Kerr Hall facts for kids
Kerr Hall is a group of four buildings that form a square around a green space called Ryerson Community Park. It is located on the campus of Toronto Metropolitan University in Toronto, Canada. This university used to be called Ryerson University.
Kerr Hall stands where the old Toronto Normal School used to be. Most of the old school was taken down in the late 1950s. This made space for the new Kerr Hall buildings, which include:
- Kerr Hall East: Found at 340 Church Street and 60 Gould Street.
- Kerr Hall West: Located at 379 Victoria Street.
- Kerr Hall North: At 31 and 43 Gerrard Street East.
- Kerr Hall South: Situated at 40 and 50 Gould Street.
The current buildings were constructed between the early 1960s and 1969. They were designed by an architect named Burwell R. Coon. The park in the middle of Kerr Hall is a lovely green area with trees, often called the Quad. Kerr Hall is named after Howard Hillen Kerr, who was the first principal of Ryerson.
The Creative School Theatre at Kerr Hall
The northwest part of Kerr Hall North is home to The Theatre at The Creative School. This theatre used to be known as Ryerson Theatre. It is a large auditorium with 1,237 seats. People use it for many different events. These include live shows, talks, product launches, graduation ceremonies, fashion shows, and even filming movies. The theatre also shows films during the Toronto International Film Festival.
This theatre has hosted many exciting events:
- Film Premieres: Movies like The Princess Bride (1987) and Borat (2006) had their first showings here.
- Awards Shows: The Juno Awards in 1976 and the 28th Canadian Film Awards in 1977 were held here.
- Lecture Series: Important talks like the Atkinson Lecture Series have taken place.
Source: Toronto Metropolitan University
The theatre has also seen many dance and music performances:
- Dance: The Fall for Dance North series featured an Indigenous Enterprise program called "Indigenous Liberation" in October 2022.
- Music: The band Japan played a concert in November 1979. The CJRT Festival Series also held events here.
- Theatre: The Ryerson Theatre Company performed plays like Twelfth Night in November 1977.
Finding Your Way Around Kerr Hall
It's important to know that not all four of Kerr Hall's buildings connect on every floor. For example, you cannot walk through The Theatre to get from one side to another.
If you use Google Maps, you can find indoor maps for all four floors of Kerr Hall, plus the basement. However, some room numbers might be missing from the map. Also, the entire 100 level of Kerr Hall West is not shown.
Google's indoor maps can show you static floor plans. They can also give you spoken directions to help you find specific rooms inside the building. Google Maps can figure out where you are inside a building using Wi-Fi signals. It can usually tell your position within 5 to 15 meters in many large buildings.
