Kerr Hall facts for kids

A part of South Kerr Hall

Toronto Metropolitan University Community Park

Kerr Hall is a group of four buildings that form a square. They surround a green space called Ryerson Community Park. This park is often called the Quad. Kerr Hall is located on the campus of Toronto Metropolitan University in Toronto, Canada. This university used to be known as Ryerson University.

The buildings stand on the land where the old Toronto Normal School once was. Most of the Normal School was taken down in the late 1950s. This made way for the new Kerr Hall buildings.

The four parts of Kerr Hall are:

• 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: Found at 40 and 50 Gould Street.

The current Kerr Hall was built between the early 1960s and 1969. It was designed by an architect named Burwell R. Coon. Kerr Hall is named after Howard Hillen Kerr. He was the first principal of the university when it was known as Ryerson.

Interior access of Kerr Hall

The old facade of Toronto Normal School is now the entrance to the university's Recreation and Athletics Centre

The Creative School Chrysalis

The Chrysalis Theatre

The northwest part of Kerr Hall North is home to The Creative School Chrysalis. This place used to be called the Ryerson Theatre. It is a large auditorium with 1,237 seats.

The Chrysalis is used for many different events. These include live shows, talks, product launches, and graduation ceremonies. It also hosts fashion shows and film shoots. The theatre has even shown movies during the Toronto International Film Festival.

Past Events at The Chrysalis

The Chrysalis has hosted many exciting events over the years.

Film Premieres

• The movie The Princess Bride had its premiere here in 1987.
• The film Borat was also shown for the first time here in 2006.

Awards and Lectures

• The Juno Awards were held here in 1976.
• The 28th Canadian Film Awards took place in 1977.
• The Atkinson Lecture Series has also been hosted here.
• Final Kombat 2024, a major event, was held here.

Dance and Music Performances

• The Fall for Dance North series featured the Indigenous Enterprise program "Indigenous Liberation" in October 2022.
• The band Japan performed a concert in November 1979.
• The CJRT Festival Series has also presented musical concerts.

Theatre Productions

• The Ryerson Theatre Company performed Twelfth Night in November 1977.

The Creative School Chrysalis is also where students from Toronto Metropolitan University's Performance Acting, Dance, and Production programs put on their shows.

Finding Your Way Around Kerr Hall

Kerr Hall has many floors and rooms. It can be a bit tricky to navigate because not all four buildings connect on every floor. For example, you cannot walk through the Theatre to get to other parts. Also, the ground floor of Kerr Hall South does not connect to all areas.

Google Maps offers indoor maps for all four floors of Kerr Hall. It also has maps for the basement. However, some room numbers are not shown on the map. The entire 100 level of Kerr Hall West is also missing from the maps.

Google's indoor maps can help you find your way. They can even give you spoken directions to certain rooms inside the buildings. These maps use Wi-Fi signals to figure out where you are. This can help you find your location inside the building with good accuracy.