The Parkdale Hall can host weddings, corporate events, product launches, conferences, galas, fundraisers and concerts, for up to 750 guests standing or 400 seated in its main hall. The venue occupies the former Parkdale Theatre at 1605 Queen Street West in Toronto, in the Parkdale neighbourhood.
Seminars and company events
The Main Hall gives companies a large single room with a stage, a bar, a backstage area and a loading dock, which simplifies product launches, town halls, awards nights and conferences that bring in staging or display equipment. The venue provides AV and sound, event staffing, furniture rental, floor plan design and production coordination, so an organiser can work with one team from layout to show. The Atlantis Cafe, a steampunk-style cafe with a patio, suits a breakout group, a team breakfast or a smaller meeting of around 30 people. Film and photo shoots are also booked here.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings and receptions are part of the regular program. The 1920s ceiling of the main hall and its stage make room for a ceremony, a seated dinner and a dance floor in the same space, and the full-service bar and in-house kitchen handle food and drink. For a large outdoor party, the lot across the street can take a tent.
Rooms and capacities
The Main Hall covers 4,800 square feet and holds up to 750 guests standing or 400 seated, with a stage, bar, backstage and loading dock. The Atlantis Cafe takes gatherings of about 30. The Lot, a 12,000-square-foot outdoor space across the street, is used for markets, tented events, live performances and guest parking. The main hall has an accessible entrance and accessible washrooms.
Catering
Catering is in-house, prepared in an on-site commercial kitchen, with a full-service bar. The venue also works with a network of outside vendors for the services it does not provide itself.
History and setting
The building opened in the spring of 1920 as the Parkdale Theatre, commissioned by cinema operators Jay and Jule Allen from the architect C. Howard Crane. It had an ornate plaster ceiling, gilded details, crystal chandeliers and more than 1,500 leather seats. It ran as a movie theatre until the summer of 1970, then housed a clearance store, a beer store and a cable TV studio, community groups, a book store and antique markets. In 2020 the Chan family reopened it to the public as The Parkdale Hall.
Getting there
The venue sits on Queen Street West, served by the 501 Queen streetcar, which runs east along Queen Street into downtown Toronto. Guests arriving by car can use The Lot across the street for parking, which is rare along this stretch of Queen Street.
