Jill Martin says Ontario Place was where she used to go to make great memories.
Her decades-long connection to the iconic Toronto waterfront park began when she was a teenager, a month after the public space opened with fireworks and great fanfare in 1971. On an outing to the park, her date gave her his birthstone ring and asked her to ?go steady.? Four years later they were married, and they?ve now been together for 42 years.
The potential redevelopment of Ontario Place has many Ontarians worried. Photo by IDuke via Wikimedia Commons.
Over those years, the couple returned countless times to see concerts, IMAX films, and eventually to bring their kids to Children?s Village.
?It was a place growing up, when we were dating and later had children, that we could go and afford,? said Martin. ?It was a place that was unique and different ? and perhaps, where dreams were made.? Like so many people from Toronto, and across the province, who grew up in the 1970s and 80s, Martin said Ontario Place sparks intense loyalty because of those formative experiences. As the Progressive Conservative government contemplates redevelopment of the park, the 64-year-old said she?s worried about its future.
?It was supposed to be an open-air place for people in the city to get a bit of nature,? she said. ?That?s how I think it should be kept? I?m not against reconstruction, but I am definitely a proponent for a family-friendly or people-friendly place, and not just for people coming from out of tow...