LAKE EFFECT

The battle over the future of Ontario Place is pitched—and for good reason. Thousands of Torontonians spent their formative years there, learning the art of play, listening to live music and catching IMAX flicks. A nostalgic tour of the glory years

- CAITLIN STALL-PAQUET

In the late 1960s, following the success of Montreal's Expo 67, Toronto finally decided to do something about its long-neglected waterfront. The Toronto Harbour Commission developed a master plan to transform a 155-acre swath of land into a massive recreational site. The result, Ontario Place, included five sci-fi-esque multi-use pods, a marina, an outdoor concert venue, a geodesic dome housing a theatre, a one-of-a-kind children's play area created by British designer Eric McMillan and a collection of "villages"-modular structures containing restaurants and shops.

German Canadian architect Eberhard Zeidler best known for his work on the Eaton Centre and the McMaster University Health Sciences Centre-spearheaded the project, which broke ground in March of 1969. Zeidler's design drew inspiration from the Eiffel Tower and London's Crystal Palace. Landscape architect Michael Hough was tapped to make Zeidler's vision a reality. Using decommissioned ships, Hough built breakwaters to protect Zeidler's designs from crashing waves. All told, the project cost $29 million (about $223 million today).

When it opened, in 1971, Ontario Place quickly captured the public's attention: it drew more than two million visitors annually in its first few years. But its operating costs were higher than anticipated, with each decade bringing the closure or demolition of facilities until Ontario Place's main attractions eventually closed in 2012.

In 2021, when Doug Ford announced a plan to build a spa run by an Austria-based firm on the site, the backlash was instant. The protests underscored the deep attachment Torontonians have to the park. Here, a history of Ontario Place in archival photographs.

WATERWORLD / 1972