Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Harbourfront Centre

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Visitors
  
12 million/year

Website
  
harbourfrontcentre.com

Phone
  
+1 416-973-4000

Director
  
Marah Braye

Province
  
Ontario

Founded
  
1 January 1991

Harbourfront Centre

Established
  
January 1, 1991 (1991-01-01)

Location
  
235 Queens Quay West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Public transit access
  
509 Exhibition or 510 Spadina streetcar from Union Station

Address
  
235 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8, Canada

Similar
  
Distillery District, Toronto Islands, Casa Loma, St Lawrence Market S, Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

Profiles

Craft design at harbourfront centre


Harbourfront Centre is a key cultural organization on the waterfront of Toronto, Ontario's, situated at 235 Queen's Quay West. Established as a crown corporation in 1972 by the federal government to create a waterfront park, it became a non-profit organization in 1991. Funding comes from corporate sponsors, government grants, individual donors and entrepreneurial activities. Harbourfront Centre has a seating capacity of 2,000.

Contents

Harbourfront Centre works with over 450 community organizations, and hosts more than 4,000 events a year in many disciplines such as theatre, dance, literature, music, film, visual arts and craft.

Harbourfront centre toronto ontario canada


History

The federal government faced mounting criticism from the City of Toronto due to the amount of money being spent for Montreal on both Expo 67 and the 1976 Summer Olympics. Hence, the city decided that it would build Harbourfront Centre and the province would build nearby Ontario Place in order to revitalize Toronto's industrial harbour and increase tourism to the city with help from the federal government. As a result, the federal government committed to buying 100 hectares of land to be appropriated for public use. In 1972 "Harbourfront Corporation" was established as a federal Crown Corporation.

Harbourfront Centre was formed on January 1, 1991 as a non-profit charitable organization with a mandate to organize and present public events and to operate a 10-acre (40,000 m2) site encompassing York Quay and John Quay (south of Queens Quay West).

In 1982, Queen's Quay Terminal was remodelled by Zeidler Partnership Architects (the same firm that designed the Toronto Eaton Centre). The project transformed the industrial space into a mixed-use building that included shops, restaurants, offices, and exclusive residential condos (it once was the home for Premier Mike Harris).

Since its inception, Harbourfront Centre has been introducing Toronto audiences to artists and art forms that would not normally be seen in commercial venues.

Harbourfront Centre is patrolled by its own in-house security team, which works closely with police to ensure the property to protected.

Programming

Harbourfront Centre runs year-round programming with a combination of indoor and outdoor events. In the winter months more emphasis is put on theatre shows.

Cultural programming

Main events:

Educational programming

Main events:

Trivia

  • First children's summer day camps at Harbourfront Centre was in 1978.
  • Cirque du Soleil performed at Harbourfront Centre in 1985 early in its infancy.
  • The first WOMAD festival in Canada was held at Harbourfront Centre in 1988.
  • Some of the "big" names who have performed at Harbourfront Centre: Celine Dion, Oscar Peterson, Robert Lepage, STOMP, Julio Iglesias, Spalding Gray, Philip Glass, Ann Murray, k.d. lang, Jim Carrey, Feist, Lillian Allen, Gordon Lightfoot.
  • The top portion of the CN Tower was housed at Harbourfront Centre in 1975; schoolchildren were asked to sign it before it was installed.
  • In 2001, Harbourfront Centre organized "World Leaders: A Festival of Creative Genius," to pay homage to 14 renowned global cultural leaders. The participating artists included Issey Miyake, Guy Laliberté, Philippe Starck, Frank Gehry, Lily Tomlin, Stephen Sondheim, Bernardo Bertolucci, Robert Rauschenberg, Harold Pinter, Joni Mitchell, Robert Lepage, Peter Gabriel, Quincy Jones and Pina Bausch. Each artist had a dedicated night where they received an award and delivered a talk.
  • Since 2004 Harbourfront Centre has hosted the Planet IndigenUS Festival, a multi-day celebration and global exploration of contemporary Indigenous civilizations.
  • Governed by a 26-person community based volunteer Board of Directors.
  • Assisted by approximately 2,000 volunteers who generously contribute their efforts and time.
  • References

    Harbourfront Centre Wikipedia