City
City Museum Has Site, Needs Better Name
The more I learn about the city's history, the more I wish there was a way for it to be more accessible - pulling dusty books of the fourth floor shelves of the Reference Library isn't everyone's idea of a good time. I think building a museum for Toronto's history would be a great way to accomplish this, and the idea has been gaining steam recently, so it was with delight that I read in the Star today that it may finally be a reality.
Rita Davies, the city's Executive Director of Culture, has bookmarked a 3.6 acre site next to the Canada Malting Silos on the foot of Bathurst for the purpose. Since the city already owns the land, they won't have to purchase it off a private owner, which means the money can go to developing the building itself.
The article states that the "confusing" name previously associated with the museum, Humanitas, will be dropped, but I'm not so sure about the suggested alternative: "Global City Museum." I'd rather see something less generic, something that connects Toronto directly to its history. Maybe the city should hold a competition to name it, like the TTC did with its new subway trains a while back. Anyone have any suggestions? Feel free to drop them in the comments below.
Image by kevbo1983 of the blogTO Flickr pool.
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Knowing that will not do, of course, being too obvious, perhaps a compromise: Global Toronto Museum?
And it figures that the Powers That Be think that not having "Toronto" in the title fitting.
It makes me wonder if "Global" is part of the name of a financial backer. It's all about corporate branding these days.
Perhaps something picking up on the Toronto="Meeting Place" theme could fulfill that function.
Toronto Meeting Place Museum? Toronto Crossroads Museum? Those don't t sound much better, do they...
I would have thought the Meeting Place name would be good, too, but apparently that's not <a href="http://geonames.nrcan.gc.ca/education/toronto_e.php"; target="blank_">a very accurate</a> translation of the word 'Toronto.' The word is closer in meaning to "where the trees are standing in the water," and actually refers to Lake Simcoe. If it's feasible, they should try to get some trees in the water (whether actually or symbolically).
I agree with the other commenters that the "Global" word is a bit corny, especially given that the global nature of the city is only in its relatively recent past.
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