Editing Hockey Hall of Fame (section)

==History==
The Hockey Hall of Fame was established through the efforts of [[James T. Sutherland]], a former president of the [[Canadian Amateur Hockey Association]] (CAHA). Sutherland sought to establish it in [[Kingston, Ontario]], as he believed that the city was the birthplace of hockey.<ref name="p1">''Honoured members: the Hockey Hall of Fame'', p. 1</ref> In 1943, the NHL and CAHA reached an agreement that a Hall of Fame would be established in Kingston.<ref name="p1"/> Originally called the "International Hockey Hall of Fame", its mandate was to honour great hockey players and to raise funds for a permanent location. The first nine "honoured members" (players [[Hobey Baker]], [[Charlie Gardiner (ice hockey)|Charlie Gardiner]], [[Eddie Gerard]], [[Frank McGee (ice hockey)|Frank McGee]], [[Howie Morenz]], [[Tommy Phillips]], [[Harvey Pulford]], [[Hod Stuart]] and [[Georges Vezina]]) were inducted on April 30, 1945, although the Hall of Fame still did not have a permanent home.<ref name="torstar-45">{{cite news |work=Toronto Star |title=Hockey Hall of Fame Receives Names of First Nine Immortals |date=May 1, 1945 |page=10}}</ref> The first board of governors included hockey executives [[Red Dutton]], [[Art Ross]], [[Frank Sargent (sports executive)|Frank Sargent]], and [[Lester Patrick]]; and journalists [[Abbie Coo]], [[Wes McKnight]], [[Basil O'Meara]], [[J. P. Fitzgerald]], and [[W. A. Hewitt]].<ref name="torstar-45"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Want Writers To Name Notables |agency=[[The Canadian Press]] |date=September 27, 1943 |newspaper=[[Lethbridge Herald]] |location=Lethbridge, Alberta |page=12 |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-sep-27-1943-3033530/ |access-date=April 15, 2022 |archive-date=May 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531080249/https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-sep-27-1943-3033530/ |url-status=live }}{{free access}}</ref>

Kingston lost its most influential advocate as permanent site of the Hockey Hall of Fame when Sutherland died in 1955.<ref name="p25"/> By 1958, the Hockey Hall of Fame had still not raised sufficient funds to construct a permanent building in Kingston. [[Clarence Campbell]], then President of the NHL, grew tired of waiting for the construction to begin and withdrew the NHL's support to situate the hall in Kingston.<ref name="history">{{cite web |url=http://www.hhof.com/html/gi20300.shtml |title=The History of the Hockey Hall of Fame |access-date=December 26, 2007 |publisher=Hockey Hall of Fame |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927195820/http://www.hhof.com/html/gi20300.shtml |archive-date=September 27, 2007}}</ref> In January 1958, the NHL and the [[Canadian National Exhibition]] (CNE) reached an agreement to establish a new Hall of Fame building in Toronto, and [[Frank J. Selke]] was named managing director of the project.<ref>{{cite news |title=CNE to Operate Hockey Hall of Fame: Pick Committee to Select NHL Stars |date=January 31, 1958 |newspaper=Medicine Hat Daily News |location=Medicine Hat, Alberta |page=9 |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-jan-31-1958-1563390/ |access-date=March 30, 2020 |archive-date=February 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223030715/https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-jan-31-1958-1563390/ |url-status=live }}{{free access}}</ref>

The temporary Hockey Hall of Fame opened as an exhibit within [[Canada's Sports Hall of Fame]] at [[Exhibition Place]] in August 1958, and 350,000 people visited it during the 1958 CNE fair.<ref name="p25">''Honoured members: the Hockey Hall of Fame'', p. 25</ref> Due to the success of the exhibit, NHL and CNE decided that a permanent home in the Exhibition Place was needed.<ref>''Honoured members: the Hockey Hall of Fame'', p. 33</ref> The NHL agreed to fully fund the building of the new facility on the grounds of Exhibition Place, and construction began in 1960.<ref>''Honoured members: the Hockey Hall of Fame'', p. 35</ref>
[[File:John Diefenbaker at opening of Hockey Hall of Fame (50540776037).jpg|thumb|Canadian Prime Minister [[John Diefenbaker]] at the hall of fame building's opening at [[Exhibition Place]], Toronto, August 1961. The hall of fame was located at Exhibition Place from 1961–92.|alt=A man in suit and tie stands with arms on hips behind a podium with media microphones attached.]]
The first permanent Hockey Hall of Fame, which shared a building with the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, was opened on August 26, 1961, by Canadian Prime Minister [[John Diefenbaker]].<ref name = p39/> Over 750,000 people visited the Hall in its inaugural year.<ref>''Honoured members: the Hockey Hall of Fame'', p. 47</ref> Admission to the Hockey Hall of Fame was free until 1980, when the Hockey Hall of Fame facilities underwent expansion.<ref>{{cite news |title=Expanded hockey hall will charge admission |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=June 6, 1980 |last=Patton |first=Paul}}</ref>

By 1986, the Hall of Fame was running out of room in its existing facilities and the board of directors decided that a new home was needed.<ref>''Honoured members: the Hockey Hall of Fame'', p. 155</ref> The Hall vacated the Exhibition Place building in 1992, and its half was taken over by the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. The building was eventually demolished; portion of its façade was preserved as an entrance to [[BMO Field]] stadium. Development of the new location in the BCE Place complex (now [[Brookfield Place (Toronto)|Brookfield Place]], featuring the former [[Bank of Montreal]] at the corner of Yonge and Front Streets in Toronto, began soon after.<!-- This article previously implied that the entire Hall of Fame was in the old bank branch. As you can see at http://www.hhof.com/htmlExhibits/ex00.shtml, the old bank is only a small part of the premises. --> The design was by [[Frank Darling (architect)|Frank Darling]] and [[S. George Curry]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://canada.archiseek.com/ontario/toronto/hockeyhalloffame.html |title=Hockey Hall of Fame (Former Bank of Montreal) |publisher=Archiseek |access-date=December 8, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071117102831/http://canada.archiseek.com/ontario/toronto/hockeyhalloffame.html |archive-date=November 17, 2007}}</ref> The new Hockey Hall of Fame officially opened on June 18, 1993.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hall Marks its 10th Anniversary |last=Breslin |first=Lauren |newspaper=[[Toronto Sun]] |date=June 15, 2003}}</ref> The new location has {{cvt|4700|m2|sqft|-2}} of exhibition space, seven times larger than that of the old facility.<ref>{{cite news |title=New Hockey Hall of Fame brilliant mix of the old and new |publisher=The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec) |date=June 8, 1993 |last=Ormsby |first=Mary}}</ref> The Hockey Hall of Fame averaged an annual attendance of 292,000 between 1994 and 2019.<ref name=attendance/>