With the news that John Tory will be heading up the revitalization of Ontario Place, let's revisit a piece I wrote 1.5 years ago, exploring the faded-glory of Ontario Place. Revitalize yes, but just save those hot-pants pods. 1973 vintage photo via the wonderful Not My Father's Slides. In one of the photo albums I grew up with, one that contained snapshots of my parents’ lives before I was born, there were a handful of pics taken in 1971 at Ontario Place, the year it opened. They’ve all got the golden tint that photos from that era have acquired — the troubles of the day seem far away as everything is muted by that gilded patina. One that always stood out is of a polyester-clad choir singing what I imagine is the old Expo ’67 Ontario anthem “A Place to Stand.” It all looked so optimistic and young, the brilliant future of Ontario and Canada. The future is old now — nearly 40 years old — and it’s easy to drift into nostalgia about a place like Ontario Place, one of those civic spaces that are nostalgia machines. Everybody of a certain not-too-old age has a memory of either romping or working around here or heard stories passed down from a baby-boomer parent of working here in the early 1970s. Yet as the Ontario government — it doesn’t seem like it, but this is a public space — is planning a major redevelopment of the area, this is no time for nostalgia. Some of the best buildings in Toronto are at risk of being swept away because the bureaucrats in charge have let Ontario Place slide into irrelevance. No offence to bureaucrats intended, but they may not be good at running things that are, well, supposed to be fun. Anybody who’s visited Ontario Place in the past decade or more knows it needs a major overhaul. It’s boring, neglected and tired. The future isn’t what it once was.

At about 11:30AM today, I walked over to St. James Park to see the eviction of Occupy Toronto from the park. Adelaide and Jarvis were closed to traffic. The mud and tents reminded me of being at Woodstock '94, minus the rock and roll (and warmth of August).

Spacing friend Alfred Holden is the former editor of the Toronto Star's Ideas and Insight section. During his tenure he ran a series of columns by Dusan Petricic called Dusan's World. Now's there's a collection of his work out and an exhibit, launching tomorrow. Here's what Alfred says, of Dusan and how the cartoons came about:

Our friends at TIFF Nexus are hosting a day-long conference this Friday looking at locative media -- that is, all those devices and apps that help us figure out where we are in the city so we can do more things in the city. Tools for living and games for fun. I'll be hosting the "Locative Services and Augmented Reality App Lightning Talks" in the afternoon. TIFF has extending their "industry rate" of $60 (a discount from $99) to Spacing readers who wish to attend. Locative Media Innovation Day Discover the latest trends in mobile and locative media! As part of Digifest 2011 Innovation Days, TIFF Nexus hosts the first in a series of conferences that bring film, gaming and new media professionals together at TIFF Bell Lightbox. Friday, October 28 from 1pm to 7pm Join us for inspiring talks with industry experts and hands on activities including: Bill Buxton Presents "Whereable Media" Design guru and author of Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design, Bill will discuss how the three rules of digital are more-or-less the same as those for real-estate: location, location, location. Spacing Toronto Presents Locative Services and Augmented Reality App Lightning Talks Shawn Micallef, senior editor of Spacing Magazine introduces a series of talks that will inspire attendees to try out the coolest geo-location based and augmented reality apps coming out of Ontario.

While the vision for Toronto's waterfront may have been saved in the last day by the massive public and professional response to the Rob and/or Doug Ford alternate pop-up surprise vision, other sectors are beginning to mobilize. Below are two open letters from some cultural heavyweights. The first is from Gail Dexter Lord and Barry Lord, co-presidents of Lord Cultural Resources, a Toronto firm that does global business "creating cultural capital." The second letter is from the Creative Capital Advisory Council. Photo of Gibson House by Retired Photo Guy. Dear Friends and Colleagues: This week, the City of Toronto’s Executive Committee approved a report from the City Manager to close “museums with the least attendance, and revenues compared to costs.”  Another proposal asks the City Manager to report on further extensive cuts to culture programs. These proposals indicate a misunderstanding of what museums are. In any city, museums are about identity, linking the past to the present. In Toronto, the world’s most multicultural city, museums are even more crucial to social cohesion.

The intrinsic value of public space will come as no surprise to Spacing readers, but the last few weeks when Torontonians rose up to, well, defend public spaces, has been a grassroots reminder of that value. Tomorrow (Thursday) Yonge Street (the publication that, until recently, I was the founding managing editor of) is holding the first event in an ongoing speakers series. Our own Matthew Blackett is on this panel. WHAT: Yonge Street Speakers Series WHERE: Birkbeck Room at The Ontario Heritage Centre (10 Adelaide St. E. just east of Yonge Street) WHEN: Thursday, September 22 -- Doors at 6pm; program starts at 6:30pm FREE

Long time Spacing readers will know the name Jessica Duffin Wolfe -- she's written for us and until recently was our reviews editor. She's a bit review crazy as just today she's launched the Toronto Review of Books, a new site that wants to review anything reviewable in Toronto, Canada, and beyond. While not specifically revolving around urban and municipal issues, many Spacing readers will probably see a fair amount of overlap into our familiar territory, so take a peek. We may also do some joint events in the future. You ...

Our friends at the TUFF -- the Toronto Urban Film Festival -- have 63 silent, one minute films for you to vote on. Go check them all out here and vote! Sixty-three silent, one-minute films made the cut from over 370 works submitted from Canada and around the world. TUFF runs September 9 - 18, 2011 on the Onestop network of digital platform screens located across the Toronto subway system. Unique in North America, TUFF screens a variety of genres at 10 minute intervals throughout the day.

There's likely a variety of ways you can participate in Nuit Blanche, but here's a specific Parkdale project looking for help now. On the night of October 1, 2011, in Parkdale Village, 20 enigmatic “cube” rental trucks will appear - each one transformed.  The trucks, as transitory objects, will embody the repetitive nature of Nuit Blanche - each becoming a site of visual, spatial and visceral expansion. The exhibition as a whole considers how we relate to the city, live in the present urban moment and also how we think about the future of social connectivity. The trucks will become sculptural objects interpreted as performance stages and installation platforms or completely transformed by social and video experiences.  4 site-specific projects highlighted in this announcement are the result of integrated community collaboration.

 Please read below to learn how these socially based projects are in need of your ideas, support and interaction.

Our friends at Scarborough Arts are throwing an art festival this weekend. You know, it's not that long of a bike ride out (if you live west). When you've seen the art, you can ride down to the bottom of the bluffs too. SUBTEXT Multi-Arts Festival WHAT: Music, Dance, Poetry, Theatre, Painting, Kids' Stuff, Free BBQ...
Everyone is Welcome! WHEN: Saturday, AUGUST 27 & Sunday, AUGUST 28
 11:00am - 6:00pm both days, Rain or shine (looks like shine though) WHERE: The Lawrence Ave. East Bridge - On top & underneath
(East of Orton Park, next to East Scarborough Storefront @ 4040 Lawrence Ave. East