Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto: The Beatles' Six Shows, 1964 to 1966

The Beatles played Maple Leaf Gardens, at 60 Carlton Street in Toronto, twice a day on 7 September 1964, 17 August 1965 and 17 August 1966. It was the only venue on all three of their North American tours. The 1931 building now holds a Loblaws store and Toronto Metropolitan University's athletic centre, and a Beatles plaque sits in a table inside the store.

Three tours, one arena

Maple Leaf Gardens opened in November 1931 as the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Beatles came three summers running and played two shows each time, which no other building on their North American tours can claim.

The first visit, on Monday 7 September 1964, sold 35,522 tickets across the two shows and earned the band $93,000. More than 10,000 fans had met their plane at the airport, and St John Ambulance treated 36 teenagers who fainted at the fence. The afternoon show was billed for 4pm but started after 5:30pm; the evening show began at 10pm. The Bill Black Combo, the Exciters, Clarence "Frogman" Henry and Jackie DeShannon opened, and CHUM radio's Jungle Jay Nelson introduced the Beatles.

They returned on 17 August 1965, and again on 17 August 1966. Toronto was the only Canadian date of the 1966 tour. The 4pm show that day drew about 15,000 people and the 8pm show about 17,000. Twelve days later the band played Candlestick Park in San Francisco, their last paid concert.

On each trip they slept at the King Edward Hotel, in the Royal Suite, and police drove them to and from the arena in a paddy wagon. Heritage Toronto points out that the hockey arena's sound system left much of the music unheard over the crowd.

From hockey rink to supermarket

The Leafs left for the Air Canada Centre in 1999. Loblaw bought the empty Gardens in 2004 and kept the shell. A Loblaws store opened on the lower floors on 30 November 2011, and the Mattamy Athletic Centre, used by Toronto Metropolitan University, opened on the upper level in 2012.

The building has been protected under the Ontario Heritage Act since 1991 and was named a National Historic Site of Canada in 2007.

Is there a Beatles plaque?

Yes, though not the one most people see first. The federal plaque at 60 Carlton Street honours the arena as a whole; its text mentions the two sold-out Beatles shows of 1964 among many other events.

The Beatles plaque is inside the Loblaws. It is set into the top of a table in the seating area on the main level. Columns along one of the store's aisles also carry drawings of dates from Gardens history, the 1964 Beatles concert among them, and a red dot on the floor marks where centre ice used to be. All of this is open to anyone during store hours.

The Beatles played other Commonwealth arenas on their 1964 world tour, including the Sydney Stadium, which is now gone. The 1966 tour ended at Candlestick Park.