rbt
Senior Member
Zero. It's city land, and Chow isn't going to go that direction.
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Ontario Science Centre
- Thread starter hawc
- Start date
Zero. It's city land, and Chow isn't going to go that direction.
UtakataNoAnnex
Senior Member
adma
Superstar
And ironically, "the Main building up top" is the part which, thanks to its IMAX-centric 90s alterations, has the *least* Moriyama-era architectural integrity intact.
IOW this is the OSC equivalent of regarding the Bud Stage as the only "incoming" part of Ontario Place with any as-is "value" (which was the Ford gov't's original party line in their plans for the OP site)
hawc
Senior Member
Original was so much more grand. Made you feel small. Which was fun.
hawc
Senior Member
Here's a question I've been wondering that I bet no one knows the answer to...
The ground where three main pods sit, was that naturally there or was that a huge man made hill?
Reason I ask is because the Don Valley everywhere else in Toronto just kind of falls off - once. It doesn't have a cliff and then another hill in front of the first big cliff.
In other words, topographically, it would seem more usual that the escalators would descend into the valley from the main entrance building, rather than a bridge across the full depth of the valley to another section of land at the same height and then escalators down to the valley floor.
Unless Moriyama's team found a unique little section where this was naturally occurring that just happened to coincide perfectly with Don Mills & Eglinton.
Here's a topographic map of the section.
The ground where three main pods sit, was that naturally there or was that a huge man made hill?
Reason I ask is because the Don Valley everywhere else in Toronto just kind of falls off - once. It doesn't have a cliff and then another hill in front of the first big cliff.
In other words, topographically, it would seem more usual that the escalators would descend into the valley from the main entrance building, rather than a bridge across the full depth of the valley to another section of land at the same height and then escalators down to the valley floor.
Unless Moriyama's team found a unique little section where this was naturally occurring that just happened to coincide perfectly with Don Mills & Eglinton.
Here's a topographic map of the section.
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Bibi L
Active Member
APTA-2048
Senior Member
I really miss the fountain. It’s a shame it fell into disrepair in the 90s.
adma
Superstar
I adore seeing Foresters/MONY in their original splendour as well--before their recladding and/or condo conversion.
I will say this, though: functionally speaking, the front building always felt like an overscaled, glorified ticket booth, so I can understand why *it* was the element earmarked for renovation--trouble is, it went from being being underprogrammed to being overprogrammed and made the rest of the complex look like a dated afterthought...
I will say this, though: functionally speaking, the front building always felt like an overscaled, glorified ticket booth, so I can understand why *it* was the element earmarked for renovation--trouble is, it went from being being underprogrammed to being overprogrammed and made the rest of the complex look like a dated afterthought...
hawc
Senior Member
Thanks for those. Great photos. Looks like it was probably natural.
Johnny Au
Senior Member
There used to be a Mastermind Toys on the top floor of Building A that doubles as a gift shop.
I spent much of my childhood reading books and playing with toys there.
I spent much of my childhood reading books and playing with toys there.
adma
Superstar
Compounding everything here: Raymond Moriyama's widow died a day after the closure
4hghr
New Member
He’s damn right the business model is broken. Not only that the culture within is unrepairable.The Former CEO and Chief Scientist of the OSC is out with an opinion piece in The Star suggesting that its probably time to let the OSC in its current location go.
But he doesn't advocate for demolishing the Main building up top, suggesting perhaps a repurposing.
The main thrust of his piece aside from the poor condition of the existing building is that the business model of the OSC is broken no matter where you put it, and that that needs addressing.
The OSC needs far more robust ancillary revenues (parking, concession/food, complimentary retail/merch) as well as more robust grants, and a lower cost to operate and maintain building.
I led the Ontario Science Centre for five years. This is the real reason it’s time to let go of the old building
Rather than fighting the relocation based on nostalgia, the future viability of the science centre would be better served by the public holding the government to account on conditions aroundwww.thestar.com
4hghr
New Member
The day they decided to get rid of the loop and build the teluscape was the beginning of the end for the centre.
jje1000
Senior Member
I think that there is still merit in keeping at least some of the structures- the IMAX theatre + auditorium/planetarium are definitely assets, and I think that the Main and the Mid-level buildings could be kept and repurposed (perhaps a new institution through philanthropy?). While the OSC going is unfortunate, there could be some excitement to be seen in the potential birth of a new Toronto-owned institution on this site.
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3Dementia
Senior Member
The OSC theatre is actually OmniMAX (even more immersive than IMAX). The OmniMAX projected images can fill nearly 90% of the surrounding dome theatre... absolutely worth saving!!
And while we're at it (speaking of film), if the Science Centre can't be saved... I'd repurpose the main building into a History of Cinema Museum, with tons of Canadian content such as celebrating the remarkable legacy of the National Film Board (incl. the 70 films of Norman McLaren) and the largest publicly attended film festival in the world (TIFF)... and Canada’s overall impact of the history of cinema:
Link
Actors - from Oscar-winning Mary Pickford in 1929 and Norma Shearer to Raymond Massey to Geneviève Bujold to John Candy, Dan Akroyd, Jim Carrey, Michael J. Fox... to the world’s favourite 2 Ryans
etc.Directors - Norman Jewison, Arthur Hiller, Don Shebib, Claude Jutra, Michael Snow to Ivan Reitman, Atom Egoyan and David Cronenberg to Denis Villeneuve, Sarah Polley, Deepa Mehta and of course James Cameron etc.
Producers/Studios - from Mack Sennett & the Keystone Kops (1912), Jack Warner who started Warner Brothers Studios and Louis B. Mayer (born in Russia, grew up in New Brunswick) was the head Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios, to Lorne Michaels (2 dozen film including “Wayne’s World”) etc.
Writers, animators, special effects… etc. etc, you name it. A programmed space with guest speakers, new exhibits through out the year... I'm sure you get my drift.
I can see lots of private and public sector (not to mention streaming companies busy here) folks chipping in to make it happen.
Everybody loves movie stuff and we could so much more than just a Walk of Fame.
