Montreal Planetarium

The Montreal Planetarium is a decommissioned public planetarium located at Chaboillez Square just south of downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed permanently in October 2011.HistoryThe planetarium was opened in advance of Expo 67 and 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 its launch, 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. As 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 architectural firm selected for the project was David-Barott-Boulva. The chosen design had an astronomical theme and the exterior of the dome resembled 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.