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Royal Ontario Museum |
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Thursday, 24 April 2008 |
 The ambitious redevelopment of the ROM is one of the world's largest museum restoration and expansion projects. Through the restoration of the original heritage architecture and the construction of a new landmark building, all designed by Daniel Libeskind, and elegant new exhibit designs by Haley Sharpe Design, the Renaissance ROM project will create a spectacular new experience of our collections.
The ROM is defined as much by its diverse collections of world cultures and natural history as by the international research that supports them. It follows that the new ROM galleries will be object-rich, supported by unobtrusive interpretive aids.
We shall put all our major collections on permanent display for the first time ever and improve visitor orientation and circulation. Greater intimacy between the visitor and objects will reveal the context and meaning of objects.
History of museum
At the turn of the 20th century, a small group of Torontonians envisioned a museum in the city of international stature. People of some position and influence, they championed the cause and persuaded both the Government of Ontario and the University of Toronto to fund the future museum.
The Royal Ontario Museum was formally created by the signing of the ROM Act in the Ontario Legislature on April 16, 1912. When the Duke of Connaught, then Governor-General of Canada, opened the new building to the public at 3:00 pm on March 19, 1914, it instantly became an object of pride for Toronto.
Today, the graceful structure of buff-coloured brick and terracotta, designed by Toronto-based architects Darling and Pearson, is the west wing of the ROM’s ensemble of buildings. Flanking Philosophers’ Walk, with its main entrance on Bloor Street West, this historic building originally housed five separate museums: the Royal Ontario Museums of Archaeology, Palaeontology, Mineralogy, Zoology, and Geology.
The intervening years brought several expansions. By the late 1920s, collections and staff were competing for space and the crowding had become intolerable. The first addition took place during the Great Depression and an effort was made to use mostly local building materials. Excavation was done by hand, using picks, shovels, and horse-drawn wagons. On October 12, 1933, Toronto newspapers reported that a newly opened wing facing Queen’s Park was a “masterpiece of architecture”.
In 1955, the five museums were reorganized as a single body and in 1968, the ROM was formally divided from the University of Toronto and became a separate entity under the provincial government.
A $55 million renovation was begun in 1978, intended to provide for the greatly extended research and collection activities and included a new curatorial centre, a new library and other facilities. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth officially opened the new exhibition and gallery space, the Terrace Galleries, in a 1984 ceremony.
On June 3, 2007, the ROM opened the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, a distinctive new symbol of Toronto for the 21st century. The Lee-Chin Crystal marks the beginning of a new age for the ROM, announcing the Museum as the country’s premier cultural and social destination.
collections
The collections and research are the basis of the Royal Ontario Museum's international reputation. Numbering almost six million objects, the Museum's diverse collections of world cultures and natural history make the ROM one of the largest museums in North America.
The ROM is also the largest field-research institution in Canada with research and conservation activities that span the globe. From fieldwork to onsite laboratory work, Museum staff study artifacts and specimens to further our understanding of the collections and the world.
Contact:
Visitor Services Department
Royal Ontario Museum
100 Queen's Park
Toronto, Ontario
M5S 2C6
Canada
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