Hugh’s room has been a staple in the Toronto folk scene for over 20 years. The venue has hosted hundreds of events and held shows with legendary artists like Pete Seeger and Odetta.
But one consistent problem for the venue has been a lack of accessibility for people with mobility impairments.
Michael Booth, the executive director of Hugh’s Room, and his team are working hard to develop a space where all members of the folk community can come and listen to their favourite musicians.
“We have an audience that does skew a bit older… we have a lot of folks who struggle to get in here now, and we don’t know how many folks don’t come at all because it’s not accessible.”
This summer, Hugh’s Room has been closed in order to fully remodel and redevelop specific areas of the venue.
Until now, in order to enter the venue, one had to walk up two flights of stairs, one on the exterior, and another once you arrived in the foyer. The bathrooms are also down another level from the foyer.
The goal of this project is to lower the floor of the entrance to ground level, and replace a set of stairs with a Limited Use Limited Application lift. (LULA).
“Not only is it sort of the right thing to do, but it’s also good for business,” Michael said.
“We would hopefully increase our audience numbers by making the building more accessible, but also when we have rentals.”
The commitment to inclusion goes far beyond just the building itself. Over the years, staff have gone to extraordinary lengths to make the shows work for everyone.
“We have physically picked people in chairs up and brought them in and brought them out, because they really wanted to come to the show,” Michael said.
Image of Foyer as of April 30, 2026. Photo By Jacob Carabetta.The renovations have been made possible by both the folk community here in Toronto and the government of Ontario, who provided a matching grant of $328,000 to make this pivotal folk venue accessible for all.
“We set a target that we needed $750,000 for it,” Michael said.
“We had $328,000, and we had some money – about $196,000 set aside already. And then we had to raise the rest.”
Over the years, the venue has been able to accrue enough money for the start of renovations by adding a $5 “facility fee” to every ticket they have sold. And on top of that, members of the public can make larger donations by following the link on the Hugh’s website.
Although they are very close to their original goal, they are still short about $50,000 Michael said. But that lack of funding will not stop them from following through on the project.
“We can’t half make the building accessible, right?” Michael said.
“I’ve got to go all the way, or none of the way, because if it’s not 100 per cent, then it’s not accessible.”
For a venue built on the spirit of folk music, the accessibility measures will do exactly what folk music does: bring people together.
