[URBAN NOTE] "The Great Hall is branching out from indie rock"

[rfmcdonald]

NOW Toronto's Kevin Ritchie describes the Great Hall's renovations.

Queen West venue the Great Hall will officially relaunch on September 21 after two years of renovation.

After Marioca Properties took ownership of the 126-year-old building at Queen and Dovercourt, Triangle Developments began a $3.5-$4 million overhaul to fix accessibility and capacity issues and restore its Victorian-era architectural details.

Port Perry-based company Adamson installed a new sound system and lighting rigs with moving fixtures in both the Main Hall and the downstairs venue formerly known as the Black Box. (A new name will be announced next month.) The builders have added more exits and washrooms, expanding the capacity from the 200s to roughly 500 people in the Main Hall and 420 in the Black Box.

An elevator has been installed to carry both patrons and equipment from street level to both rooms.

“There was a time when someone booking a show would go, ‘Oh my god, I’m gonna play on this mediocre sound system with a few LED lights,’” says Lina Beaudin, head of business development and programming at the Great Hall. “They would have to bring in all this equipment to make a show amazing. Now it’s ‘Come on in and play.’”