{{Short description|Live music entertainment venue, Toronto}} {{About|a cultural venue in Toronto|the House in Scotland|Cameron House}} {{Use Canadian English|date=January 2026}} {{Infobox venue | name = The Cameron House | image = File:The Cameron House 2015.jpg | image_size = 290px | image_caption = The Cameron House in September 2015 | nickname = | address = 408 Queen Street West<br />Toronto, Ontario<br />M5V 2A7 | coordinates = {{coord|43|38|55|N|79|23|51|W|region:CA-ON_type:landmark_source:GoogleEarth|display=inline,title}} | type = Bar, Music venue | event = Alternative | built = 1880 | opened = October 1981 | renovated = | expanded = | closed = | demolished = | owner = Ferraro family | construction_cost = | former_names = | seating_type = | seating_capacity = 70 | website = {{URL|http://www.thecameron.com}} }} '''The Cameron House''' is a small bar, live music venue, and informal cultural centre located on Queen Street West, just west of Spadina Avenue, in the downtown core of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.<ref name=wheeler>Brad Wheeler, "Forty-plus and thriving: The Cameron House is still a revered home for live music: The Cameron House, a long-standing boozery and funky cultural venue on fast-gentrifying Queen Street West, has supported live music for as long as anyone can remember". ''The Globe and Mail'', October 5, 2024.</ref> The Cameron has a front lounge and a back room, both with the capacity for audiences of no more than sixty people. It has been described as a Toronto crossover of CBGB's and the Chelsea Hotel in New York.<ref>Davey, Steven (November 9, 2006). "[http://www.nowtoronto.com/music/story.cfm?content=156356 Cameron celebrates 25: Queen West landmark continues to thrive with T.O. talent a quarter-century on]", ''Now'' '''26''' (10). Retrieved December 7, 2012.</ref>
==History== The building that today houses the Cameron House was constructed in 1880. In that year, it was # 396 Queen Street, and the other half of the building, #398, was under construction. The land to the immediate west of the buildings was a vacant field. In 1881, Angus Cameron moved into #398 and opened a dry goods store on the premises. The other half of the building remained unoccupied. Cameron lived above the shop, his mother living nearby in one of the houses on the street that now bears her family name. By the year 1888, the shop became the “Ryan and Sullivan Tailor Shop.” In 1890, the store was vacant, but the following year, E. Hodd moved in and opened a furnishings shop. In 1895, the structure became the “John Burns Hotel.”
In 1896, it became the Cameron House. First opened as a working hotel in the early 1920s, since October 1981 the Cameron has been a community-based space for music, performance, and visual art.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Taylor|first1=Doug|title=History of the building that houses the Cameron House on Queen St. W.|url=https://tayloronhistory.com/2012/07/27/history-of-the-building-that-houses-the-cameron-house-on-queen-st-w/|website=Taylor On History | publisher = Doug Taylor |accessdate=July 27, 2012}}</ref> Launched by Paul Sannella, his sister Anne Marie Ferraro and their best friend, Herb Tookey, the venue is now owned and operated by Ferraro's children Annalise and Tally.<ref name=wheeler/>
== Notable acts == The following notable acts have performed at The Cameron House:<ref>Hume, Christopher (June 26, 1987). "Artists in residence: At Cameron, home is where the art is", ''Toronto Star'', p. E10.</ref><ref name=DeMara>DeMara, Bruce (October 8, 2006). "Cameron Housed: Queen West's scruffy hostelry/hangout has catered to artists for 25 years, and its tiny stage, creative energy and draft beer made for something unique in Toronto", ''Toronto Star'', p. C4.</ref><ref>Wingrove, Josh (November 21, 2009). "Cameron House bar for sale for $2.9-million", ''The Globe and Mail'', p. A20.</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Helm |first1=Judy |last2=McNamara |first2=Michael |url=http://www.thecameron.com/images/story1.jpg |format=JPG |title=The story of the Cameron House |publisher=Cameron Public House |page=1 |accessdate=2011-07-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928002145/http://www.thecameron.com/images/story1.jpg |archivedate=September 28, 2011 }}</ref>
{{Columns-list|colwidth=Shane Pendergast| * Blue Rodeo * Jane Siberry * Ron Sexsmith * Shane Pendergast * Molly Johnson<ref>(January 20, 2007). "Cameron House launched career", ''Toronto Star'', p. M6.</ref> * Gordie Johnson<ref name=DeMara /> * Holly Cole * Barenaked Ladies * The Meligrove Band * Lorraine Segato * Willie P. Bennett * The Government * Fifth Column * Mary Margaret O'Hara * Handsome Ned * The Golden Dogs * Deanne Taylor * Freeman Dre and the Kitchen Party<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nowtoronto.com/events/freeman-dre-the-kitchen-party |title = Freeman Dre & The Kitchen Party - NOW Magazine}}</ref> * Suitcase Sam<ref>{{cite web |url=https://canadianbeats.ca/2019/04/20/five-questions-with-suitcase-sam/ |title = Five Questions With Suitcase Sam {{!}} Canadian Beats Media}}</ref> * Marlon Chaplin<ref>{{cite web |url=https://canadianbeats.ca/2016/08/02/premiere-new-track-released-by-marlon-chaplin/ |title = PREMIERE: Track released by Marlon Chaplin {{!}} Canadian Beats Media}}</ref> * The Violent Brothers<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hobson |first=Rich |date=2021-09-29 |title=Danko Jones: conquering the world one riff at a time |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/danko-jones-conquering-the-world-one-riff-at-a-time |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=louder |language=en}}</ref> }}
==Recent== thumb|250px|Jesse Adamson performing on the main stage in 2014 House acts at the Cameron in 2005 included The Cameron Family Singers,<ref>MacKinnon, Donna Jean (April 7, 2005). "Cameron House rules: Queen St. W. institution is a one-of-a-kind haven for local musicians and artists while also drawing a diverse urban audience", ''Toronto Star'', p. G1.</ref> The DoneFors, The Countrypolitans, Run With the Kittens,<ref name=DeMara /> The Backstabbers, and Kevin Quain and the Mad Bastards. Recent acts include The Devin Cuddy Band, The Double Cuts, Colonel Tom and The American Pour, John Borra, Big Tobacco and The Pickers, David Celia, Patrick Brealey, Ferraro, Lori Yates and Hey Stella, Doug Paisley, Jay Swinn, and David Baxter.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ferraro|first1=Cosmo|title=Cameron House Listings|url=http://www.thecameron.com/listings.html|website=The Cameron|publisher=Cosmo Ferraro|accessdate=January 31, 2018}}</ref>
In 2011, the Cameron House served as a launching pad for Cameron House Records, a new record label.<ref>Kinos-Goodin, Jesse (January 22, 2011). "Cameron House diversifies: New record label", ''National Post'', p. TO3.</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Official website|https://www.thecameron.com/}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron House}} Category:Nightclubs in Toronto Category:Music venues in Toronto