Hart House
Encyclopedia
Hart House is a student activity centre at the University of Toronto
. Established in 1919, it is one of the earliest North American student centres. Hart House was initiated and financed by Vincent Massey
, an alumnus and benefactor of the university, and was named in honour of his grandfather, Hart Massey
. The Collegiate Gothic-revival complex was the work of architect Henry Sproatt
, who worked alongside decorator Alexander Scott Carter, and engineer Ernest Rolph, and subsequently designed the campanile
at its southwestern corner, Soldiers' Tower.
Conceived as a place for cultural, intellectual and recreational functions alike, Hart House contains a range of facilities that include a gymnasium, swimming pool, archery range, theatre, art gallery, reading and sitting rooms, lounges and reception areas, offices, library, music rooms, conference and study rooms, restaurant and auditoriums. Hart House is organized into standing committees composed of students and faculty, and is governed by a similarly-composed board of stewards and the warden. The overall design acquires a high degree of stylistic unity through the calm, monumental impression it creates. There are several contributing factors: the stress placed on masses rather than silhouettes, the horizontal lines and the reduction of picturesque motifs to a minimum.
, and then completed graduate studies in history at Balliol College, Oxford
. Upon his return to Canada, he sought to bring a unifying, communitarian spirit to the highly independent colleges of the University of Toronto, inspired by the social and recreational life that he observed at Oxford's colleges. Massey, who in 1908 had become a trustee of his family estate, offered to establish a structure devoted to extracurricular activities at the university, an idea that was readily embraced by the university's governors.
When construction began in 1911, the trustees of the Massey estate had budgeted a significant amount of $300,000 for the project. Working without a master plan, Massey and his architect continued to adopt new ideas and expand existing ones as construction progressed. By the time of completion in 1919, the cost of the building had soared to $2 million.
Hart house was built during the Gothic Revival
era. Originally, Gothic architecture was associated with Cathedrals. The Gothic cathedral was built at a large scale. When the Gothic style had first gained its momentum in England and France, the large churches were encrusted with decoration. This decoration depicted biblical events through images so that even the illiterate could dwell in the ideals of religion. Originally the church developed universities: The ideals that Hart house is intended to evoke are represented through its architectural forms just as biblical messages were demonstrated in Gothic churches. The building is made up of corridors and are flanked my various rooms, high ceilings, and sculptural detailing. The attention to detail demonstrates importance and the emphasized high ceilings demonstrate authority. Dim lighting makes Hart house the perfect place to study and ultimately influences one to become a better member of society.
Massey's donation stipulated that the building was to be used only by men, as he felt that a coeducational facility would ruin the sense of collegiality that he hoped to create. Beginning in the 1950s, this restriction created much controversy as women demanded admission. Massey stood by his original conditions, however. After his death the Stewards and administrators of Hart House had Massey's deed of gift altered to allow women to become members. Since 1972, women have been able to fully participate in the House's activities.
During John F. Kennedy
's debate with Stephen Lewis
at Hart House on 14 November 1957 he said "I personally rather approve of keeping women out of these places" and went further onto remark "Its a pleasure to be in a country where women cannot mix in everywhere" (ignoring the female students who picketed outside with signs proclaiming "Unfair!" and "We want Kennedy!").
A variety of intimate details can also be found in the interior of Hart House. Below grade, backstage, at the rear wall of the theatre just mentioned, there are scars formed by service ammunition, giving the building a sense of character. There are also elements forged into the walls of the building that are there on purpose, like the first occupants of the House that are remembered on the south façade, as well as carvings over the bay windows of the map room which depict the principal units that were stationed there during the war. The Great Hall holds another souvenir, inconsistent with the Gothic setting: one of the stone corbels has been carved to represent an officer cadet of 1916 in uniform, carrying his field pack and rifle.
Hart House is a example of Gothic Revival architecture as it is asymmetrical with pointed arches and windows, extensive ornamentation, steeply pitched roofs and a tall tower. It is also a late collegiate Gothic building because of its late erection date in 1919. The building consists of four wings around a quadrangle with a four-peaked tower extended from the south west corner. Although Hart House appears to be masonry construction, it is actually structural steel and precast concrete with grey sandstone cladding. The roofs are barrel vaulted wood beams. Wood and stone are the main materials used in this building. Hart House along with all of its uses is working towards sustainability with the use of simple things like dual-flush toilets and power saving light bulbs.
are the dominant structural form, however, there are parts of the building that employ lintels
to create open spaces with flat ceilings (such as the East Common Room). The ceilings in the corridors and many rooms such as the Upper Gallery of the Great Hall are vaults with ridge ribs, but of particular emphasis is the treatment of the library ceiling that uses decorative Lierne
ribs that can also be seen in the entrance vaults. The general shape of the frontispieces and, what appear to be, Tudor-like archways mirror the shape of the chimney arches, while the decorative cinquefoil shapes used for the windows can also be seen in the woodwork of doors and trusses. The main entrance on the south side, the entrance on the west side, and the entire east wall is treated with a Perpendicular style parapet of battlements. The Gothic nature of the structure is emphasized through the structural systems, layout, and ornamentation, while the weight of stone is de-emphasized through its decoration, and its contrast with the thin stained-glass windows.
Close to the Romanesque-building style, Gothic, or Gothic-revival style uses stone masonry to build. The use of rocky dark sandstone and limestone materials contrasted greatly with the smooth brick lining inside, the pointed-arch shape dominating the windows and doors and hallways. The porch is another Gothic-revival element that architect Henry Sproatt added, a protected space in front of the main entrances for people to hide in case of bad weather. The addition of decorated wooden arch-braces and ceilings act like an acoustical amplifier for the Hart House Orchestra.
Even though the detail of the Gothic style is much simpler than the Romanesque style, it still has decorative stone and wood carvings inside and outside the building. On the south side of the building there is a line of miniature human head sculptures made out of stone near the top of the building. There are also stone lions and monkeys that are on the outside of the main doors one at each side. The arch braces on the flat roofs of the east hall ways have carved decorations on them. The windows have clover like decorations near the top. Even the school crest and motto is carved onto the façade of Hart House. These carvings are a beautiful addition aesthetically to the building.
Apart from the regular exhibitions held at the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, the building houses an art collection that is valued at over CDN $10 million.
s, foreign ambassadors, and John F. Kennedy
. Moreover, the Club has hosted dozens of prestigious tournaments, including the North American Debating Championship
and the World Universities Debating Championship
.
The club has also won the World Universities Debating Championship twice; in 1981 and 2006.
". The Literary and Library Committee regularly hosts a writer-in-residence who both leads workshops and reviews students' writings. The Literary and Library Committee also runs a library, located on the second floor of Hart House. It features a variety of books for in-house research and leisure reading, and often is the venue for public readings (also coordinated by the Literary and Library Committee).
Hart House Review
(HHR) is a Canadian literary magazine
/ literary journal managed by student members of Hart House
at the University of Toronto
and published by Coach House Press. The magazine is best known for prose, poetry and photography contributed by emerging writers and artists in Canada. The likes of Rohinton Mistry
, Camilla Gibb
, Lynn Crosbie
and many other notable names in Canadian literature have been published in the HHR during their university years.HHR also regularly organizes literary events which feature established and emerging members of the writing and publishing world.
at the University of Toronto
. Delivered by a lecturer chosen by a committee of students, staff and alumni, the Hart House Lecture generally takes place in late March in the Great Hall of Hart House.
The Lecture Series was launched in 2001, with the vision of establishing an annual public lecture in Hart House. Organized by students, the Hart House Lecture Series aspires to ignite public conversation and debate. The lecture takes issues identified by youth to a national audience. For Hart House, a historic gathering place at the University and a home for debate, discussion and dissent, the lecture is a fitting medium through which the House can nurture civic leadership and participation.
The lecturer for 2007 was McGill Professor Darin Barney, who delivered a lecture titled "One Nation Under Google: Citizenship in the Technological Republic". The lecture examined the relationship between technology and citizenship.
The lecturer for 2008 was Warchild Canada founder and U of T Professor Samantha Nutt
lecturing on "The world is Our Backyard: Individual Responsibility for a Global Society". Dr. Nutt will speak about our role as privileged North Americans and our ability to effect change in war-torn countries.
Past lecturers have included Darin Barney 2007, Michael Geist
(2006), David Bornstein (2005), Jennifer Welsh
, (2004), Alan Lightman
(2002) and Pico Iyer
(2001).
Copies of some of the past lectures are available here.
Hart House Theatre is often referred to as the cradle of Canadian Theatre. Opening in November 1919 the Art Deco theatre on the University of Toronto
's St. George campus quickly became a leader in the Canadian “Little Theatre” movement of the 1920s and 1930s. Hart House Theatre cultivated and featured some of the country’s finest actors, directors, playwrights and designers of the Pre-World War II era, including Raymond Massey
, Dora Mavor Moore
, Lloyd Bochner
, Lawren Harris
, Arthur Lismer
, Wayne and Shuster
and Merrill Denison
. After the war, Hart House Theatre, under the direction of Robert Gill, became an extracurricular student theatre and for twenty years turned out a new generation of stage professionals. William Hutt
, Don Harron
, Kate Reid
, David Gardner
, Arthur Hiller
, Donald Sutherland
, Norman Jewison
and Lorne Michaels
all got their start treading the boards on the Hart House stage.
By the mid-1960s the theatre joined the world of academia with the creation of the Graduate Centre for Study of Drama. A new generation of students combined dramatic literature with practical theatre experience and learned from and contributed to the vibrant Toronto theatre scene of the 1970s.
Today Hart House Theatre is the focal point for the performing arts at the University of Toronto. With over a thousand students participating each year in its extra-curricular season of drama, dance, music and film, Hart House Theatre continues to influence each new generation (Source: Hart House Theatre). The performances almost often well reviewed by art critics, and sold out.
made his first movie using Hart House Film Board equipment.
The farm has long been a popular retreat.
The first royal visitor to Hart House was Prince Edward, Prince of Wales
, who played squash with students there in 1924. In 1939, King George VI
and Queen Elizabeth
toured the campus and lunched at Hart House. Elizabeth II made the first of several visits as a princess in 1951.
Several individuals have signed the guest book more than once during separate visits to Hart House. Notable visitors include:
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. Established in 1919, it is one of the earliest North American student centres. Hart House was initiated and financed by Vincent Massey
Vincent Massey
Charles Vincent Massey was a Canadian lawyer and diplomat who served as Governor General of Canada, the 18th since Canadian Confederation....
, an alumnus and benefactor of the university, and was named in honour of his grandfather, Hart Massey
Hart Massey
Hart Almerrin Massey was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist born in Haldimand Township in what was then known as Upper Canada. His parents were Daniel Massey and Lucina Bradley...
. The Collegiate Gothic-revival complex was the work of architect Henry Sproatt
Henry Sproatt
Henry Sproatt was a Canadian architect in the early 20th Century.Born in Toronto, he trained in Europe and in New York. He formed a partnership with another celebrated architect, John A. Pearson in 1890 and with Frank Darling in 1893...
, who worked alongside decorator Alexander Scott Carter, and engineer Ernest Rolph, and subsequently designed the campanile
Campanile
Campanile is an Italian word meaning "bell tower" . The term applies to bell towers which are either part of a larger building or free-standing, although in American English, the latter meaning has become prevalent.The most famous campanile is probably the Leaning Tower of Pisa...
at its southwestern corner, Soldiers' Tower.
Conceived as a place for cultural, intellectual and recreational functions alike, Hart House contains a range of facilities that include a gymnasium, swimming pool, archery range, theatre, art gallery, reading and sitting rooms, lounges and reception areas, offices, library, music rooms, conference and study rooms, restaurant and auditoriums. Hart House is organized into standing committees composed of students and faculty, and is governed by a similarly-composed board of stewards and the warden. The overall design acquires a high degree of stylistic unity through the calm, monumental impression it creates. There are several contributing factors: the stress placed on masses rather than silhouettes, the horizontal lines and the reduction of picturesque motifs to a minimum.
History
As an undergraduate, Vincent Massey read history and English at Victoria University in the University of TorontoVictoria University in the University of Toronto
Victoria University is a constituent college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1836 and named for Queen Victoria. It is commonly called Victoria College, informally Vic, after the original academic component that now forms its undergraduate division...
, and then completed graduate studies in history at Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
. Upon his return to Canada, he sought to bring a unifying, communitarian spirit to the highly independent colleges of the University of Toronto, inspired by the social and recreational life that he observed at Oxford's colleges. Massey, who in 1908 had become a trustee of his family estate, offered to establish a structure devoted to extracurricular activities at the university, an idea that was readily embraced by the university's governors.
When construction began in 1911, the trustees of the Massey estate had budgeted a significant amount of $300,000 for the project. Working without a master plan, Massey and his architect continued to adopt new ideas and expand existing ones as construction progressed. By the time of completion in 1919, the cost of the building had soared to $2 million.
Hart house was built during the Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
era. Originally, Gothic architecture was associated with Cathedrals. The Gothic cathedral was built at a large scale. When the Gothic style had first gained its momentum in England and France, the large churches were encrusted with decoration. This decoration depicted biblical events through images so that even the illiterate could dwell in the ideals of religion. Originally the church developed universities: The ideals that Hart house is intended to evoke are represented through its architectural forms just as biblical messages were demonstrated in Gothic churches. The building is made up of corridors and are flanked my various rooms, high ceilings, and sculptural detailing. The attention to detail demonstrates importance and the emphasized high ceilings demonstrate authority. Dim lighting makes Hart house the perfect place to study and ultimately influences one to become a better member of society.
Massey's donation stipulated that the building was to be used only by men, as he felt that a coeducational facility would ruin the sense of collegiality that he hoped to create. Beginning in the 1950s, this restriction created much controversy as women demanded admission. Massey stood by his original conditions, however. After his death the Stewards and administrators of Hart House had Massey's deed of gift altered to allow women to become members. Since 1972, women have been able to fully participate in the House's activities.
During John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
's debate with Stephen Lewis
Stephen Lewis
Stephen Henry Lewis, is a Canadian politician, broadcaster and diplomat. He was the leader of the social democratic Ontario New Democratic Party for most of the 1970s. During many of the those years as leader, his father David Lewis was simultaneously the leader of the Federal New Democratic Party...
at Hart House on 14 November 1957 he said "I personally rather approve of keeping women out of these places" and went further onto remark "Its a pleasure to be in a country where women cannot mix in everywhere" (ignoring the female students who picketed outside with signs proclaiming "Unfair!" and "We want Kennedy!").
Architecture
It is evident that the exterior of the building was carefully sculpted in the mind of Henry Sproatt. Hart House is large in comparison to the buildings surrounding it such as Wycliffe College and the Stewart Observatory. In keeping with the Gothic form, the building is presented as larger in height than in width, which gives it an even more predominant sense of grandeur to those standing at its base. From the exterior, a repetition of large windows can be seen along the northern and southern sides, matched with stout exterior protrusions, accentuating the end of one section of the building and the beginning of another. The contours of the building are jagged, emphasizing the Gothic form and giving Hart House the profile of a true academic institution of that time period.A variety of intimate details can also be found in the interior of Hart House. Below grade, backstage, at the rear wall of the theatre just mentioned, there are scars formed by service ammunition, giving the building a sense of character. There are also elements forged into the walls of the building that are there on purpose, like the first occupants of the House that are remembered on the south façade, as well as carvings over the bay windows of the map room which depict the principal units that were stationed there during the war. The Great Hall holds another souvenir, inconsistent with the Gothic setting: one of the stone corbels has been carved to represent an officer cadet of 1916 in uniform, carrying his field pack and rifle.
Hart House is a example of Gothic Revival architecture as it is asymmetrical with pointed arches and windows, extensive ornamentation, steeply pitched roofs and a tall tower. It is also a late collegiate Gothic building because of its late erection date in 1919. The building consists of four wings around a quadrangle with a four-peaked tower extended from the south west corner. Although Hart House appears to be masonry construction, it is actually structural steel and precast concrete with grey sandstone cladding. The roofs are barrel vaulted wood beams. Wood and stone are the main materials used in this building. Hart House along with all of its uses is working towards sustainability with the use of simple things like dual-flush toilets and power saving light bulbs.
Composition
The majority of elements within Hart House hint at the Perpendicular style of Gothic architecture and thus generally line up in a row. Arches and vaultsVault (architecture)
A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
are the dominant structural form, however, there are parts of the building that employ lintels
Lintel (architecture)
A lintel can be a load-bearing building component, a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. It is often found over portals, doors, and windows.-Structural uses:...
to create open spaces with flat ceilings (such as the East Common Room). The ceilings in the corridors and many rooms such as the Upper Gallery of the Great Hall are vaults with ridge ribs, but of particular emphasis is the treatment of the library ceiling that uses decorative Lierne
Lierne (vault)
A Lierne in Gothic rib vaulting is an architectural term for a tertiary rib spanning between two other ribs, instead of from a springer, or to the central boss...
ribs that can also be seen in the entrance vaults. The general shape of the frontispieces and, what appear to be, Tudor-like archways mirror the shape of the chimney arches, while the decorative cinquefoil shapes used for the windows can also be seen in the woodwork of doors and trusses. The main entrance on the south side, the entrance on the west side, and the entire east wall is treated with a Perpendicular style parapet of battlements. The Gothic nature of the structure is emphasized through the structural systems, layout, and ornamentation, while the weight of stone is de-emphasized through its decoration, and its contrast with the thin stained-glass windows.
Close to the Romanesque-building style, Gothic, or Gothic-revival style uses stone masonry to build. The use of rocky dark sandstone and limestone materials contrasted greatly with the smooth brick lining inside, the pointed-arch shape dominating the windows and doors and hallways. The porch is another Gothic-revival element that architect Henry Sproatt added, a protected space in front of the main entrances for people to hide in case of bad weather. The addition of decorated wooden arch-braces and ceilings act like an acoustical amplifier for the Hart House Orchestra.
Even though the detail of the Gothic style is much simpler than the Romanesque style, it still has decorative stone and wood carvings inside and outside the building. On the south side of the building there is a line of miniature human head sculptures made out of stone near the top of the building. There are also stone lions and monkeys that are on the outside of the main doors one at each side. The arch braces on the flat roofs of the east hall ways have carved decorations on them. The windows have clover like decorations near the top. Even the school crest and motto is carved onto the façade of Hart House. These carvings are a beautiful addition aesthetically to the building.
Governance
"Hart House's system of governance is based on a commitment to collaborative and democratic decision-making." Hart House is governed by the Board of Stewards, a deliberative body composed of the student secretaries of the standing committees of the House; a representative from the Finance Committee; the University of Toronto campus student governments; the chair of the Alumni Committee; a senior member from Recreational Athletics; the President of the University (or his/her designate); two appointees of the President; one appointee of the Governing Council; and the Warden, who serves as the chief administrative officer of the House. The current acting Warden is Bruce Kidd, who succeeded Louise Cowin in 2011. The Board of Stewards is responsible for the use of space in the House, approving the House's finances, and working with the Warden to determine the strategic vision of Hart House. Students are a majority of the members of the Board of Stewards.Justina M. Barnicke Gallery
The Justina M. Barnicke Gallery features a collection of historical and contemporary Canadian art, dating from 1921 to the present. Exhibits focus on contemporary Canadian art in all media. The gallery also hosts film screenings, lectures and performance art.Apart from the regular exhibitions held at the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, the building houses an art collection that is valued at over CDN $10 million.
Clubs and activities
Hart House Debating Club
In 1986, the University of Toronto Debating Union—a university-wide debating club dating back to the 1940s—approached the Hart House Debates Committee and came to an agreement that secured support for the Union from Hart House. The organization, renamed the Hart House Debating Club, has ever since been the primary debating club at the University of Toronto open to all students from all colleges and campuses. Since its inception, the Hart House Debating Club has played host to prominent world leaders, including several Canadian Prime MinisterPrime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
s, foreign ambassadors, and John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
. Moreover, the Club has hosted dozens of prestigious tournaments, including the North American Debating Championship
North American Debating Championship
The North American Debating Championship is the official university debating championship of North America, sanctioned by the national university debating associations in the United States and Canada, the American Parliamentary Debate Association and the Canadian University Society for...
and the World Universities Debating Championship
World Universities Debating Championship
The World Universities Debating Championship is the world's largest debating tournament, and one of the largest annual international student events in the world. It is a parliamentary debating event, held using the British Parliamentary Debate format. Each year, the event is hosted by a university...
.
The club has also won the World Universities Debating Championship twice; in 1981 and 2006.
Literary and Library Committee
This committee oversees many of the literary events that Hart House sponsors throughout the school year. These include the writing groups le mot juste and the "Algonquin Square Table", as well as the "Hart House ReviewHart House Review
Hart House Review is a Canadian literary magazine managed by student members of Hart House at the University of Toronto and published by Coach House Press. The magazine is best known for prose, poetry, art, and photography contributed by emerging writers and artists in Canada.The inaugural issue...
". The Literary and Library Committee regularly hosts a writer-in-residence who both leads workshops and reviews students' writings. The Literary and Library Committee also runs a library, located on the second floor of Hart House. It features a variety of books for in-house research and leisure reading, and often is the venue for public readings (also coordinated by the Literary and Library Committee).
Hart House Review
- Main article: Hart House ReviewHart House ReviewHart House Review is a Canadian literary magazine managed by student members of Hart House at the University of Toronto and published by Coach House Press. The magazine is best known for prose, poetry, art, and photography contributed by emerging writers and artists in Canada.The inaugural issue...
Hart House Review
Hart House Review
Hart House Review is a Canadian literary magazine managed by student members of Hart House at the University of Toronto and published by Coach House Press. The magazine is best known for prose, poetry, art, and photography contributed by emerging writers and artists in Canada.The inaugural issue...
(HHR) is a Canadian literary magazine
Literary magazine
A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...
/ literary journal managed by student members of Hart House
Hart House
Hart House is a student activity centre at the University of Toronto. Established in 1919, it is one of the earliest North American student centres. Hart House was initiated and financed by Vincent Massey, an alumnus and benefactor of the university, and was named in honour of his grandfather, Hart...
at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
and published by Coach House Press. The magazine is best known for prose, poetry and photography contributed by emerging writers and artists in Canada. The likes of Rohinton Mistry
Rohinton Mistry
Rohinton Mistry is an Indian-born Canadian writer in English. Residing in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, Mistry is of Indian origin, originally from Mumbai, Zoroastrian and belongs to the Parsi community. Mistry is a Neustadt International Prize for Literature laureate .-Biography:Rohinton Mistry was...
, Camilla Gibb
Camilla Gibb
Camilla Gibb is a writer living in Toronto.Born in London, England, she grew up in Toronto and studied at the North Toronto Collegiate Institute and the Jarvis Collegiate Institute...
, Lynn Crosbie
Lynn Crosbie
Lynn Crosbie is a Canadian poet and novelist. She teaches the University of Toronto.-Life and career:Crosbie was born in Montreal, Quebec, and now lives in Toronto, Ontario....
and many other notable names in Canadian literature have been published in the HHR during their university years.HHR also regularly organizes literary events which feature established and emerging members of the writing and publishing world.
Lecture series
The Hart House Lecture is an annual public lecture series in historic Hart HouseHart House
Hart House is a student activity centre at the University of Toronto. Established in 1919, it is one of the earliest North American student centres. Hart House was initiated and financed by Vincent Massey, an alumnus and benefactor of the university, and was named in honour of his grandfather, Hart...
at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. Delivered by a lecturer chosen by a committee of students, staff and alumni, the Hart House Lecture generally takes place in late March in the Great Hall of Hart House.
The Lecture Series was launched in 2001, with the vision of establishing an annual public lecture in Hart House. Organized by students, the Hart House Lecture Series aspires to ignite public conversation and debate. The lecture takes issues identified by youth to a national audience. For Hart House, a historic gathering place at the University and a home for debate, discussion and dissent, the lecture is a fitting medium through which the House can nurture civic leadership and participation.
The lecturer for 2007 was McGill Professor Darin Barney, who delivered a lecture titled "One Nation Under Google: Citizenship in the Technological Republic". The lecture examined the relationship between technology and citizenship.
The lecturer for 2008 was Warchild Canada founder and U of T Professor Samantha Nutt
Samantha Nutt
Samantha Joan Nutt, , C.M., O.Ont., LL.D., FRCPC, CCFP, is a co-founder and Executive Director of War Child Canada. She is a physician with more than thirteen years of experience working in war zones. Since the beginning of her career, Nutt has focused on providing assistance to war-affected women...
lecturing on "The world is Our Backyard: Individual Responsibility for a Global Society". Dr. Nutt will speak about our role as privileged North Americans and our ability to effect change in war-torn countries.
Past lecturers have included Darin Barney 2007, Michael Geist
Michael Geist
Michael Allen Geist is a Canadian academic, and the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law at the University of Ottawa. Geist was educated at the University of Western Ontario where he received his Bachelors of Laws before going on to get his Masters of Laws at both Osgoode Hall Law...
(2006), David Bornstein (2005), Jennifer Welsh
Jennifer Welsh
Dr. Jennifer Welsh is currently a professor of International Relations at the University of Oxford and co-Director of the , part of the James Martin 21st Century School...
, (2004), Alan Lightman
Alan Lightman
Alan Lightman is an American physicist, writer, and social entrepreneur. He is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the author of the international bestseller Einstein's Dreams. He was the first professor at MIT to receive a joint appointment in the sciences and the...
(2002) and Pico Iyer
Pico Iyer
Pico Iyer is a British-born essayist and novelist. He is the author of numerous books on travel including Video Night in Kathmandu. His shorter pieces regularly appear in Time, Harper's, NYRB and many other publications.-Life and career:...
(2001).
Copies of some of the past lectures are available here.
Theatre
- Main article: Hart House TheatreHart House TheatreHart House Theatre is a 454-seat theatre in Toronto, Ontario located on the campus of the University of Toronto in the Hart House Student Centre. Hart House Theatre has been the University of Toronto Performing Arts Leader Since 1919....
Hart House Theatre is often referred to as the cradle of Canadian Theatre. Opening in November 1919 the Art Deco theatre on the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
's St. George campus quickly became a leader in the Canadian “Little Theatre” movement of the 1920s and 1930s. Hart House Theatre cultivated and featured some of the country’s finest actors, directors, playwrights and designers of the Pre-World War II era, including Raymond Massey
Raymond Massey
Raymond Hart Massey was a Canadian/American actor.-Early life:Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna , who was born in Illinois, and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company. Massey's family could trace their ancestry back to the American...
, Dora Mavor Moore
Dora Mavor Moore
Dora Mavor Moore, OC was a Canadian actor, teacher and director who was a pioneer of Canadian theater.- Life :...
, Lloyd Bochner
Lloyd Bochner
Lloyd Wolfe Bochner was a Canadian actor, usually playing the role of suave, rich leading men.- Career :...
, Lawren Harris
Lawren Harris
Lawren Stewart Harris, CC was a Canadian painter. He was born in Brantford, Ontario and is best known as a member the Group of Seven who pioneered a distinctly Canadian painting style in the early twentieth century. A. Y. Jackson has been quoted as saying that Harris provided the stimulus for the...
, Arthur Lismer
Arthur Lismer
Arthur Lismer, CC was an English-born Canadian painter and member of the Group of Seven.-Early life:At age 13 he apprenticed at a photo-engraving company. He was awarded a scholarship, and used this time to take evening classes at the Sheffield School of Arts from 1898 until 1905...
, Wayne and Shuster
Wayne and Shuster
Wayne and Shuster were a Canadian comedy duo formed by Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster. They were active professionally from the early 1940s until the late 1980s....
and Merrill Denison
Merrill Denison
Merrill Denison was a Canadian playwright.Born in Detroit and raised in Ontario, Denison's mother was American , and his father was of American Revolutionary stock....
. After the war, Hart House Theatre, under the direction of Robert Gill, became an extracurricular student theatre and for twenty years turned out a new generation of stage professionals. William Hutt
William Hutt (actor)
William Ian DeWitt Hutt, was a Canadian actor of stage, television and film. Hutt's distinguished career spanned more than fifty years and won him many accolades and awards...
, Don Harron
Don Harron
Donald H. Harron, is a Canadian comedian, actor, director, journalist, author and composer.- Charlie Farquharson :...
, Kate Reid
Kate Reid
Kate Reid, OC was a Canadian stage, film and television actress.-Life and career:Daphne Kate Reid was born in London, England, the daughter of Canadian parents, Helen Isabel and Walter Clarke Reid, who was a former Bengal Lancer in the Indian army and a retired colonel...
, David Gardner
David Gardner
David Gardner is one of the three founders of The Motley Fool, established in 1993.He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a Morehead-Cain Scholarship, graduating in 1988. He was a writer for Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street newsletter before joining the Motley Fool...
, Arthur Hiller
Arthur Hiller
Arthur Hiller, OC is a Canadian film director. His filmography includes 33 major studio releases, including the 1970 film Love Story...
, Donald Sutherland
Donald Sutherland
Donald McNichol Sutherland, OC is a Canadian actor with a film career spanning nearly 50 years. Some of Sutherland's more notable movie roles included offbeat warriors in such war movies as The Dirty Dozen, , MASH , and Kelly's Heroes , as well as in such popular films as Klute, Invasion of the...
, Norman Jewison
Norman Jewison
Norman Frederick Jewison, CC, O.Ont is a Canadian film director, producer, actor and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. Highlights of his directing career include In the Heat of the Night , The Thomas Crown Affair , Fiddler on the Roof , Jesus Christ Superstar , Moonstruck , The Hurricane and The...
and Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels, CM is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.-Early life:...
all got their start treading the boards on the Hart House stage.
By the mid-1960s the theatre joined the world of academia with the creation of the Graduate Centre for Study of Drama. A new generation of students combined dramatic literature with practical theatre experience and learned from and contributed to the vibrant Toronto theatre scene of the 1970s.
Today Hart House Theatre is the focal point for the performing arts at the University of Toronto. With over a thousand students participating each year in its extra-curricular season of drama, dance, music and film, Hart House Theatre continues to influence each new generation (Source: Hart House Theatre). The performances almost often well reviewed by art critics, and sold out.
Hart House Orchestra
Since 1976, the Hart House Orchestra (HHO) has provided an opportunity for members of the University of Toronto community with musical interest and training to fellowship and perform together in a musical environment. The HHO is an auditioned group with a complement of 80 to 90 musicians. Organizational operations are run by a committee of volunteer orchestra members. Auditions are open to university students at all levels of study, alumni, faculty, staff and senior members.Hart House Film Board
The Hart House Film Board is a popular club which helps its members make movies through equipment rental and instruction, as well as group projects (such as the New Filmmaker's Project) and screenings. Most notably, Atom EgoyanAtom Egoyan
Atom Egoyan, OC is a critically acclaimed Armenian-Canadian stage director and film director. Egoyan made his career breakthrough with Exotica...
made his first movie using Hart House Film Board equipment.
Other features
The captivating beauty of Hart House has made it a popular location for nuptials, professional conferences and other highbrow events. Hart House also owns and manages a 150 acre (0.607029 km²) farm in the Caledon Hills on the ridge of the Niagara Escarpment.The farm has long been a popular retreat.
Notable visitors
Since 1919, nearly all dignitaries visiting Hart House had signed its guest book. In 2007, the original leather-bound book finally ran out of pages and had to be replaced.The first royal visitor to Hart House was Prince Edward, Prince of Wales
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
, who played squash with students there in 1924. In 1939, King George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
and Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
toured the campus and lunched at Hart House. Elizabeth II made the first of several visits as a princess in 1951.
Several individuals have signed the guest book more than once during separate visits to Hart House. Notable visitors include:
- Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight D. EisenhowerDwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
- Ronald ReaganRonald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
- John F. KennedyJohn F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
- Thomas MannThomas MannThomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
- Stephen LeacockStephen LeacockStephen Butler Leacock, FRSC was an English-born Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humorist...
- Henry MooreHenry MooreHenry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
- Seamus HeaneySeamus HeaneySeamus Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He lives in Dublin. Heaney has received the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Golden Wreath of Poetry , T. S. Eliot Prize and two Whitbread prizes...
- Octavio PazOctavio PazOctavio Paz Lozano was a Mexican writer, poet, and diplomat, and the winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize for Literature.-Early life and writings:...
- John Kenneth GalbraithJohn Kenneth GalbraithJohn Kenneth "Ken" Galbraith , OC was a Canadian-American economist. He was a Keynesian and an institutionalist, a leading proponent of 20th-century American liberalism...
- Christopher HitchensChristopher HitchensChristopher Eric Hitchens is an Anglo-American author and journalist whose books, essays, and journalistic career span more than four decades. He has been a columnist and literary critic at The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Slate, World Affairs, The Nation, Free Inquiry, and became a media fellow at the...
- Edmund HillaryEdmund HillarySir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE , was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953 at the age of 33, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest – see Timeline of climbing Mount Everest...
- King George VI
- Queen Elizabeth II