Automation Gallery said:
Smitherman says condos simply don’t belong at Ontario Place. “If you pay $950 a square foot for your waterside condo how long are you going to tolerate the Honda Indy, the Caribbean Carnival parade, the CNE, the Amphitheatre and the [proposed] new Forum? These things are incongruous,†he says. “Why would you contaminate this playground with a few thousand people who are not going to tolerate the noise?â€
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Exactly my argument several pages back. Places to have fun downtown at night are quickly diminishing by the year.
 
On the topic of places to have fun / eat / buy stuff downtown. Does anyone know if PATH will ever extend their hours? I was in Montreal and surprised to see all sorts of shops opened for business in the RESO at 3pm on Labour Day Weekend... despite all the density being added downtown Toronto's undeground city is a ghost town after 5pm weekdays and only the occasional tumbleweed rolls by on weekends.
 
000 said:
On the topic of places to have fun / eat / buy stuff downtown. Does anyone know if PATH will ever extend their hours? I was in Montreal and surprised to see all sorts of shops opened for business in the RESO at 3pm on Labour Day Weekend... despite all the density being added downtown Toronto's undeground city is a ghost town after 5pm weekdays and only the occasional tumbleweed rolls by on weekends.
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But in some ways I think this is a good thing that doesn't change ... it implies on the weekend and after hours the pedestrian activity is kept above ground !
 
Echo Beach will be open again in one month:


youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lIGKGqgNpX4

February 1st and 2nd, 2013.
BRRRRR! WINTER MUSIC FESTIVAL
19+ Event
for more info visit:
www.BrrrrrTO.com

Inspired and developed in conjunction with the team behind Montreal’s Igloofest, Brrrrr! Winter Music Festival will celebrate the winter season with a unique outdoor electronic dance event, at Echo Beach, that will combine cutting edge music with next level visual art experiences. Music will focus on tech-house, house and progressive house to attract the more mature club-goer. The main outdoor stage will be accentuated by a 3D set design and the second stage will be an indoor heated dome with VIP zones.

Details: Brrrrr! Winter Music Festival, Dubfire, Moby, Chus & Ceballos, Magda, Deniz Koyu, Deniz Kurtel...
Tickets: http://www.ticketmaster.ca/Echo-Beach-tickets-Toronto/venue/132006

At first, it seems like an outlandish idea:
organize an outdoor music festival...
in the middle of the Toronto winter!

But outlandish is exactly the mentality needed to defy extreme weather and do winter different. More than an invitation to celebrate, Brrrrr! will offer Torontonians a chance to embrace their northern climate and take back the winter.

Brrrrr! Winter Music Festival will celebrate the winter season with a unique outdoor electronic dance event that will combine cutting edge music with next level visual art experiences.

CELEBRATE WINTER WITH
THE COOLEST THING
TO HIT TORONTO
SINCE SNOW!

DRESS HOT!
SNOWSUITS OPTIONAL...​
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Thanks for the link, but it remains inconclusive, does anybody know of a particular date or time frame by which the winning design will be chosen? I only pray it maintains it's public access, I have so many happy memories of it as a kid, especially the IMAX, when it first opened, I can still remember sitting in the front row, and looking up in bewildered awe, I hope it remains a public park for many generations to come, and NOT a condo. We already have tens of thousands of condo units available, but only one Ontario ari ari oooooo place (Remember that add?) :cool:
 
In related news, the G&M had the death notice for Ontario Place's original landscape architect, Michael Hough, today...
 
Great find, but too bad it doesn't reveal anything.

Like others have said, one of the worst possible things they could do is build a condo or any housing at all. Ontario Place isn't suppose to be a residential place, so make it what it was meant to be, a place of fun, relaxation, and good family times.

In the end, they better not cheap out and build some cheap condos around it so that they can sell it for a couple million just for the views of the city.
 
Highrise condos is not the way to go, but I always thought Zeidler's magnificent vision for the area called "Harbour City" would be a spectacular addition to the waterfront. Though envisioned to replace the Island Airport, I think it would still work (infill islands) adjacent to Ontario Place.

But of course that's thinking too big. ;-)

Here's an interesting article from Canadian Architect called "Harbour City Revisited" (link below).

"In fact, the development was a chance to put into practice many of the principles that Jane Jacobs had laid out in her book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Not surprisingly, she lauded the project as "probably the most important advance in planning for cities that has been made this century."

Ironically it was killed by Crombie and Sewell, who otherwise worshipped at the altar of JJ.

http://www.canadianarchitect.com/news/harbour-city-revisited/1000405724/

From the article:

harbourcity.jpg




Here's another great look at Harbour City from BlogTO (lots of pics):

http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/09/remembering_harbour_city_torontos_unbuilt_town_on_the_lake/
 

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Global TV news is doing a feature tonight (some time between 5:30 pm and 6:30 pm) on my masterplan for Ontario Place Revitalization and a very novel new community beside it. If you miss the news, you could probably check it out on their website.

Talked for 20 minutes but knowing TV, the story will be a couple minutes max.

UT may be doing something on the project that will be more informative/comprehensive.
 
Thanks for tip 3D! (I'll have wait until it's posted online to see it, being in YVR, and not having TV).

SPACING has also posted 2 of 3 videos prepared by U of T Architecture, Landscape and Design students called "Making the case for Ontario Place"

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3 will probably be posted on SPACING's website tomorrow.
 
It will be interesting to see what kind of residential will be built on the south east corner of Ontario Place. One observation (while taking the kids to the water park year after year) was how loud the plane traffic was and the frequency. I'm not just talking about the Q-400's, but some of the single engine and twin engine Cessna types. You could feel the vibration in your chest.
 
I know architects are watering at the mouth thinking of all the complicated things they can do with Ontario Place to turn it into a "landmark" destination. However, I really hope the province decides to keep things simple. Why not just naturalize it and let it serve a similar function to the Toronto islands: a green oasis removed from the busy city? Our greatest greenspaces have been created when the government has kept a light touch (the islands, Tommy Thompson Park, the Don and Humber valleys, etc).
 
I'm all for parks and parkland but we have a lot of parkland on the city's waterfront well beyond what you note above. I'd really like to see Ontario Place re-imagined as a year round destination, expanded, pods and Cinesphere retained and connected better to the city. I'm still not in favour of condo developments and certainly no casino. Is it too radical to suggest expanding the park north and re-locating the Ontario Science Centre there?
 
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