The Drake Hotel

The Drake Hotel is on Queen Street West in Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood. The building opened in 1890 as D. A. Small’s Hotel and took the name The Drake in 1949. Jeff Stober bought the property in 2001, then reopened it as The Drake Hotel in 2004 after renovations. In the 1980s and 1990s, the site operated as a punk bar and rave venue. The hotel’s basement music space, the Drake Underground, also opened in 2004.

On the hotel’s lower level, the Underground accommodates up to 200 people, with layouts for 60 seated diners, 120 theatre-style seats or 150 standing guests. Its equipment includes screens and lighting; a 2018 renovation brought new speakers and lighting, followed by a green room in 2021 and a DiGiCo SD-12 mixing console in 2022. The hotel has a rooftop patio and a five-storey Modern Wing, opened in December 2021 with 32 guest rooms. Underground programming includes house and techno nights and live concerts, with Archetype Sound among its promoters. Artists who have played there include Beck, Billie Eilish, Peaches and Broken Social Scene.