Discover Toronto's history as told through its plaques

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Arena Gardens

Photos by Wayne Adam - Posted December, 2017

Photo Source - Wikimedia Commons

Here at 88 Mutual Street, just south of Dundas Street, is this 2013 Heritage Toronto plaque. Here's what it says:

Coordinates: 43.656253 -79.375641

Click here for a larger map

From 1912 to 1989, this was the site of Arena Gardens, the second rink to be built here. With a seating capacity of 7,500, the arena was billed as the largest in the country and was home to many professional hockey teams, including the franchise that became the Toronto Maple Leafs. Norman Albert gave the first radio broadcast of an NHL hockey game here on February 14, 1923. A Toronto team won three Stanley Cups in the building.

Arena Gardens also hosted numerous public gatherings, including political, religious and other social events. The inaugural service of the United Church of Canada was held here in 1925, and music legends Frank Sinatra and Glenn Miller preformed here in the 1940s.

Following the Toronto Maple Leafs' move to Maple Leaf Gardens in 1931, the facility was renamed Mutual Street Arena and was used for recreational ice skating and roller skating. In 1962, the arena was renovated to add curling sheets and was renamed The Terrace. It was demolished in 1989.

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> Posted December 19, 2017
One hundred years ago today, the Toronto Arenas hockey club played its first game against the Montreal Wanderers, in Montreal. It was the first game for the newly-formed National Hockey League, which became the world's premier hockey association. The Arenas went on to become the Toronto Maple Leafs, the most valuable team in the NHL. The "Torontos", as they were called in 1917, lost their inaugural December 19 game, 10-9, but went on to win the first NHL-awarded Stanley Cup, that season. Today, a rare afternoon game in Toronto celebrates the centennial of the Leafs, whose direct lineage includes the Arenas and the Toronto St. Pat's clubs.
-Wayne

> Posted April 15, 2014
Would anyone know where to find photos of the indoor roller skating rink *The Terrace*? I cannot find it anywhere, or perhaps not sure where to look. Could anyone point me to a site with archived photos of that wonderful Mutual Street Arena?
Thank you. [email protected]

> Posted May 8, 2012
I sure miss the Terrace.

> Posted December 3, 2010
The Terrace was a lot of fun. Waltzing on the moonlight skate. Great trios were okay.
Bob L.

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