Convocation Hall (University of Toronto)
Encyclopedia
Rotunda (architecture)
A rotunda is any building with a circular ground plan, sometimes covered by a dome. It can also refer to a round room within a building . The Pantheon in Rome is a famous rotunda. A Band Rotunda is a circular bandstand, usually with a dome...
on the grounds of the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Designed by Pearson and Darling
Pearson and Darling
Pearson and Darling was an architectural firm based in Toronto from 1897 through 1923, a key player in shaping the urban look of the city and the rest of Canada in the first half of the 20th century.-Formation:...
and completed in 1907, it was inspired by the grand theatre of the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
and the Sheldonian Theatre
Sheldonian Theatre
The Sheldonian Theatre, located in Oxford, England, was built from 1664 to 1668 after a design by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford. The building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, chancellor of the university at the time and the project's main financial backer...
at Oxford. The building primarily serves as the venue for the annual convocation
Convocation
A Convocation is a group of people formally assembled for a special purpose.- University use :....
ceremonies, in addition to hosting academic and social functions throughout the year.
History
In the latter half of the 19th century, the university began to see the need for a considerably larger ceremonial auditorium beyond the confines of University College, made more apparent by a fire that damaged much of the college in 1890. The construction of Convocation Hall was mainly financed by $50,000 raised by the University of Toronto Alumni Association and matching funds provided by Ontario government. The cornerstone was laid in 1904 and the construction completed three years later at almost twice the originally estimated cost.Major additions and expansions to the building occurred in 1912 when a large pipe organ was installed in the auditorium, and in 1947 with an alteration and addition to the examination hall. The building would not become equipped with air conditioning until 1997. In 2006, a major restoration and refurbishment was undertaken by E.R.A Architects with funding from the alumni association. Work entailed refurbishing seats, restoration of grandeur of the circular foyer including decorative finishes, historical millwork, lighting installations and a fresh coat of paint, and restoration of the historic pipe organ—the fifth largest in Toronto. The next year, Convocation Hall celebrated its centennial.
Over the years, Convocation Hall has served as the venue for major events and performances. Songs on Premiata Forneria Marconi
Premiata Forneria Marconi
Premiata Forneria Marconi is an Italian progressive rock band. They were the first Italian group to have success abroad, entering both the British and American charts. Between 1973 and 1977 they released five albums with English lyrics...
's album Live in USA were recorded at the hall in 1974. Bob Marley & The Wailers
Bob Marley & The Wailers
Bob Marley & The Wailers were a Jamaican reggae, ska and rocksteady band formed by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer in 1963. Additional members were Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, Cherry Smith and Aston and Carlton Barrett...
performed two shows of the Rastaman Vibration Tour
Rastaman Vibration Tour
The Rastaman Vibration Tour was a concert tour organised to support the album Rastaman Vibration by Bob Marley & The Wailers.The tour began at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, on April 23, 1976, and ended in Manchester, England, on June 27, 1976...
there in 1976. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...
gave an address to a capacity crowd there in the 1980s. The building hosted a recording of musician Hayden
Hayden (musician)
Paul Hayden Desser who records as Hayden, is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Thornhill, Ontario.His early works are a largely eclectic mix of genres from grunge rock to alt country, as demonstrated by his first full album, Everything I Long For, released in 1995. Since then his work has become...
's live album, titled simply Live at Convocation Hall
Live at Convocation Hall
Live at Convocation Hall is a live album by Canadian singer-songwriter Hayden, released in 2002 on Hardwood Records and Universal Music Canada.The album was recorded at the University of Toronto's Convocation Hall.- Disc One :# "Streetcar" – 4:53...
, in 2002. In 2007, former Vice President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
delivered a public lecture on climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
at Convocation Hall and presented his documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate, he has given more than a thousand times.Premiering at the...
. In 2009, Michael Ignatieff
Michael Ignatieff
Michael Grant Ignatieff is a Canadian author, academic and former politician. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011...
was at the hall to launch his book, True Patriot Love. The building also appeared in the film Mean Girls
Mean Girls
Mean Girls is a 2004 American teen comedy-drama film directed by Mark Waters. The screenplay was written by Tina Fey and is based in part on the non-fiction book Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman, which describes how female high school social cliques operate and the effect they can have...
and in the pilot episode of the television series Fringe
Fringe (TV series)
Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security...
.
Architecture
It was also a time of great architectural change. Architect Frank Darling was influenced by the neoclassical revival in architecture from the mid-18th century and the Greek revival of the 19th century. The design of Convocation Hall was to be that of a classical revival building, with historic neoclassical features and elements incorporated into the modern structure of the hall. In the case of Convocation Hall these elements are from both the Greek and Roman periods and include columns, the building's entablature, and its domed roof. There is an emphasis on principles of proportion, symmetry, geometry and uniformity of parts. The Hall's design reflects a formal character which reflects strength and inspires pride. It incorporates a repeating pattern of circular forms to convey messages of centrality and inclusiveness. The purpose of these circular forms was to make Convocation Hall both the metaphorical and physical centre of the expanding University.
The two most dominant and accentuated features of Convocation Hall are its exterior columns and the large domed roof. The columns are a cross between Doric and Ionic columns, as they consist of features typically seen on each type. There is a Doric style fluted shaft to the column, which is very chubby in form with a very large base. At the top of the column lies a typically Ionic capital. The large domed roof is made of copper, which has oxidized into the classic green frequently seen in historic Canadian buildings. At the centre of this domed roof is a large glass oculus, which allows in great amounts of natural lighting into the centre of the large hall beneath. Supporting this domed roof are strong structural beams which interiorly form into arches between the balcony seating on the third floor of the Hall. Materials used in the construction include glazed yellow and grey stock brick, stone block, steel, concrete, copper, glass, wood, terrazzo, and plaster.
With a seating capacity of 1,731, Convocation Hall comprises four stories, including two main seating floors. Attached in the rear of Convocation Hall are an examination hall that formerly served as exhibition space, and Simcoe Hall, which houses the university’s executive offices.