2 Best Performing Arts Venues in West Queen West, Ossington, and Parkdale, Toronto

This sweeping Queen Anne revival–style building, built in 1889, is one of the city's grandest concert venues, with four event spaces packed over three stories. The Main Hall is a cavernous auditorium with a second-floor gallery overlooking the main floor below, though events are also often held in the basement-level Longboat Hall, which was once a gymnasium in the building's former life as a YMCA. The space hosts everything from touring bands to theater events to craft shows.

Built in 1909 as a library funded by industrialist Andrew Carnegie, this heritage property underwent extensive renovations and reopened as a theater space in 2016. As well as boundary-pushing programming, visitors will find an open-door policy that reflects its community-first ethos—drop in for a coffee, set up your laptop for the day, or simply relax without pressure to make a purchase. The café/bar is open late on performance nights.