Its been nearly 8 years since construction wrapped up on the Daniel Libeskind-designed Crystal at the Royal Ontario Museum, and for this week's Throwback Thursday, we look back at the late stages of the addition's construction, mere weeks before opening. While the Crystal has proven to be a controversial piece of architecture in the city, the addition has certainly become one of the city's most famous architectural statements, but back on May 12th, 2007, the ROM Crystal was just another construction site in the city.

The ROM Crystal under construction, May 12, 2007, image by Edward Skira

Today the building has easily become the most photographed on Bloor Street, and there are now plans in the works for a reconstruction of the sidewalk in front of the crystal to install trees and more places to sit. The building plays a stark contrast against the original 1914 Royal Ontario Museum building, and changes the "front" of the museum from Queens Park to Bloor Street.

The same angle captured on April 2, 2015, image by Jack Landau

We turn to a wider view to show the full impact of the Crystal on Bloor Street.

The Royal Ontario Museum, April 2, 2015, image by Jack Landau

We will return next week with another look at the changing face of Toronto!