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+--- Thread: Charles St GRT terminal redevelopment (/showthread.php?tid=1404)
RE: Charles St GRT terminal redevelopment - ijmorlan - 01-29-2025
(01-28-2025, 09:55 PM)jeffster Wrote: I miss the old Planetarium in Toronto. Sucks that it closed. Unsure how well it would do in K-Dub if it can't make it in a larger city like Toronto. But it would be a place I would visit.
I imagine with today's tech, you could make a pretty epic planetarium.
It’s not that it didn’t do well, but rather that Mike Harris’ Conservatives wanted to cut stuff. As an educational institution it was never intended to turn a profit. That being said, I have heard (historical correction welcomed) that some combination of the Royal Ontario Museum and the University of Toronto actually owned it and made a decision to sacrifice it to satisfy the Conservatives. In my opinion they should have done so publicly but behind the scenes should have planned to re-open it as soon as possible, which by now would have been many years ago. Instead they just closed it and although I believe the building is still there re-opening it is not in the cards.
RE: Charles St GRT terminal redevelopment - bravado - 01-29-2025
This might be a generational thing… planetariums actually existed in the last 30 years? News to me.
RE: Charles St GRT terminal redevelopment - plam - 01-29-2025
(01-29-2025, 11:35 AM)bravado Wrote: This might be a generational thing… planetariums actually existed in the last 30 years? News to me.
There's one in Wellington NZ, Space Place. People seem to go to it. There are public outreach events.
RE: Charles St GRT terminal redevelopment - Momo26 - 01-29-2025
If aquarium is more palatable then this can be considered instead. Or both?
Dont worry guys it's all talk. We aren't going to build anything noteworthy...
RE: Charles St GRT terminal redevelopment - danbrotherston - 01-29-2025
There’s a planetarium like experience at the Kitchener Museum.
RE: Charles St GRT terminal redevelopment - panamaniac - 01-29-2025
(01-29-2025, 01:46 PM)Momo26 Wrote: If aquarium is more palatable then this can be considered instead. Or both?
Dont worry guys it's all talk. We aren't going to build anything noteworthy...
A freshwater aquarium might be interesting. I don't think there are a lot of them around.
RE: Charles St GRT terminal redevelopment - nms - 01-29-2025
(01-29-2025, 11:02 AM)ijmorlan Wrote:(01-28-2025, 09:55 PM)jeffster Wrote: I miss the old Planetarium in Toronto. Sucks that it closed. Unsure how well it would do in K-Dub if it can't make it in a larger city like Toronto. But it would be a place I would visit.
I imagine with today's tech, you could make a pretty epic planetarium.
It’s not that it didn’t do well, but rather that Mike Harris’ Conservatives wanted to cut stuff. As an educational institution it was never intended to turn a profit. That being said, I have heard (historical correction welcomed) that some combination of the Royal Ontario Museum and the University of Toronto actually owned it and made a decision to sacrifice it to satisfy the Conservatives. In my opinion they should have done so publicly but behind the scenes should have planned to re-open it as soon as possible, which by now would have been many years ago. Instead they just closed it and although I believe the building is still there re-opening it is not in the cards.
The ROM was originally part of the University of Toronto before it became a provincial Crown agency in 1968.
From the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario web page:
Quote:Opened in October 1968, The McLaughlin Planetarium was shut down on November 5, 1995. Since then, the building hosted the Children's Own Museum for some time, and is presently in use only as storage space. A proposal in 2005 to replace the building with a condominium tower was rejected after adverse public reaction. In 2009, the ROM sold the Planetarium to the University of Toronto, which in 2014 proposed demolishing the building in favour of a new structure to house multiple U of T faculties, as well as public space. Currently, the building is in use only as storage space for the Royal Ontario Museum.
RE: Charles St GRT terminal redevelopment - Momo26 - 02-09-2025
So what's the word?
Is it decided when shovels hit the ground or another 5 to 10 needed for pre-debate consideration?
RE: Charles St GRT terminal redevelopment - Momo26 - 02-26-2026
Check it out
https://kitchener.citynews.ca/2026/02/25/park-condos-or-an-arena-exploring-options-for-valuable-lot-in-kitchener-that-could-be-declared-surplus/
RE: Charles St GRT terminal redevelopment - ac3r - 04-09-2026
They're clearing out old stuff from this building today. I wonder if they'll tear it down anytime soon.
RE: Charles St GRT terminal redevelopment - Momo26 - 08-23-2026
Knock knock - when will construction commence?
RE: Charles St GRT terminal redevelopment - ijmorlan - 08-23-2026
(01-29-2025, 09:02 PM)nms Wrote: The ROM was originally part of the University of Toronto before it became a provincial Crown agency in 1968.
From the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario web page:
Quote:Opened in October 1968, The McLaughlin Planetarium was shut down on November 5, 1995. Since then, the building hosted the Children's Own Museum for some time, and is presently in use only as storage space. A proposal in 2005 to replace the building with a condominium tower was rejected after adverse public reaction. In 2009, the ROM sold the Planetarium to the University of Toronto, which in 2014 proposed demolishing the building in favour of a new structure to house multiple U of T faculties, as well as public space. Currently, the building is in use only as storage space for the Royal Ontario Museum.
And it was demolished earlier this summer. It was sad to see a photograph of the partially demolished concrete dome, which had been used for its intended purpose for less than half its lifetime. And now Mike Harris’ political descendant is doing the same to the Ontario Science Centre.