The Canadian Music Hall of Fame will be located in Toronto, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) announced on May 17th. The Hall of Fame will open in June 2007 in the Metropolis shopping and entertainment centre currently under construction at the corner of Yonge and Dundas streets in downtown Toronto.

CARAS has been inducting Canadian artists into the Hall of Fame since 1978. To date, 57 artists and others influential in the music industry have been recognized. The “Hall of Fame” currently exists in the form of photographs on a wall at the CARAS headquarters in Toronto. However, it is also accessible via the Internet at www.juno-awards.ca. One or two people are inducted into the Hall of Fame each year.

The Hall of Fame premises will consist of 60,000 square feet spread over three floors. The facility will contain an exhibit area, administration offices and two retail stores. All genres of Canadian music will be represented.

The exhibit area will use interactive displays to allow visitors to experience the entire recording process and become familiar with various aspects of a musician’s work, such as voice recording and playback, editing music and playing instruments.

The Hall of Fame will be somewhat similar to the Experience Music Project in Seattle, USA. The cost to build the centre is estimated to be $38 million. CARAS hopes to raise the money through corporate sponsorships and government partnerships.

The Metropolis centre will also include a new Virgin Megastore, movie theatres and restaurants. It is designed to look like a 10-storey billboard with television screens and monitors. Close by is the flagship HMV retail store and the Hard Rock Cafe. Live music may also be presented at nearby Dundas Square.

Toronto was chosen because the Yonge and Dundas location is the top tourist destination in Canada, attracting more than 17 million tourists annually. In addition, Toronto is the main centre for music publishing and entertainment in Canada. Other cities considered for the Hall of Fame were Hamilton, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Sault Ste. Marie.

(Abstracted from Envelope, Please: T.O. Wins Music Shrine, by Jordan Heath-Rawlings, Toronto Star, May 17, 2005; and T.O. Tops Hamilton for Music Hall of Fame, by Andrea Baillie, Canadian Press, May 17, 2005)