Danforth Music Hall is a live music theatre at 147 Danforth Avenue in Toronto’s Greektown neighborhood, just steps from Broadview subway station. The building opened on August 18, 1919 as Allen’s Danforth Theatre, a silent-movie “photoplay palace,” and despite falling dark twice over the decades — once in the mid-2000s and again around 2010–11 — it remains one of Toronto’s oldest surviving theatre buildings.
Whether you’re checking capacity before buying tickets, trying to figure out why you’ve seen two different capacity numbers online, or planning your first visit, this guide covers the official figures, the seating layout, how to get in and park, box office and bag-check basics, and the building’s century of name changes.
Quick Answer
The Danforth Music Hall’s official capacity is 1,427 for general-admission, standing-room shows, or 1,145 for events with reserved seating. Which number applies depends entirely on how the promoter configures the room for that specific concert.
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Danforth Music Hall Capacity, Explained
Most touring concerts at the Danforth Music Hall are general admission, meaning the main floor is cleared for standing and the venue can pack in its full 1,427-person capacity, with additional standing and limited seating in the balcony above. For a general-admission night, expect a floor crowd close to the stage and balcony rail spots that offer a clearer sightline if you’d rather not stand shoulder-to-shoulder.
For comedy shows, sit-down concerts, and other seated bookings, the venue switches to a reserved-seating layout, which brings capacity down to roughly 1,145 across the floor, mezzanine, and balcony. That drop from the general-admission number reflects the space theatre seats take up compared to an open standing floor.
You may occasionally see the capacity listed elsewhere as “around 1,500” — that’s a rounded, informal estimate some ticket-resale sites use. The figure that Ticketmaster, the venue, and Wikipedia cite as the actual official number is 1,427 for general admission. Either way, the Danforth Music Hall sits in the mid-sized range for Toronto venues — bigger than a club, more intimate than an arena — which is exactly the niche that has made it a favorite stop for touring artists on the way up or scaling down for a special show.
Seating Chart: Floor, Mezzanine & Balcony
The room is split into three main sections. The main floor is the largest and does double duty: for general-admission shows it’s an open, sloped standing area, and for seated shows it’s set with rows of assigned chairs.
Above the floor sits a small mezzanine, which is reserved seating only — it’s never used for general admission — and offers an elevated, unobstructed view close to the stage. The balcony wraps the back and sides of the room and is divided into Left, Center, and Right sections, all reserved seating. Balcony seats are popular with concertgoers who want to avoid the standing crush on the floor while still getting a clear sightline to the stage, and they’re typically the first reserved seats to sell out for bigger shows.
Getting There & Parking
The Danforth Music Hall sits right on the Danforth, a few steps from Broadview Station on the TTC’s Bloor–Danforth subway line, and the venue itself recommends transit or rideshare over driving.
There’s no dedicated venue parking lot. If you do drive, plan on paid street parking along Danforth Avenue and the surrounding side streets, or the Green P public lot behind the Shoppers Drug Mart directly across the street from the hall. Spots near the venue fill up fast before big shows, so arriving early (or just taking the subway to Broadview) saves the most hassle.
Box Office, Tickets & Entry
The box office window sits just east of the main entrance and only opens on show days, about 1.5 hours ahead of the posted door time — it isn’t staffed for walk-up purchases on non-show days. It takes debit and major credit cards, and the venue is entirely cashless.
Tickets are sold through Ticketmaster and are mobile-entry only; no tickets are mailed or printed at the box office. If you’re on the Will Call list, bring valid government-issued photo ID that matches the name on the order — photos or photocopies of ID aren’t accepted. Shows marked 19+ enforce that age limit strictly, with the same ID rules applying at the door. Re-entry is generally allowed once you’re stamped on the way out, unless a specific show states otherwise, though you can’t bring a drink back outside with you.
For exact showtimes, current ticket prices, and on-sale dates, check the official Danforth Music Hall site or the venue’s Ticketmaster page, since both change event by event.
Bag Policy & What You Can Bring
Security screens every bag and attendee at the door. Only small clutches, belt bags, fanny packs, or clear bags are allowed in, capped at roughly 12 x 6 x 12 inches (30 x 15 x 30 cm) — that limit applies to purses too, and backpacks of any size are turned away outright.
Outside food and drinks (including water bottles), glass containers, weapons, laser pointers, selfie sticks, large umbrellas, and professional cameras with detachable lenses are also on the venue’s no-go list. Leaving bulky bags at home is the easiest way to skip the line at the security check.
Accessibility
The Danforth Music Hall offers accessible seating for patrons who need it, but because the room is reconfigured show to show, accommodation requests go through the venue directly rather than through the standard online seat map. Contact the venue ahead of your show at 416-778-8163 or info@thedanforth.com to arrange accessible seating or any other accommodation.
From Silent Films to a Century-Old Landmark
The building’s early life was as a neighborhood movie palace. It opened on August 18, 1919 as Allen’s Danforth Theatre, built by brothers Jules and Jay Allen and designed by the architectural firm Hynes, Feldman, and Watson, and it was promoted at the time as “Canada’s First Super-Suburban Photoplay Palace.” It screened its first feature, “Through the Wrong Door,” that same year, part of a wave of theatre construction along Danforth Avenue following the opening of the Prince Edward Viaduct.
The original facade still shows Flemish bond brickwork, herringbone detailing, and opal glass windows from that 1919 construction, along with stylized “AT” motifs tied to the Allen Theatres chain. In 1985, the building was designated a property of historic interest under the Ontario Heritage Act, which helps explain why its early-20th-century character has survived even as the interior has been renovated and re-renovated for modern concerts. The theatre’s period look has also made it a popular filming location, appearing in productions including “Chicago” and “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.”
The Venue’s Many Names
The theatre has cycled through several identities over the past century. Financial trouble at the Allen chain led to the building being renamed the Century Theatre in 1923 under a Famous Players subsidiary. By the end of the 1960s it had become the Titania, a Greek-language cinema serving Toronto’s growing Greektown community, before converting to a live concert hall called The Music Hall in 1978, when it began mixing second-run films with live shows.
By the early 2000s the building had fallen into disrepair — regulars reportedly picked seats to dodge water leaking from the ceiling — and it closed in 2004. Ellipsis Leisure Retail Inc. took over the vacant space and reopened it as a live-music venue in 2006, but that operation stalled too: in 2010, property owner Electra Films Limited evicted the tenants over unpaid rent, and the venue went dark again. Impresario Inc. then took over the space and reopened it as the Danforth Music Hall on December 1, 2011.
A Modern Concert Destination
Since its 2011 relaunch, the Danforth Music Hall has become a favored mid-sized stop for touring artists, hosting Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Lorde, Disclosure, St. Vincent, Metric, and Dave Chappelle, among many others. Earlier, while still operating as The Music Hall, the venue was named Performing Arts Centre of the Year in the under-1,500-capacity category at the 2008 Canadian Music Industry Awards.
Its location along the Danforth, steps from Broadview station on the TTC’s Bloor–Danforth subway line, keeps it easy to reach for concertgoers, and its heritage designation means the room itself — brickwork, balcony, and all — still looks much like the photoplay palace it opened as in 1919.
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Danforth Music Hall capacity and visitor guide FAQs
What is the capacity of the Danforth Music Hall?
1,427 for general-admission, standing-room shows, or 1,145 when the room is set up with reserved seating. Which figure applies depends on how that specific show is configured.
Is the Danforth Music Hall general admission or seated?
It’s both, depending on the event. Most touring concerts run general admission with an open standing floor, while comedy shows and sit-down concerts use reserved seating across the floor, mezzanine, and balcony.
Does the Danforth Music Hall have parking?
No, the venue doesn’t have its own lot. Paid street parking is available on Danforth Avenue and nearby streets, plus a Green P public lot behind the Shoppers Drug Mart across the street; the venue recommends transit or rideshare instead.
What is the bag policy at the Danforth Music Hall?
Only small clutches, belt bags, fanny packs, or clear bags up to about 12 x 6 x 12 inches are allowed, and that size limit includes purses. Backpacks aren’t permitted, and all bags are searched at the door.
Where is the box office and when does it open?
The box office window is just east of the main entrance. It’s only open on show days, opening roughly 1.5 hours before the posted door time, and accepts debit and major credit cards — the venue is cashless.
How do I get wheelchair-accessible seating?
Contact the venue directly ahead of your show at 416-778-8163 or info@thedanforth.com, since accessible seating is arranged per event rather than through the standard online seat map.
How do I get to the Danforth Music Hall?
It’s at 147 Danforth Avenue in Toronto’s Greektown, a short walk from Broadview Station on the TTC’s Bloor–Danforth subway line — the easiest way in given the lack of on-site parking.
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