The Montreal Planetarium (french: Planétarium de Montréal), formerly the Dow Planetarium (french: Planétarium Dow), is a decommissioned public planetarium located at Chaboillez Square just South-East of downtown

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It closed permanently in October 2011. A new facility, The

Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium The Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium (french: Planétarium Rio Tinto Alcan) is the successor to the Montreal Planetarium, and is located in the Espace pour la Vie, near the Olympic Stadium and the Biodome in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The new install ...

, near

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

in Montreal, opened in April 2013.

History

The planetarium was opened in advance of

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It was a category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most su ...

and inaugurated on April 1, 1966, by then-Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau. Its inaugural show, "New Skies for a New City", premiered on April 4, 1966. Work had commenced on the project more than three years before its launch, under the guidance of Dr. Pierre Gendron, a former professor of chemistry and founding Dean of the Faculty of Science at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

, who was an avid amateur

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

. As president of the Board of Directors of Dow Breweries, Gendron convinced Dow to create a world-class planetarium in Montreal as part of the

Canadian Centennial The Canadian Centennial was a yearlong celebration held in 1967 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Celebrations in Canada occurred throughout the year but culminated on Dominion Day, July 1, 1967. Commemorative coins ...

celebrations. The architectural firm selected for the project was David-Barott-Boulva. The chosen design had an astronomical theme and the exterior of the dome resembled Saturn surrounded by its rings. The Planetarium was built at a cost of $1.2 million on the site of the historic Bonaventure Station on Chaboillez Square near

Old Montreal Old Montreal (French: ''Vieux-Montréal'') is a historic neighbourhood within the municipality of Montreal in the province of Quebec, Canada. Home to the Old Port of Montreal, the neighbourhood is bordered on the west by McGill Street, on th ...

. The Planetarium produced more than 250 shows, was visited by nearly six million spectators and made more than 58,000 presentations in both French and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. The Planetarium was one of Montreal's most popular tourist attractions.

Closure of the Dow Planetarium

On October 10, 2011, the Dow Planetarium presented its final show. The city-owned building has since been ceded to the

École de technologie supérieure École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) is a public engineering faculty in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974, the École de technologie supérieure is a constituent of Université du Québec system. Specialized in applied teaching in ...

, a major engineering school which is located nearby. The Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium opened in April 2013 as the successor to the Montreal Planetarium. It is located near the

and the Biodome. The new installation has two separate theatres as well as exhibits on space and astronomy. The building is certified LEED Platinum.

References

External links

Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium
{{Authority control 1966 establishments in Quebec 2011 disestablishments in Quebec Canadian Centennial Defunct planetaria Downtown Montreal Museums disestablished in 2011 Museums established in 1966 Planetarium Defunct museums in Canada Planetaria in Canada