Thread by @g_meslin

1. As a child of Toronto in the ‘70s and ‘80s, I have much ❤️ for Ontario Place.

With redevelopment in the works, this is a postcard nostalgia thread.

Here is a site plan to orient yourself...

Cc: @MichaelTibollo

2. Zeidler’s pods and Cinesphere.
In the spirit of great Exhibition buildings, pushing the bounds of technology and technique.

3. I like this one a lot...

4. I see what you did there, purple-sky postcard.

5. People walking the pathways, and a view across the internal lagoons, from a vantage point on the West Island.

6. The modular ‘villages’ were one of Ontario Places’s defining elements. Here, the marina village. Restaurants, boutiques/kiosks, and services.

7. West Island Village, early days. The area beyond would later become the site of the ‘Ontario North Now’ silos, and the Wilderness Adventure Ride.

8. Another Village view. Not sure how well it comes across here, but the graphic/design aesthetic of the original Ontario Place was pretty great.

9. Final Village postcard. West Island Village again, aerial view, looking east.

10. On to a different kind of village - Children’s Village! An enormous free-for-all climb/jump/bounce/slide/explore playspace under a giant orange tent.

11. Eric McMillan, designer of Children’s Village: "The project cost $700,000, and took six months to complete...my basic concept was what I, as a child, would like to do"

12. McMillan also designed the Water Play extension of Children’s Village. Other attractions for kids included paddle boats and minigolf.

13. Later on, bumper boats were added. As the park searched for a model, human-powered play was replaced by rides. The theme-parking never really took off.

14. On the subject of boats, a nice shot of the marina in full swing.

15. Nice photo that made it into a number of postcards. Pods and an illuminated Cinesphere.

(also, the fonts!)

16. Aerial view of the park, early ‘70s.
Landscaping, winding paths and lagoons/bridges make it feel much larger than it is.

Far left: two tent-like structures are Children’s Village (orange) and the Ontario Place Forum.

17. Another aerial view, putting Ontario Place in the context of downtown (and a sparse Toronto skyline).

18. Night view from the West Island Village, looking to the east across illuminated fountains.

19. We all took a version of this picture, at some point.

20. ⚓️

21. Two variations on a theme.

22. Best part of these threads is that you learn so much from the comments.

@jacqui_land notes that this circular pond was filled in with concrete & refrigeration, becoming a roller/ice skating rink.

23. Another nice angle on the pods and bridges.

24. To my mind, @MichaelTibollo, there are clearly elements of Ontario Place that should be protected.

Architecturally significant work by local talent.
A cultural touchstone for a generation.
An integral part of the city’s image for some decades.

25. And let’s speak about vision...

Ontario Place reflected a moment of optimism and civic ambition.

This piece quoting John Robarts, the Progressive Conservative Premier who built Ontario Place, is both illuminating and depressing.

26. "When I became Premier of Ontario in 1961 little attention had been paid to one important area of the province's life - arts and culture. ...Ontario now has enough of the world's goods to realize that, as well as meat and potatoes, we can afford some of life's amenities..."

27. Imagine @fordnation - or any @OntarioPCParty politician - saying this today.

The old Progressive Conservative party exists today in name only. In reality, it is something different, smaller, meaner.

https://twitter.com/g_meslin/status/1089284814967111680?s=21

28. Now consider the emptiness of the current govt’s ‘vision’ for Ontario Place.

World-class. What does that mean? Sports and retail. More like world-crass.

The @OntarioPCParty once built things; today they just want to sell it off.

29. In sum:
A treasured public asset, in need of rejuvenation.
Heritage attributes that should be protected.
A government that is, to be generous, a questionable steward.

30. ...those who value Ontario Place and see its potential will need to be vigilant and vocal.

The vision needs to be bigger, kinder than ‘world-class’ sports and retail.

This should be a public gem, unique, something for all of us. As Robarts said, ‘a place to be proud of’.

31. A few post-thread links.

First, there is a recent Toronto Reference Library Blog post on Ontario Place. It has some amazing photos taken during the park’s original construction: torontopubliclibrary.typepad.com/trl/2019/01/on…

32. For lots of Children’s Village photos and videos (!), see this @blogTO post: blogto.com/sports_play/20…

33. The Ontario Place Heritage Statement, discussing its values and attributes as a cultural heritage landscape of provincial significance (via @JohnLorinc): web.archive.org/web/2018122408…