New Canadian War Museum Set To Open on VE Day
May 7 and 8 is a weekend of special activities celebrating the Opening of the Canadian War Museum - Canada's newest National Museum in the heart of
the nation's capital.
Final preparations are underway at the new war museum at Lebretton Flats.
Every aspect of the architecture has been planned down to the last rivet to honour those who have served and to educate and inspire those who walk its
halls.
Mark O'Neil, Vice President of public affairs for the museum sums up the experience by saying "This museum, in terms of the building and the pieces
in it, really tell a story about the sacrifices made by so many Canadian men and women to preserve our democracy and build a caring and forward
looking society."
Opening ceremonies go this Sunday with more than 2000 veterans expected to attend. The ceremonies will feature a fly-by of a Second World War
Lancaster bomber, one of only two that can still fly.
Door at the museum will be open from 5pm until 9pm.
Throughout the early years of Ottawa, and before that, LeBreton Flats was a thriving part of the city, a vital part of its economic life. It was a community that rose from its ashes after being levelled by fire in 1900.
But it fell into decline, uncomfortably close to Parliament Hill.
In 1962, the National Capital Commission expropriated the land, evicting nearly 3,000 residents, turning it into a patchwork of green space in the city's core, and promising development beneficial to the city.
It remained empty for decades.
The opening of the new Canadian War Museum marks the start of LeBreton Flats' rebirth, and regeneration.
Although not referring to the site's history, architect Raymond Moriyama sees the "regenerative landscape" as a key concept to the building's design.
"Nature may be ravaged by human acts of war, but inevitably it survives, hybridizes, regenerates and prevails. From the healing process emerges hope," writes Moriyama of the central idea for the new museum.
The new Canadian War Museum houses a collection of 500,000 artifacts, of which it's able to display up to five per cent. It is located on the Ottawa River a brief walk west from Parliament Hill. It is expected to draw 400,000 visitors annually.
It looks excellent. Michael if you're interested I'll go with you.
Okay someone book and a flight and pay. :D
lol, i'll go too if anyone is "smart" enough to pay for them.
I might go this Victoria Day.
