Info from Venue website
The Masonic Temple was opened with great ceremony on January 1, 1918. Owned by an independent corporation of Masons, the Temple was intended to house a disparate group of lodges and chapters; at one point, thirty-eight different groups called the temple home.

Unlike the rest of the Temple, the Concert Hall was intended as rental public space to help defray operating costs, with dressing rooms, a stage, and food preparation areas.

It’s been known by many names as music and owners changed: The Concert Hall; The Auditorium; Club 888; The Rockpile, Regency Ballroom.

The Concert Hall started to gain traction as a rock concert venue in the 1960s, attracting performers like Wilson Pickett, Tina Turner, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Johnny Lee Hooker, Canned Heat, and Buddy Guy by 1968.

But things were starting to look bleak. The Building’s condition had rapidly deteriorated throughout the 70s, and as Masons started moving to the suburbs, the Temple started to fall on hard times. The corporation started looking to sell in the mid 90s, but the bands played on, ranging from Vanilla Ice to Weird Al Yankovic, The Tragically Hip to Ice-T. Rage Against the Machine. Phish. Queen Latifah. David Bowie. Pearl Jam & The Smashing Pumpkins opened for The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Green Day opened for Bad Religion. It wasn’t enough.

The building narrowly escaped demolition in 1997 by being declared a heritage site (the ‘lucky’ 888 address was coveted by developers). CTV bought it in 1998 as a news bureau and venue for the Mike Bullard show. MTV took over in 2006, and, despite closing the Concert Hall, still managed to cage a performance from U2 in 2009.