Comments on: Doors Open - Missing in action

By: Val Dodge

Val Dodge — Thu, 24 May 2007 23:57:44 +0000

It’s been a bit longer than that — as I recall, shutting down the tours was an overreaction to September 11.

I’d gone for one of the public tours about a year before that and the guide explained that they were planning renovations soon that would include stripping the paint off the windows facing Queen Street, once again letting people peer at the water inside. The window painting was itself an overreaction to the 1991 Gulf War.

By: Nigel

Nigel — Thu, 24 May 2007 17:40:31 +0000

I think it was two-three years ago that the City announced that “security” concerns were preventing RC Harris from being included. They used to have public tours.

By: Val Dodge

Val Dodge — Thu, 17 May 2007 21:53:26 +0000

Thanks for the update, Don. I thought the room may have been converted to some other use, but wasn’t sure. The mechanical room behind the breathing wall wasn’t all that large and I can’t believe it was the real reason behind the Environmental Room’s demise.

During a behind-the-scenes tour at Doors Open a few years ago, the operator told us that as a small research installation, it didn’t really contribute much to the building’s overall health and probably cost more to run than simply using traditional HVAC in the room. But it sure was impressive.

If nothing else, this underscores the importance of getting out to Doors Open sites while they’re still around. A couple of the really interesting locations disappear every year.

By: Don Watcher

Don Watcher — Thu, 17 May 2007 05:23:33 +0000

When Great West Life took over Canada Life, they decided to close the Breathing Wall Room ostensibly because the space occupied by the mechanical room was too valuable to be left unrented. So they ripped the place out.