Hockey Hall of Fame Toronto: History, 1943 to Today

The Hockey Hall of Fame was created on September 10, 1943, with Kingston, Ontario as its planned home. After years of delay it opened in a new building on the Canadian National Exhibition grounds in Toronto in 1961. On June 18, 1993, it reopened at Yonge and Front streets in a restored Bank of Montreal building from the 1880s.

Founding in 1943 and the Kingston plan

The Hockey Hall of Fame says that on September 10, 1943, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and the National Hockey League agreed to create a hall of fame in Kingston, Ontario. The main reason was the argument of Captain James T. Sutherland that hockey began in Kingston. The Canadian Encyclopedia gives the same date and adds that Kingston’s mayor, Stuart Crawford, was chosen as the first president.

The first inductees were named in 1945, the Hall says, but construction in Kingston was delayed by high building costs. Without a building, the Hall had members but no place to show anything. In 1958 the NHL president, Clarence Campbell, withdrew league support for Kingston, and the Hall was moved to Toronto. The Kingston committee carried on separately and opened its own hall in 1965. That institution is a different organization from the Toronto one, and readers should not confuse the two.

The Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto is therefore a 1943 creation that did not have a permanent building in Toronto until 1961, and not a Toronto institution from its first day.

The Canadian National Exhibition building, 1961

The Hall’s history says ground was broken in 1960 on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition, with Conn Smythe leading the fundraising and construction. Smythe was the longtime Maple Leafs figure behind Maple Leaf Gardens. The building was completed on May 1, 1961. Prime Minister John Diefenbaker officially opened the Hall on August 26, 1961, according to the Hall, and the Canadian Encyclopedia notes that the United States ambassador, Livingston T. Merchant, also attended. The Hall reports more than 750,000 visitors in its first year.

The Hall stayed on the Exhibition grounds for over thirty years. It says that by the mid-1980s the cost of operating the building had become a burden, and a search for a new location began.

The 1993 move to Yonge and Front

The Hall’s new home was an older building downtown, at 30 Yonge Street on the corner of Front Street. The Hall says that in 1993 it moved into the restored 1885 Bank of Montreal head office there, in what was then called BCE Place and is now Brookfield Place. It opened on June 18, 1993, after a $27 million renovation, and drew more than 500,000 visitors in its first year, according to the Hall.

The building’s own record is longer than the Hall’s time in it. The Hall’s page on the Great Hall says the Bank of Montreal used the building as its head office until 1949 and as a branch until 1982, when it closed for good. The Hall says the building sat largely unused after that, until it was restored as part of the BCE Place development. The Ontario Heritage Trust register lists it as the Bank of Montreal Branch Building at 30 Yonge Street, built in 1885 and 1886, with Frank Darling named as architect. The City of Toronto designated it under the Ontario Heritage Act by by-law 256-76, enacted on May 26, 1976, after a Conservation Review Board hearing. A notice of intention to designate had been given on September 26, 1975.

The street the Hall faces is covered in the article on Yonge Street, and another bank that shaped the financial district is the subject of the article on Toronto-Dominion Bank.

Architecture of the old bank

The Hall’s own page on the building credits the Toronto firm Darling and Curry, and says construction began in 1885. The carvings inside were made by Holbrook and Mollington from drawings by Frank Darling. The Hall calls the style a “florid example of rococo architecture.” Other sources describe it with different labels, so the style name depends on who is writing. What the Hall does describe is a plan in which diagonal corner arches sit over a square room, giving the space an octagonal shape.

The best-known feature is the stained-glass dome, which the Hall says measures 45 feet and is the largest of its kind in Toronto. It was made by Joseph McCausland and Sons and has 24 fanned panels showing dragons guarding gold from eagles, with borders of fruit and flowers. The original design was by Robert McCausland, and his great-great-grandson Andrew McCausland restored it. The Hall adds that in the bank’s time the main room was reportedly the largest bank branch in Canada, measuring 70 feet by 70 feet. The exterior has carved stone details, including a large figure of Hermes supporting a chimney and masks and shields on the piers.

The Stanley Cup at the Hall

The Great Hall is where the Stanley Cup is displayed. The Hall’s timeline says that on March 9, 2012, the Esso Great Hall, which houses the Cup and the NHL’s major trophies, reopened after a $1.7 million renovation, and that the lease at Brookfield Place was extended to 2032 that year. The Canadian Encyclopedia says the Hall has a dedicated display of the original Stanley Cup. An earlier name for the room, the MCI Great Hall, appears in the Encyclopedia’s account of the 2000 to 2006 changes.

The trophy is not always in the building. Mental Floss reports that it is normally displayed at the Hall but travels so often for league and charity events that it is there less than visitors might expect. When it is away, the Hall shows a duplicate and tells visitors that it is a copy. Philip Pritchard, the Hall’s Vice President and Curator, is the person known as Keeper of the Cup, according to Mental Floss. Visitors who want to see the real Cup should ask the Hall about its schedule before they travel.

For one famous night in Toronto’s hockey history, see the article on the Maple Leafs’ 1967 Stanley Cup, and for the club itself see Toronto Maple Leafs history.

Expansions and renewals since 1998

The Hall’s timeline lists a series of changes to the interior.

July 28, 1998: the Tissot World of Hockey Zone opened, with the support of the International Ice Hockey Federation, to focus on the international game.
2000 to 2006: a revitalization costing more than $12 million renovated nearly the whole 65,000-square-foot facility, except the Great Hall and a replica Canadiens dressing room.
March 10, 2006: the NHL Zone completed that plan.
September 8, 2009: the D.K. (Doc) Seaman Hockey Resource Centre opened as a $4 million archive and research facility.
November 5, 2010: the Spirit of Hockey store moved to street level and an expanded Tissot zone opened.
2018: the Hall marked its 75th anniversary and 25 years in its present home, and launched a development fund with a $10 million goal.

These dates come from the Hall itself and are reported as it gives them. The Canadian Encyclopedia describes the 1998 zone as 325 square metres, and says plans were announced in 2008 to move the resource centre and archives to a separate site in the Lakeshore West area. Because exhibits, hours and admission change often, this article does not give prices or opening hours. Check the Hall’s own information before a visit.

Frequently asked questions

When was the Hockey Hall of Fame founded?

On September 10, 1943, when the NHL and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association agreed to create it, with Kingston, Ontario as the planned location.

Where was the Hall of Fame before it moved to Yonge and Front?

It was on the Canadian National Exhibition grounds in Toronto. Ground was broken in 1960, the building was finished on May 1, 1961, and Prime Minister Diefenbaker opened it on August 26, 1961.

When did it move to the old Bank of Montreal building?

It opened there on June 18, 1993, after a $27 million renovation, according to the Hall. The address is 30 Yonge Street, at Front Street.

Is the Stanley Cup always at the Hall?

No. The Cup travels often, and the Hall shows a duplicate when the real trophy is away, according to Mental Floss. Contact the Hall for its schedule.

Who designed the building?

The Hall credits the Toronto firm Darling and Curry, and the Ontario Heritage Trust register names Frank Darling. It was built in 1885 and 1886 as a Bank of Montreal office.

Sources

Hockey Hall of Fame, Our History (accessed October 2026)
Hockey Hall of Fame, Esso Great Hall history and architecture (accessed October 2026)
The Canadian Encyclopedia, “Hockey Hall of Fame” (accessed October 2026)
Ontario Heritage Trust, Ontario Heritage Act Register, Bank of Montreal Branch Building, 30 Yonge Street (accessed October 2026)
Mental Floss, “Q&A with Philip Pritchard, the Keeper of the Stanley Cup” (accessed October 2026)

Last verified: November 2026

Cite this page

APA: History of Toronto. (2026, November 1). Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto: History of the Hall and Its Building. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/hockey-hall-of-fame-toronto-history

MLA: “Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto: History of the Hall and Its Building.” History of Toronto, 1 Nov 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/hockey-hall-of-fame-toronto-history. Accessed .

Chicago: History of Toronto. “Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto: History of the Hall and Its Building.” Last modified November 1, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/hockey-hall-of-fame-toronto-history.

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