O'Keefe Centre - now Meridian Hall

The performing arts venue now known as Meridian Hall was opened in 1960 as the O'Keefe Centre. The building was designed by Peter Dickinson (who also designed the Inn on the Park and many other famous buildings.)

Mural by York Wilson

A notable piece of artwork in the lobby is the 1960 panoramic mural 'The Seven Lively Arts' by the Toronto artist York Wilson (1907-1984). It is 100 feet wide by 15 feet tall (30 metres by 4.6 metres) and covers, from left to right, the ideas of painting, sculpture, architecture, music, literature, dance, and at the far right, drama.

Previous name of the Meridian Hall

The building has been renamed multiple times:

• O'Keefe Centre - 1960 - 1996
• Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts - 1996 to 2007
• Sony Centre for the Performing Arts - 2007 to 2019
• Meridian Hall - 2019 to today

Closed for renovations from 2008 through 2010, the hall continues to operate to this day and is considered the largest soft-seat theatre in Canada with room for 3,172 guests.

• Short URL to share for Okeefe Centre historic photos: wholemap.com/OkeefeCentre
• Address for Okeefe Centre: 1 Front St East, Toronto, Ontario, Canada - M5E 1B2
• Latitude, Longitude for Okeefe Centre: 43.651175657138396, -79.36314362683096

 
 

List of all subjects. You can also see all the historic photos for a given neighbourhood. We also have a list of all the photos arranged by date.

And you can also go up a level to see the other photos we've put under the category of Live_music photos.

Historic photos of Okeefe Centre

1960		Grand opening of the O'Keefe Centre - cars lined up under the canopy 65 years ago - St. Lawrence - Saturday, October 1, 1960 Max temp: 12.8°C - Min temp: 5.0°C (weather details) Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives)
1960		Grand opening of the O'Keefe Centre - people under the The Seven Lively Arts mural in the lobby by York Wilson 65 years ago - St. Lawrence - Saturday, October 1, 1960 Max temp: 12.8°C - Min temp: 5.0°C (weather details) Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives)
1960		O'Keefe Centre, Front St. E., south east corner Yonge St., Toronto, Ont. 65 years ago - St. Lawrence - 1960 Link to archive record - Map location (From the Toronto Public Library)
1960		Grand opening of the O'Keefe Centre - Cars and people waiting outside 65 years ago - St. Lawrence - Saturday, October 1, 1960 Max temp: 12.8°C - Min temp: 5.0°C (weather details) Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives)
1960		Grand opening of the O'Keefe Centre - all dressed up in the latest 1960's fashion 65 years ago - St. Lawrence - Saturday, October 1, 1960 Max temp: 12.8°C - Min temp: 5.0°C (weather details) Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives)
1960		Grand opening of the O'Keefe Centre - The Seven Lively Arts mural in the lobby by York Wilson 65 years ago - St. Lawrence - Saturday, October 1, 1960 Max temp: 12.8°C - Min temp: 5.0°C (weather details) Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives)
1966		Diana Ross and the Supremes live on stage at the O'Keefe Center in 1966 Toronto 59 years ago - St. Lawrence - Monday, June 20, 1966 Link to archive record - Map location (From York University Archives)
1966		Stevie Wonder performing on drums with the Supremes live in Toronto - O'Keefe Centre 1966 59 years ago - St. Lawrence - Monday, June 20, 1966 Link to archive record - Map location (From York University Archives)
1970		Jefferson Airplane playing live on stage at the O'Keefe Centre in Toronto in 1970 55 years ago - St. Lawrence - Sunday, March 29, 1970 Link to archive record - Map location (From the Toronto Public Library)
1972		Paul Anka opens at O'Keefe in 1972 53 years ago - St. Lawrence - Monday, October 2, 1972 Link to archive record - Map location (From the Toronto Public Library)
1975		Johnny Cash performing live on stage at the O'Keefe Centre in Toronto in 1975 with knee-high laced boots 50 years ago - St. Lawrence - Monday, May 26, 1975 Link to archive record - Map location (From the Toronto Public Library)
1980		Anne Murray performing live on stage at the O'Keefe Centre in Toronto in 1980 45 years ago - St. Lawrence - Tuesday, August 26, 1980 Link to archive record - Map location (From the Toronto Public Library)
1983		O'Keefe Centre looking west past cars under the lights of the canopy with CN Tower in the distance 42 years ago - St. Lawrence - 1983 Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives)
1997		Hummingbird Centre sign on the west side of the building looking north-east - 36 degrees in Toronto 28 years ago - St. Lawrence - 1997 Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives)
2006		Radiohead live at the Hummingbird Center in 2006 - Toronto - live debut of 'Down is the New Up' (25 audio tracks) 19 years ago - St. Lawrence - Thursday, June 8, 2006 Link to archive record - Map location