McLaughlin Planetarium

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A promotional picture of the original configuration for the McLaughlin Planetarium, prior to extensive renovations that removed its northern annex, circa early 1970s

The McLaughlin Planetarium is a former working planetarium whose building continues to occupy a space immediately to the south of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, at 100 Queen's Park. Founded by a grant from philanthropist Colonel R. Samuel McLaughlin, the building was opened to the public on October 26, 1968. It had, for its time, a state-of-the-art Zeiss planetarium projector and a gallery featuring space-related exhibits and related artifacts on the history of astronomy. A precipitous decline in attendance came in conjunction with major construction at its sibling institution, the Royal Ontario Museum, which lasted a total of four years starting in 1978, and also entailed the demolition of part of the Planetarium's facilities. Though attendance picked up when the adjacent Museum reopened in 1984, the Planetarium was forced to close on November 5, 1995, due to provincial budget cuts to the Museum. The Planetarium's exhibits, artifacts and theatre facilities were subsequently dismantled and dispersed. It is now used solely for offices and as a storage facility for the Museum.

1 Beginnings
2 The Building
3 Zeiss-Jena planetarium projector
4 Renovations in the late 1970s and early 1980s
5 The 1980s and early 1990s
6 Closure
7 After the closing
8 Curators
9 Literary references
10 References
11 Bibliography
12 External links

[edit] Beginnings

An image of Col. Robert Samuel McLaughlin in his later years, whose donation made the Planetarium possible.

Proposals for building a planetarium in Toronto date back to 1944, but it took until 1962 when serious planning was started, thanks to a bequest made with this purpose in mind by a former member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC). In May 1964 the Chairman and the President of the University of Toronto gave their support for the idea to the RASC, and suggested a suitable site near the existing Royal Ontario Museum, adding that significant financial support would have to come from outside the University to make it possible.

In November 1964 Canadian businessman Colonel R. Samuel McLaughlin announced plans for donating money directly towards establishing a planetarium in Toronto. He was inspired by the construction of the Hayden Planetarium in New York, named after his colleague Charles Hayden, who had been a friend and associate on the board of International Nickel. He made a gift of $2 million in order to construct the building, and an addition $1.15 million as an ongoing endowment.^[1] It was decided that the planetarium would be run as a division of the Royal Ontario Museum, which was then seeking to operate as a separate, provincially funded body from the University of Toronto. It was also decided to locate the Planetarium adjacent to the Museum. The building was constructed in an area that had formerly been a park belonging to the museum, and also required the demolition of a mansion that had once been the residence for the President of the University of Toronto.

The building was designed by architects Allward & Gouinlock in 1965, and Colonel McLaughlin unveiled a model of the building on his 94th birthday celebration, which was held in his honour at the museum in September of that year. It was hoped that the building would be open by Canada's centennial in 1967, but construction delays forced the opening to 1968.

Original plans also called for a multistorey parking garage, a 550-seat conventional movie theatre, and a direct underground link to the Museum subway stop, but these additions were deemed too costly and were never put into effect.^[2]

The building was divided into four main floors:

a basement used for general storage;
a ground floor that featured a small store selling space-themed merchandise, a small space-themed library, coat-check room and a prominent bronze bust of Colonel McLaughlin;
a second floor, called the "Astrocentre", which featured various astronomical exhibits; and
a third floor, called "The Theatre of the Stars", was devoted wholly to astronomical shows, and featured a Zeiss planetarium projector along with 85 slide and video projectors used to recreate starry skies. It could seat 340 people at a time.

[edit] The Building

The dominant feature of the building is the dome, which rises 25.3 meters (83 feet) from the ground, and has an outer diameter of 27.7 meters (91 feet). The dome structure is layered, with an outer waterproofed casing of reinforced concrete 4 centimeters (2.5 inches) thick, and an inner concrete dome that is insulated by a layer of urethane foam.

The projection dome was separate from the outer dome, and was 23 meters (75.4 feet) in diameter. Made of curved aluminum sheets, it was lap jointed to create a continuous spherical surface. The sheets were painted white and perforated with 2.5-millimeter (0.1 inch) holes, which were designed to let sound through, reduced echo, and also played a part in the ventilation of the building.

The building had two main entrances: a main entrance at ground level that faced east onto Queen's Park Drive, and a connecting passageway from the Royal Ontario Museum from what used to be the Mineralogy Gallery. Admission to either facility allowed visitors to see exhibits in both buildings, though a Planetarium show cost extra.

[edit] Zeiss-Jena planetarium projector

Zeiss-Jena Universal Projection Planetarium Type 23/6 1 - Constellation Figure Projector (North) 2 - Star Globe (North) 3 - Mechanical shutter of star field projector 4 - Milky Way projector (North) 5 - Planetary projectors (North) 6 - Lattice ring for Sun, Moon and Vertical circle projectors 7 - Horizon circle projector 8 - Planetary projectors (South) 9 - Star Globe (South) 10 - Compass point projector

The planetarium projector was the focal piece of equipment at the planetarium. It was a Universal Projection Planetarium type 23/6, made by Kombinat VEB Carl Zeiss JENA in what was then East Germany^[3]. The East German-made projectors of the time cost less than their equivalents made in West Germany by the firm of Carl Zeiss.

The planetarium projector was a 13-foot-long dumbbell-shaped object, with 29-inch-diameter spheres attached at each end representing the night sky for the northern and southern hemispheres. Connecting the two spheres was a framework that held nearly 150 individual projectors, including those dedicated to the planets, the Sun, and specific stars.

Improvements were made to the original planetarium projector over the years, allowing for special effects that could show close-up displays of specific planets, and the Sun and Moon projectors could replicate the experience of a solar or lunar eclipse.

The projector could be controlled by a console where an individual presenter would provide specific talks or lectures. By the mid-1970s, automation features were added, which led to the creation of prerecorded shows.^[4] Most visitors to the facility would have seen an automated 40- to 45-minute audio/visual show on a particular space-related topic. Two types of shows were typically alternated on a daily basis: one aimed at families with young children and another aimed at older children and adults.^[5] Typical shows aimed at both audience types were built around themes such as space travel, the mythical stories behind the constellations, and around Christmas-time, a show that investigated theories on stellar explanations for the Star of Bethlehem.

[edit] Renovations in the late 1970s and early 1980s

When plans were drawn up for a major expansion of the adjacent Royal Ontario Museum in the mid-1970s, it was initially assumed that the Planetarium, then still a comparatively new facility, would be left untouched. As the scope of the expansion increased, it was realized that its north annex would need to be demolished in order to make way for the Museum's need for a wing devoted to curatorial facilities. As a result, a theatre entrance, sound studio, workshop, passenger elevator and a third of the existing gallery area of the Planetarium had to go. The remaining gallery area was removed in March 1978 to make space for temporary space to replace the workshop and studio.

Significant changes to the Planetarium were made during this time, including the addition of a new spiral staircase that led straight to the Theatre of the Stars, an adjacent elevator for the elderly and disabled, and a larger gallery space on the second floor.

The Planetarium remained at normal levels of service during this renovation period, but attendance dropped significantly, particularly when the adjacent Museum was closed for a period of two years during the most intensive phase of its second major expansion. In all, the construction phase lasted for four years, from 1978 to 1982. In particular, some school groups that could justify the expense of seeing the Museum and a Planetarium show in a single day's outing had difficulty justifying a visit solely to the Planetarium.^[2]

[edit] The 1980s and early 1990s

While the main attraction continued to be the astronomical shows put on during the day, in the early 1980s, regular laser light shows became a staple evening's entertainment in the city. Typical shows included "Laser Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon", "Laser Zeppelin", "Sgt. Peppers Laser Light Show" and later, such shows of more contemporary musical artists such as "Laser Depeche Mode", "Laser NIN" and "Laser Nirvana". These shows were held under the name "Laserarium" rather than that of the Planetarium, though the laser-light and star shows were held in the same building. The laser shows were created by the Florida-based firm Audio Visual Imagineering, whose shows are also seen at other planetaria.

Other exhibits in the revamped Astrocentre included a new 50-seat mini-theatre, wall murals illustrating the phases of the moon, plus an increasing number of hands-on exhibits and interactive computer-driven displays. There were also displays of astronomical globes, an orrery and pictures of the planets, many taken by contemporary space probes. The Astrocentre also featured the world's first commercial Stellarium, a slowly rotating display containing a 3D representation of almost a thousand stars in our immediate stellar neighbourhood.^[6]

[edit] Closure

The McLaughlin Planetarium was closed on November 5, 1995. The president of the ROM stated that the closure of the planetarium was due to a combination of declining attendance, a declining interest in space travel as well as to provincial budget cuts. The decision came as a surprise to many, as attendance had rebounded in recent years, and the planetarium was one of few in North America at the time that was turning a profit. The closure meant that 40 people lost their jobs.

Despite the ROM citing lowered attendance figures, proponents of the planetarium have alleged that the Conservative Ontario provincial government of the time, led by Mike Harris, was looking for an instant and visible $600,000 cut to the ROM's operating budget.^[7]

Shortly after the announcement, the exhibits, seating and wiring were dismantled or removed. Some of the signs and paintings were recovered by the RASC, which had a permanent workspace located within the facility, and are now on display at the E.C. Carr Astronomical Observatory. The original Zeiss-Jena projector was bought as a museum piece by York University for the sum of $1, subsequently dismantled, and placed into storage.^[8] More recently, the University has offered the mothballed projector to other planetaria seeking parts to repair their existing electro-mechanical planetarium projectors.

[edit] After the closing

A picture of the McLaughlin Planetarium building, taken early 2006. Note the portable construction office located in front of what was the main entrance.

The planetarium has been reopened for other purposes since it closed its doors as a planetarium in 1995. On March 5, 1998, an initial three-year agreement was signed that brought the Children's Own Museum to the second floor of the planetarium, where the Astrocentre used to be. Due to impending construction at the adjacent Royal Ontario Museum, the contract was not renewed in late 2002, and the Children's Own Museum has been looking for a new location ever since.^[9]

Later in 2002, a traveling exhibit of costumes, props and models used in the making of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy ran for four weeks at the planetarium. This was the last public exhibition housed in the building. The building is now primarily used as office space for museum officials and for storage.

Though the building is still extant as of 2005, it is clear that the directors of The Royal Ontario Museum have intentions for using the space it occupies. On April 14, 2004, the directors put out a call "for expressions of interest" to redevelop the space occupied by the planetarium. Seeking additional funding to cover the costs of the second phase of the expansion and redevelopment of the Museum, the directors of the museum had planned on erecting luxury condominiums on the space currently occupied by the planetarium. This proposal was dropped on November 7, 2005, due to extensive public opposition to the construction of a tall condominium in a district of low-rise public buildings.^[10]

Ever since the planetarium's closing, there have been groups that have lobbied for its reopening. At first, efforts concentrated on reopening the existing facility, but in more recent years, the focus has shifted to establishing a wholly new permanent planetarium facility. Smaller educational planetaria still exist in the Toronto region, including the planetarium at the Roberta Bondar Earth and Space Centre at Seneca College, and at the Ontario Science Centre. The Royal Ontario Museum also offers a traveling inflatable Starlab planetarium for school groups.^[11]

[edit] Curators

Henry C. King 1968-1976
Dr. Thomas R. Clarke 1976-1995

[edit] Literary references

In the eponymous short story in the collection The Moons of Jupiter by Alice Munro, the protagonist visits the Planetarium and takes in a show, and then goes on to visit the Royal Ontario Museum. She reports to her father, who is on his deathbed in a Toronto hospital, that she enjoyed the show but found the Planetarium to be "a slightly phony temple" to the stars.^[12]

In the opening chapter of Robert J. Sawyer's science fiction novel Calculating God, an alien spaceship lands directly in front of the McLaughlin Planetarium, prior to going on a tour of the exhibits in the Royal Ontario Museum.^[13]