The OSC was not properly maintained. I will be fair - it was neglected by both Conservative and Liberal governments over the years.
That being said, the entire thing is suspiciously convenient for the Ford government, who have already given away Ontario Place so that an Austrian company can build a private spa. Then, Ford had the bright idea of moving a miniature version of the Science Centre to the former Ontario Place site, saying they’d use the OSC site for housing. There has been minimal public consultation on all of this. Now, the Science Centre has to be closed on a Friday in June.
But wait! There’s more! The Ford government refused to fund repairs to the OSC in 2022. For those who would argue that they wanted to save taxpayers’ money, there’s the troubling fact that the government has spent more than that on partisan advertising.
And Ford’s developer friends are lining up. I can’t believe Ontario was stupid enough to elect this corrupt prick once, let alone twice.
A sad day. I have many happy memories of the Science Centre, ranging from childhood (my first visit was in 1969) through later years, when they had a weekly movie in the auditorium. A month would be concert movies, the next month would be science-fiction, the next month would be who knows? They hadn’t thought that far in advance. But it would be something.
For a poor university student like me, it made for an inexpensive date night. I think it was a dollar to see the movie, and then my girlfriend and I would go for pizza at her favourite pizza place in Scarborough.
I was last there about four years ago, in June of 2019. I had a free afternoon, so why not? It had changed a lot, but was still an enjoyable place to visit, and I had a lot of fun, just like in the old days. And unlike when I was a child, they gave me the seniors’ discount.
I’ve been going to the Science Centre my entire life, from my own visits as a kid and then taking my own there. My kids visited virtually every week for years with my father-in-law.
This city and province is now a poorer place with the impending loss of both the Ray Moriyama designed building, the contents, and the love of science it has inspired in kids for the last 55 years. I place the blame squarely on Doug.
An interesting by-election coming up in Toronto St Paul’s tomorrow (Monday, June 24). It’s been a Liberal stronghold for the last 30 years. Toronto—St. Paul’s | 338Canada
Polls are open 8:30-8:30, I’ll be walking over at lunch most likely.
This was my daughter’s first election as a newly-minted adult. She voted at the advanced poll since she is off to her summer job.
Incidentally, there are 85 candidates on the ballot. Almost 80 of them have the same official agent and it is a “protest” against First Past the Post elections.
I remember when it opened. Toronto Life did a whole feature on the Moriyama architecture. I learned from that that the Centre is actually three separate and distinct buildings: the main entrance building, the building where the auditorium and Great Hall were (and the Space exhibition hall), and the valley building (Life, Communications, the Science Arcade). They don’t seem separate because of the catwalks and escalators, but they are. Any idea which building has the roof problems?
I remember how it was publicized on its opening. Maybe it’s why the Centre fascinated us kids right into adulthood. The marketing went like this:
Are there any plans for the buildings/site? I would hate to think that the Centre is to be torn down, and the land developed into condos. I agree; Doug is squarely to blame.
I believe it’s the main entrance building. The connecting bridge is also structurally unsound, so they have a shuttle bus which transferred visitors from the main building to Building B with the Great Hall.
The problem is that most of the building is in a flood plain. The east side of the site along Don Mills Road may be buildable, but a lot of it can’t be used for residential purposes.
And yes, Dougie wants this building to die.
Back in the late eighties I worked at a photo lab and we did all the work for Moriyama and Teshima where I had the pleasure of meeting Ray Moriyama a number of times. They designed some beautiful buildings.
Well, those odds from 338 certainly didn’t come through…
I hope M. Trudeau is considering stepping aside for someone else before the next election. I don’t understand the animosity, myself, but then, I also don’t understand how anyone can back Pierre Poilièvre.
I met Poloz once, and like Lavigne’s music. But I don’t know anyone on the list personally. I do, however, love the name “Joe Brock Average” which could not be more Canuck unless you squeezed in a Gordon.
Beverly Johnson is a friend from the Toronto contemporary music scene - among countless gigs we’ve done where she’s in the pit orchestra, I used to run into her in the TTC all the time when she was a subway musician.
It would be interesting to find out just how many Order of Canada recipients have been buskers at one time in their lives…