Maple Leaf Gardens
The rink where Canada beat the Soviets, Elvis played one of his only non-US shows, and 11 Stanley Cups were won — now has a Loblaws in the basement.
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Built in 1931 at Carlton and Church, this arena ran hockey at its highest stakes for nearly seven decades. The Toronto Maple Leafs lifted the Stanley Cup 11 times on this ice between 1932 and 1967. Game 2 of the 1972 Summit Series — Canada 4, USSR 1 — was played here. Elvis Presley performed on April 2, 1957, one of his rare concerts outside the United States. It closed in 1999 and now houses a university arena above a supermarket.
What to look for
- The 1931 exterior at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street — the bones of the original arena are intact
- The Mattamy Athletic Centre on the upper level, which sits where the NHL ice once was
- The Loblaws supermarket on the lower floors — the starkest possible contrast to what this building once meant
Corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District; the lower-floor Loblaws is open daily, giving anyone access to the building's interior without a ticket.
Maple Leaf Gardens is one of 19 sights worth the detour in Toronto, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Toronto pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Toronto
- CN TowerFor 32 years, a railway company's broadcast antenna was the tallest free-standing structure on Earth.
- BMO FieldThe 2007 soccer-specific stadium that grew into Toronto's outdoor dual-sport arena — and now holds 45,736 for the 2026 FIFA World Cup under the temporary name Toronto Stadium.
- Scotiabank ArenaA 1941 postal sorting depot on Bay Street that became Canada's busiest arena — and the most photographed spot in the country on Instagram.
- Royal Ontario MuseumCanada's largest museum packs 18 million objects — Cambrian sea creatures, East Asian art, and Art Deco clothing and design objects — into 40 galleries on Bloor Street.
- Rogers CentreThe world's first fully retractable motorized roof opened here in 1989 — and 70 hotel rooms still peer straight down onto the field.
- First Canadian PlaceFor 50 years it was Canada's tallest building — until a fellow Toronto skyscraper finally beat it in June 2025.