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Museum of Toronto (?)

A location on the lake would be interesting as well, because the one common thread between people of all walks of life from the past to the present is Lake Ontario and its tributaries, the Humber, Don, Rouge, etc. The Old Canada Malting building was once a possibility. That could also be good because it would showcase the silos and highlight the hardworking nature of Torontians and has a lot of potential for mixed use to support future growth. Also the many who live on the waterfront around Ft. York would most likely love to have some businesses at their fingertips. Also it would pave the way to a stronger Private-Public Partnership if there is space for mixed use.
 
I feel that a location in 'Old Town' would make more sense, perhaps as part of a future Parliament Square where the First Parliament remains are. Locating a museum where there is a critical mass of other similar 'attractions' would be wise, and in this case it would be between the Distillery and the St. Lawrence Market.
 
That's what I'm hoping for. Old City Hall is an incredible building with an unbeatable location, and its physical assets should be better used, sensitively improved, and celebrated.

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I have a feeling this will start out small in an existing city-owned space (say, someplace like Old City Hall or St. Lawrence Hall) and include revolving exhibition pop-ups in neighbourhoods across the city. They will get seed money from the city, but the new organization needs to have an established ability to host exhibitions and programming with tracking of attendance numbers and growth. The organization needs to show responsibility and leadership to demonstrate they are using funds effectively and to show they can create high-quality programming. This will show citizens that a Museum of Toronto can and will be done (with financing from both city coffers and private donations) and will lead to something larger and more permanent. I can see something permanent happening in about 4-5 years.
 
I'd like to see a museum or other attractions on the waterfront but I think the best place for a Toronto museum, is in Old City Hall. You also can't beat the location. Why are there no major attractions on Yonge Street? It's our main street and a major tourist hub and yet there is not a single major tourist attraction on it or close by. I find that kinda strange.
 
Oh if only a worthwhile use could be found for 201 Yonge Street (and funds secured to purchase it from its absentee Irish owner). That former bank building, rather ornate and garish, needs something in it to preserve it, and some it must be potentially useful for some cultural body. I wonder if any Eaton Centre/The Bay section 37 funds coming from future redevelopment on those sites might be directed towards purchasing and conserving that space for community use. Some civic museum function might be possible there.

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I disagree with Casa Loma as an option. It is an historic stately house and should be preserved as such, à la Dundurn Castle in Hamilton. A Museum of Toronto is badly needed but an estate as exceptional as Casa Loma has got to be pretty rare and should be a major attraction, it just needs better management and marketing.

I think City Hall is a better idea but I wonder how suitable it is for displaying museum artefacts etc.

Torontovibe said:
Why are there no major attractions on Yonge Street? It's our main street and a major tourist hub and yet there is not a single major tourist attraction on it or close by. I find that kinda strange.
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Yonge Street is a commercial artery and it's not really ever been much more than that. There was the Olympic Spirit Centre and we all know how successful that ended up being.
 
I think the museum should be sited near a subway station (City Hall fits the bill). Imagine all these school groups, tourists, and Torontonians piling on streetcars or parking around Casa Loma!
 
This whole idea is embarrassing and reeks of Canada. It talks about 'an environment of tolerance and respect,' as though that were a good thing.
 
urbanexplorer said:
Can someone ban this intolerant creep?
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There's a certain irony to this post.

Tolerance and respect are not virtues. Why do people admire Martin Luther King? He wasn't tolerant. He fought for social justice and change. We ought to have a museum that celebrates social progress--the evolution of a city that went from making homosexuality a crime to one with a world famous pride parade.
 
Waterloo_Guy said:
There's a certain irony to this post.

Tolerance and respect are not virtues. Why do people admire Martin Luther King? He wasn't tolerant. He fought for social justice and change. We ought to have a museum that celebrates social progress--the evolution of a city that went from making homosexuality a crime to one with a world famous pride parade.
Click to expand...

There's a certain irony to this post.

We wouldn't have a city that went from making homosexuality a crime to one with a world famous pride parade unless we valued tolerance and respect.

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