Montreal Planetarium - History

History

The planetarium was opened in advance of Expo 67, located at 1000 Saint Jacques Street. It was 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, 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, who was an avid amateur astronomer. 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 celebrations.

The architects on the project were David-Barott-Boulva. The chosen design had an astronomical theme, and the exterior of the dome resembles 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.

Since 1966, the Planetarium had produced more than 250 shows, been visited by nearly six million spectators, and done more than 58,000 presentations that had been given in French and English in its "Star Theatre". The Planetarium has been one of Montreal's most popular tourist attractions.

On October 10, 2011 the Planetarium gave its final show and then closed its doors forever, in anticipation of the new facility that will eventually replace it in Montreal's east-end.