@ProjectEnd is correct.

I looked up the aerial photos for the area from 1964 (prior to OSC or Foresters construction) One can clearly see the bulk of the top portion of the site was at-grade w/Don Mills.


1682001929977.png
 
I think there's also that the OSC entrance has been substantially regraded.
The original entrance was 2 levels. The main entrance was "at grade" with the fountains etc.
The school/group entrance was kind of hidden directly underneath, with a bus loop and its own lobby and a lower level to the bridge everyone takes (or took, before they closed it) into the Great Hall.

These benches are on that lower level...
https://twitter.com/x/status/1648434273555480581

...if the apparent weird grading is the issue here.
(Doesn't seem easy to find a picture of the original entrance/driveway configuration...)

EDIT: I lied - this wasn't that hard to find after all. I slightly mis-remembered how it looked, in that the public went up to the main entrance and students stayed below but you get the idea.

ontario-science-centre-2-mr1.jpg
 
Richard White said:
Not sure if you are referring to 10 Edgecliff Golfway, a Condo Tower just off Wynford Drive built in 1974 by Olympia and York Developments.

It is a 19 story building.
Click to expand...
No, the smaller 'twin' of Foresters. Later converted to residential, it was originally built as office:
1682003601988.png

Northern Light said:
@ProjectEnd is correct.

I looked up the aerial photos for the area from 1964 (prior to OSC or Foresters construction) One can clearly see the bulk of the top portion of the site was at-grade w/Don Mills.
Click to expand...
O&Y had high hopes for this area. Never took off like they'd hoped (2-3M sf total) and ended up becoming the townhouses there today.

1682003695282.png
 
Northern Light said:
Just to come back to this; with which I agree; something our younger members may not know is that the OSC used to be a regular on many U.S. talk shows, including Late Night with David Letterman, showing up something like 3x per year to do fun science demos.

They were renowned for their ability to do real science and science education that was fun, funny, and relatable.

Unfortunately, its position was allowed to erode both in absolute terms and relative to its peers (of which it once had almost none, and now has many, several of which are a level above, the current OSC offering)
Click to expand...
I believe that even in the 80's it was still the model for other interactive science museums to follow. What are some others around the world that have stolen its thunder since then?
 
Towered said:
I believe that even in the 80's it was still the model for other interactive science museums to follow. What are some others around the world that have stolen its thunder since then?
Click to expand...

The Exploratorium in SF gets a lot of favourable attention (I haven't been myself so couldn't speak to it)

Experience the Exploratorium at Pier 15 | Exploratorium

Experience the Exploratorium. Let your curiosity roam free through hundreds of exhibits in our six spacious indoor and outdoor galleries at Pier 15, San Francisco.
www.exploratorium.edu www.exploratorium.edu

The Universeum in Sweden likewise gets lot of good attention.

www.universeum.se

Universeum

www.universeum.se www.universeum.se

NEMO in Amsterdam is well reputed

 
UrbanOzz said:
if the government is saying it's too expensive to repair/renovate, does that mean it costs more than a Therme Parking Garage?
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Saying it will cost more to repair/renovate than it will to renovate the Pods, and build a brand new building, is the kind of thing that a contractor will sell you to simplify their life and make more money. They are talking about building a brand new building along the Lake, so new site services, foundation, structure, vs repairing a pedestrian bridge etc. Sorry, that will not be cheaper.

In reality, they are saying it will be cheaper to build a new building because they are going to sell the land off to their buddies.

And I say all the above as someone who likes the idea of the Science Centre at Ontario Place (I always have liked this idea). But the way they are going about it smells of the typical insider lobbying that this Province has become overrun with.
 
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wopchop said:
Saying it will cost more to repair/renovate than it will to renovate the Pods, and build a brand new building, is the kind of thing that a contractor will sell you to simplify their life and make more money. They are talking about building a brand new building along the Lake, so new site services, foundation, structure, vs repairing a pedestrian bridge etc. Sorry, that will not be cheaper.

In reality, they are saying it will be cheaper to build a new building because they are going to sell the land off to their buddies.

And I say all the above as someone who likes the idea of the Science Centre at Ontario Place (I always have liked this idea). But the way they are going about it smells of the typical insider lobbying that this Province has become overrun with.
Click to expand...

What I would love to see is an accounting of the amount of assets that had been (and is in the process of being) sold off by the government. I have a feeling we have an ongoing firesale that would make 407 look like an amateur job.

AoD
 
On the subject of this idea that the TRCA won't allow bridge repairs.

I would like to see evidence in support of that as I find that very unlikely.

I would not, that in order to affect repairs to a bridge structure a City of Toronto building permit would be required, and none has been applied for that I can see.

The TRCA does not maintain a public database of permit applications but you can see those recommended for approval or refusal in the Authority meeting minutes.
 
Richard White said:
The National Science Museum in London?
Click to expand...
The Science Museum in London is not great either. It's very static in its exhibits and I wouldn't recommend anyone go there unless you are really into the history of the combustion engine.
Towered said:
I believe that even in the 80's it was still the model for other interactive science museums to follow. What are some others around the world that have stolen its thunder since then?
Click to expand...
The Science Centre in Paris is really good as well, though it's also way out in the suburbs, much like Toronto.
 
DKsan said:
The Science Museum in London is not great either. It's very static in its exhibits and I wouldn't recommend anyone go there unless you are really into the history of the combustion engine.
Click to expand...

It is literally more a science museum than a science centre. It's more oriented towards artifacts than hands-on/interactive exhibits. To be fair, they also have a good amount of the former given the history of UK - I don't imagine we do; that's also why the original OSC was so groundbreaking for its' time.

AoD
 
DKsan said:
The Science Museum in London is not great either. It's very static in its exhibits and I wouldn't recommend anyone go there unless you are really into the history of the combustion engine.

The Science Centre in Paris is really good as well, though it's also way out in the suburbs, much like Toronto.
Click to expand...
I'll add the "Technisches Museum" in Vienna to the list too. Their government actually, you know, invests in the thing!
 
On unhatched plans around the OSC - the City had for a long while planned to upgrade Eglinton to a freeway as well.

IMG_4698.JPG


I swear I had a copy of the actual design for the highway through the stretch from the DVP to Leaside too, but I can't find it now. It's the reason for the full interchange at Celestica.
 
Edit: others haven gotten to this before I had a chance to post. Y'all are fast!

Northern Light said:
One doesn't usually see temporary mounds of soil piled that high; so I was curious about what the elevation of the site may have looked like at/prior to construction (did they back fill a slope/hill here?)
Click to expand...
If memory serves me right, the original site had a lower loop for busses and school groups (now the main entrance level). There still is a bit of a hill in front of the centre presumably for the original entrance above? It's been a very long time... The bus loop was below grade where I put an arrow to indicate below:

R~2.jpeg

Hard to see the grade here but who remembers the fountains?
ontario-science-centre-toronto-on-vintage-postcard-2AAB555.jpg
 
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