proposed Future

VIA URBAN TORONTO – ANDREA YU As the city’s first purpose-built space for music, Massey Hall is undoubtedly an iconic and important part of Toronto’s cultural history. With the announcement of significant renovations to the building, Urban Toronto looks back at Massey Hall’s colourful past and present and takes a peek into what the future may hold. Seeking to memorialize the tragic death of his son, agriculture machinery magnate Hart Massey commissioned a facility for “musical and other entertainments” in 1889. Originally named Massey Music Hall, Sidney Rose Badgley, a Toronto-born architect that earned his reputation from work on ecclesiastical buildings, was enlisted as the designer. Badgley was inspired by Methodist church architecture to give Massey Music Hall a U-shaped interior with a vaulted ceiling. As the ‘exotic’ Moorish Revival style was considered popular at the time (spreading even to Hart Massey’s private mansion on nearby Jarvis Street), Badgley designed the Hall’s interior similar to the Alhambra Castle in Granada, Spain. The vaulted, beamed and decorated plaster ceilings with scalloped arches and cusps are a few examples of the Hall’s Moorish design. Massey Music Hall officially opened on June 14, 1894 with a performance of Handel’s Messiah. Following the Great [...]

The Massey Tower – A Success Story

Massey Tower is already one of the most successful condominium projects ever seen in downtown Toronto. That success was bolstered at the 33rd Annual BILD Awards on April 26, 2013, where MOD’s iconic 60-storey, modern point tower captured the coveted 2013 Project of the Year Award. “We are thrilled that our industry has recognized that Massey Tower is an outstanding project,” says Gary Switzer, CEO of MOD Developments. In addition to the prestigious Project of the Year Award, Massey Tower also garnered BILD awards for Best High-Rise Building Design, Best Sales Office and Best Model Suite. The project had received an astonishing nine BILD nominations in all, Competition for the BILD Awards was fierce this year, with more than 1,000 entries vying to be among the top projects of 2013. BILD is the voice of the land development, home building and professional renovation industry in the Greater GTA. The organization represents more than 1,300 member companies. Designed by the renowned architectural firm Hariri Pontarini Architects, winners of the coveted Governor General’s Medal for architectural excellence, the soaring Massey Tower will feature retail, residential and non-residential units and world-class amenities. The project’s unique heritage component also propels it above other downtown [...]