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
This story is from the August 2023 edition of Toronto Life.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 2023 edition of Toronto Life.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
There will be blood
Bedbugs are-no exaggeration-everywhere in Toronto: our libraries, offices, schools, hospitals, hotels, transit and homes. Inside the always expensive, often traumatic, probably futile battle to eradicate the bloodsucking parasites that are ruining our lives
Work Less, Live More
The 40-hour workweek sucks. Ambition is overrated. Life is short. Confessions from the new and intentionally underemployed labour force
Dinner, Party
Four resto-clubs where you can fuel up then boogie down-all without leaving the premises
Urban Diplomat
One of my friends has started policing strangers' social lives online. If he overhears people gossiping, he'll whip out his phone and surreptitiously record.
Car Guy
Flavio Volpe built a $20-million concept car to show off Canadian auto parts. Now if only he could get someone to finance production
Lighting the way to more efficient treatment
Markham Stouffville Hospital's new GreenLight Laser is reducing hospital stays and wait times for prostate surgeries.
Saving Sila
Yara Abualjedian was nine months pregnant when the bombing started in Gaza. Her husband, Ahmad, was in Canada, 9,000 kilometres away, with no way to reach her. Then she went into labour. A story about love and perseverance in a time of war
BRUTE FORCE
Firouzeh Zarabi-Majd always wanted to be a cop, and she loved the job. Even when her fellow officers started harassing her, she said nothing at first. That's the codeyou don't go public, no matter what. But eventually she had to speak up, and it cost her everything
THE GOOD LIAR
Carolyn Krebs (alias Carolyn Goodman, alias Marian Linton) may be the city's most hated landlord. She ignores work orders, falsifies documents and evicts tenants without cause. How one woman is making a killing off a system that's too broken to stop her
THE SECRET CITY
INSIDER TIPS AND TRICKS THAT MAKE LIFE EASIER, CHEAPER, FASTER, SLOWER, TASTIER, SMARTER AND WAY MORE FUN