A ‘living laboratory’ of social, artistic, cultural and recreational experiences, Hart House is a dynamic gathering place for U of T students. Open 365 days a year from 7 am to midnight, it's St. George Campus’s vibrant centre for the education of the mind, body and spirit. The Beaux Arts Gothic Revival style building houses a state-of-the-art athletics wing with classes for every taste, a historic 454-seat theatre, a noted art gallery and collection, a satellite farm location and a range of impressive rooms for study, dining, recreation and socializing.

But for many, the real draw of Hart House is the scope of programming—from live music, lectures and literary events to food, filmmaking and fitness—that provides students opportunities for self-knowledge and awakening into who they are becoming.

Our Facilities

Hart House contains a Great Hall, a library, and rooms for music, debating, billiards and photography. Comfortable sitting rooms, a chapel, the Justina M. Barnicke art gallery, Hart House Theatre, and two restaurants (the Arbor Room and the Gallery Grill) occupy the south wing of the House. The north wing is devoted to athletics facilities, including a gymnasium, indoor running track, swimming pool and weight room. Hart House is built around a verdant quadrangle - an oasis of tranquil, green space.

Students also have access to Hart House Farm, a 150-acre property cradled in the Caledon Hills on the ridge of the Niagara Escarpment.

Many of Hart House's historic rooms and spaces are available for rental. Our Events & Catering department  enjoys a solid reputation for outstanding, creative and innovative events.

Students + Staff = Meaningful Engagement

The unique partnership between students and staff is an enduring and exciting dynamic at Hart House. Creative minds and enabling spirits join forces in a supportive and collaborative fashion, resulting in meaningful student engagement, growth and satisfaction as well as lifelong friendships and a true sense of belonging. Hart House provides students with a broad range of leadership and involvement opportunities.

Hart House Clubs and Committees

Students govern much of what takes place at Hart House - from its highest governing body, the Board of Stewards, to the 27 clubs and committees in art, archery, film, chorus, debates, drama, literary and library, photography, bridge, chess and more. Working alongside faculty, alumni members and staff, students learn through organizing hundreds of readings, concerts, debates, plays and events for university and community at large.

Hart House Membership

U of T students and community members are all welcome to enjoy Hart House. Student Hart House membership fees are included in tuition, making students automatic members. Faculty, staff, alumni and community may purchase a membership at the HUB.

For more information, contact the HUB: 416.978.2452 or inquiries.harthouse@utoronto.ca

Email: inquiries@harthouse.ca
 or coordinator Lynsay Henderson

History of Hart House

As an integral part of the University of Toronto’s cultural landscape since 1919, Hart House is a peerless institution in its history of inspiring change, provoking thought and helping to shape artistic, cultural and social tapestry of the university and larger communities.

Commissioned by the Massey family and gifted to the University of Toronto by the Massey Foundation as a gathering place for students to partake in co-curricular activities. 

Then 22-year-old Vincent Massey (who would later become Canada's first native-born Governor General–named the building for his grandfather, Hart, and chose architect Henry Sproatt) one of the last North American masters of the Gothic form–along with engineer Ernest Rolph, to design it. Construction began in 1911, and since its opening on Remembrance Day, 1919, Hart House has remained a crown jewel in the University of Toronto’s architectural, academic and social history.

"The bricks and mortar are but the bones, the community must provide the spirit."- Vincent Massey, November 11, 1919

An Architectural Gem

Hart House was one of the earliest and still is one of the most beautiful student centres in the world. A historic site, Hart House has been referred to as "the finest example of Beaux Arts Gothic Revival in Canada." Standing northwest of Queen's Park, this distinguised building is the visual icon of the University of Toronto.

Distinguished architect Henry Sproatt designed Hart House in the Collegiate Gothic style using the finest of materials. The grand interor of the House features high arched ceilings that vary from room to room. Italian travertine floors run throughout the building. Uniquely designed fireplaces and well-tread wood floors add warmth to the House's common rooms.

The Great Hall

Sproatt's showpiece, The Great Hall, occupies the east wing of the House. A gilded inscription of Milton's Areopagitica, written in 1644 in defense of freedom of speech and thought, surrounds the 140-foot hall. The coats of arms of the Royal Family and degree-granting universities of the British Empire from 1919 sit below an enormous stained glass window on the south wall. Shields at the north end of the hall represent 74 universities of nations allied with Britain and Canada in 1919. Portraits of past Hart House wardens, as well as chancellors and governors of the university hanging in the hall are identified at the entrance way. The east windows are heavily leaded with a medly of pastel glass interspersed with clear glass painted with motifs. The upper gallery windows feature handpainted caricatures of the scholars and eccentrics from the time of Hart House's origins.

Soldier's Tower

The Solidier's Tower, which is maintained by the Soldier's Tower Committee, is situated at the western end of Hart House and stands 143 feet tall. Built in 1923-24, it is a memorial to the members who gave their lives while on active service from 1914-1918. Carved in stone on the Memorial Screen are the ranks, names and units of the 624 lost to university in the First World War. The two walls of the archway record the service of the 557 men and women lost in the Second World War. The tower contains a memorial room and a carillon, which is played to the campus on special occasions, including Remembrance Day.

An Artistic Heritage

The impressive Hart House Permanent Art Collection was established in 1922 with the purchase of Georgian Bay, November, by A.Y. Jackson, a member of the Group of Seven, for $200. The Art Committee went on to buy representative works by other members of the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, including Tom Thomson, Emily Carr, Charles Comfort, David Milne and Carl Shaefer, as well as works by the Automatistes and Painters Eleven. Today, the collection numbers over 600 works of art. The Permanent Collection is on view throughout Hart House and the historic core of the Collection is in constant demand by major exhibitions throughout the world.

In 1983, the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery opened at Hart House, and has since presented innovative exhibitions by up-and-coming Canadian artists, as well as historic Canadian and internationally renowned traveling exhibition.