60 Carlton Street 416-967-3564 [see on map]

MAPLE LEAF GARDENS was built for hockey in 1931, but it also hosted almost every pop and rock music act that mattered.

Elvis Presley played his first show outside the U.S.A. there on April 2, 1957. The Beatles hit the Gardens three times in the 1960s. ABBA ended their lone North American tour there in 1979. KISS, The Who, Bob Marley, Rush, Duran Duran, Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails - all blew the massive roof off its rafters.

For generations of music fans, the arena at Carlton and Church streets was the premiere - no, the only - place to witness the biggest rock tours.

Sadly, with the opening of the modern Air Canada Centre and the Skydome in Toronto, the historic Gardens became obsolete. Its reign came to an end in 2002, but music lovers hold out hope that somehow, someday they will enjoy the sound of live guitar riffs echoing off the Gardens once more.