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Was there last week for the first time in over twenty years. I'm a Vancouver native and I was embarrassed by the condition and overall tattiness of the displays and the once magnificent building.
Several of the Space displays were not working, and the Planetarium projector apparently has been broken for years.
This really outta be one of Vancouver's crown jewels, and it certainly ain't.
Well, the Space Centre itself is owned by the H.R. MacMillian Space Centre Society, which is a non-profit, but it resides in a building that is shared with the Museum of Vancouver.
The building was originally meant just for museum, but a big donation from H.R. MacMillan allowed the scope to be expanded to include a planetarium.
The organization is a maintenance nightmare. The city isn't doing any maintenance, and the museum isn't allowed to and has the pipe dream of taking over the Old Courthouse/Art Gallery - which also needs to be completely torn out...again (the art gallery is basically a building built in the shell of the old courthouse, and they have deferred maintenance so it needs to be fully redone.
Oh that's terrible to hear. I have heard that the projector there is really a very rare piece of equipment. It's probably extremely difficult to get repairs done to it or parts for it as an older lifelong resident of Vancouver, I spent many an evening there watching laser light shows.
Oh I was really hoping that it was going to get fixed soon, took the kiddo there as I remembered going as a child. The portable one they have doesn’t do it any justice
> older lifelong resident of Vancouver, I spent many an evening there watching laser light shows.
Were shrooms still legal to harvest? Watched the Dark Side show many a time after augmenting my reality.
They were classified the same as any other edible fungus. Could pick, dry and consume as you saw fit. Then it was decided you could no longer dry them but still eat them fresh. Maybe a year after, they were completely illegal and the city went on an eradication program. They'd drive around in the early morning looking for people stooped over in grassy areas carrying brown paper lunch bags, then they'd hose everything down with fungicide.
Wow, I had no idea about that. Thank you, that's interesting. I was just remembering people would go over the chain link fence at the airport because that apparently was prime mushroom area.
Yeah they grew all over the place, being a native species and all. Probably wouldn't be too difficult to reintroduce them, just need volunteers with spores.
Fun fact, I used to work annually on a site nearby. They pressure wash it at least once a year. So someone, or a few people, get to hang off rope access equipment and clean it. But it's in the sweet spot of wet and sun exposure, so it gets pretty serious regrowth pretty quickly.
Yeah, they are actually starting the yearly pressure wash this last week. I was there earlier this week and some guy was pressurewashing one of the inner court yards, plus the wall to the left of the main entrance had been clearly been half pressure washed.
I got free tickets in 2019. They had a display about Canadians who have been in space that did not mention Chris Hadfield. You know, perhaps the single most famous astronaut of the modern age who was last in space in 2013 and is Canadian. I would not return even if I got more free tickets. Such a waste of space.
the projector is no longer manufactured commercially, so there's no buyable replacement parts and they cannot afford to have the lenses custom made, they apparently cost about 30K and more than one is needed or something like that.
The other planetariums with similar projectors, there's three or four of them, are having the same problem.
The film projector worked. The star projector ( the big black techie looking thing in the middle of the room) is out of commission, and that is what a planetarium is designed for...totally different experience.
I personally wish the entire centre gets a much needed facelift.
With the recent developments in space and the promising spacefaring future that seems to be ahead of us, I think it’s important to have a modern building with a strong emphasis on education, entertainment and discovery (including some science research facilities) to re-invigorate the curiosity of people around space and expand the market for it in this city.
...a facelift? Seriously?
It's one of the limited number of really unique buildings in the city and is a stunning example of architecture from the late 60's built in the middle of the space race.
It's really quite a stunning profile. Made to resemble a traditional Indigenous woven hat. It would be great to better utilize the space around it and build more space center and museum space in without sacrificing the existing architecture.
The original architecture can be preserved, but there are ways to make it more modern and space to build more next to it.
Converting the huge parking space in front of it into actual usable infrastructure would be a good idea.
I think OP meant the actual displays and exhibits need a lot of work…. I took the little ones there last year and I could not believe it’s the exact same from 20 years ago…
It's definitely a softwash job, with maybe 6% sh and nice cherry surfactant. Best done with hot water but not necessary. It would likely take a few coats before completely clean.
By laws might prevent too much sh from being used, though.
It was like this before the Olympics. I remember being glad they washed it before the world arrived. The Eaton's building too.
White is just not good for buildings here. I expect The Butterfly will have the same problem.
Man, the slope is shallow enough to use a surface cleaner. You could make a huge difference in a short amount of time... buuuuuut then there's God damned worksafe ruining everything.
I don't remember mold and mildew being nearly as much a problem a few decades ago.
Yes they were more diligent when it came to upkeep back then but the local climate also seems to have become more mold and mildew friendly.
Hopefully someone will capture the eventual drawing of the space dick by the cleaners before they finish the job. Everyone who's pressure washed knows that a dick must be drawn, then erased.
Oh man, we had a building like this back in my hometown that was just absolutely filthy, and it happened to be the 2nd tallest building in the city, so it really was very visible. I started a social media campaign trolling them to #washtheeducationbuilding and got a bunch of other people involved until they finally did.
In all fairness, it was a very tall skyscraper with weird angles, but it was becoming an eyesore. I always wonder if the people who design buildings ever think about keeping them clean or painting them in the future.
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Not a pressure washer but I’m euphoric just thinking about blasting that grime off.
Ill do it for free just for the satisfaction. Well like, one corner.
Same. Every time I see it I think about the joy I’d get from that work.
Was there last week for the first time in over twenty years. I'm a Vancouver native and I was embarrassed by the condition and overall tattiness of the displays and the once magnificent building. Several of the Space displays were not working, and the Planetarium projector apparently has been broken for years. This really outta be one of Vancouver's crown jewels, and it certainly ain't.
Why has it been neglected? Who owns it?
Well, the Space Centre itself is owned by the H.R. MacMillian Space Centre Society, which is a non-profit, but it resides in a building that is shared with the Museum of Vancouver. The building was originally meant just for museum, but a big donation from H.R. MacMillan allowed the scope to be expanded to include a planetarium.
The organization is a maintenance nightmare. The city isn't doing any maintenance, and the museum isn't allowed to and has the pipe dream of taking over the Old Courthouse/Art Gallery - which also needs to be completely torn out...again (the art gallery is basically a building built in the shell of the old courthouse, and they have deferred maintenance so it needs to be fully redone.
Also probably contains asbestos.
Cleaners do rappel down from the top and clean it. I think they do it some time after winter.
Oh that's terrible to hear. I have heard that the projector there is really a very rare piece of equipment. It's probably extremely difficult to get repairs done to it or parts for it as an older lifelong resident of Vancouver, I spent many an evening there watching laser light shows.
Oh I was really hoping that it was going to get fixed soon, took the kiddo there as I remembered going as a child. The portable one they have doesn’t do it any justice
> older lifelong resident of Vancouver, I spent many an evening there watching laser light shows. Were shrooms still legal to harvest? Watched the Dark Side show many a time after augmenting my reality.
I don't know that they were/are ever legal to harvest. At least back in the eighties, early 90s. Luckily I never got caught with them to find out.
They were classified the same as any other edible fungus. Could pick, dry and consume as you saw fit. Then it was decided you could no longer dry them but still eat them fresh. Maybe a year after, they were completely illegal and the city went on an eradication program. They'd drive around in the early morning looking for people stooped over in grassy areas carrying brown paper lunch bags, then they'd hose everything down with fungicide.
Wow, I had no idea about that. Thank you, that's interesting. I was just remembering people would go over the chain link fence at the airport because that apparently was prime mushroom area.
Yeah they grew all over the place, being a native species and all. Probably wouldn't be too difficult to reintroduce them, just need volunteers with spores.
Fun fact, I used to work annually on a site nearby. They pressure wash it at least once a year. So someone, or a few people, get to hang off rope access equipment and clean it. But it's in the sweet spot of wet and sun exposure, so it gets pretty serious regrowth pretty quickly.
Yeah, they are actually starting the yearly pressure wash this last week. I was there earlier this week and some guy was pressurewashing one of the inner court yards, plus the wall to the left of the main entrance had been clearly been half pressure washed.
I got free tickets in 2019. They had a display about Canadians who have been in space that did not mention Chris Hadfield. You know, perhaps the single most famous astronaut of the modern age who was last in space in 2013 and is Canadian. I would not return even if I got more free tickets. Such a waste of space.
Mushrooms or LSD?
the projector is no longer manufactured commercially, so there's no buyable replacement parts and they cannot afford to have the lenses custom made, they apparently cost about 30K and more than one is needed or something like that. The other planetariums with similar projectors, there's three or four of them, are having the same problem.
I was there 5 years ago and you described it exactly as I remember it
Projector worked when I was there a month ago
The film projector worked. The star projector ( the big black techie looking thing in the middle of the room) is out of commission, and that is what a planetarium is designed for...totally different experience.
The projector in the middle is really old (it has a few fixed configurations only). They've been effectively replaced by video projectors.
I personally wish the entire centre gets a much needed facelift. With the recent developments in space and the promising spacefaring future that seems to be ahead of us, I think it’s important to have a modern building with a strong emphasis on education, entertainment and discovery (including some science research facilities) to re-invigorate the curiosity of people around space and expand the market for it in this city.
Fix Harold! https://preview.redd.it/1esx97b2ruhc1.jpeg?width=299&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ae4ae949e2d2bc8e1822fe467cedf4acf23b6256
Seeing Harold rising up in the gloom was awesome!
Harold was replaced in 2013 with a $500k digital projection system. RIP Harold.
...a facelift? Seriously? It's one of the limited number of really unique buildings in the city and is a stunning example of architecture from the late 60's built in the middle of the space race.
I think u/ThreadTrader means more of a facial than a facelift. I agree it’s beautiful, but could use a deep cleaning.
"Give it a facial" reads a little differently for some of us, would be a heck of an event though!
It's really quite a stunning profile. Made to resemble a traditional Indigenous woven hat. It would be great to better utilize the space around it and build more space center and museum space in without sacrificing the existing architecture.
The original architecture can be preserved, but there are ways to make it more modern and space to build more next to it. Converting the huge parking space in front of it into actual usable infrastructure would be a good idea.
I think OP meant the actual displays and exhibits need a lot of work…. I took the little ones there last year and I could not believe it’s the exact same from 20 years ago…
Ahhhh Pink Floyd laser shows….
Pepperidge Farm remembers
Pepperidge Farm was spared the contact high!
Tagine inside
Miss the laser light shows so bad :( feels like an eternity ago, and I’m only 27!
I have a number of fun (if very, very hazy) memories of the laser shows there in the early 2000s.
BCIT planetarium does a light show on Saturdays!
It's definitely a softwash job, with maybe 6% sh and nice cherry surfactant. Best done with hot water but not necessary. It would likely take a few coats before completely clean. By laws might prevent too much sh from being used, though.
Didn’t even know this place still exists. I have fond memories of their laser show while listening to the Who - early ‘80’s.
I went to a Pink Floyd laser show at the BCIT Planetarium some year in the 2010s and it was awesome!
Should upload asmr pressure wash video when they get to it. Gotta get that ad revenue.
There's a genre for anything on YouTube. I too find the cleaning videos addicting, but I don't care for this ASMR stuff. 🙄
Hoe long would it take one person to do?
I volunteer as tribute
They can't even afford working projectors, i doubt pressure washing is in their budget.
It was like this before the Olympics. I remember being glad they washed it before the world arrived. The Eaton's building too. White is just not good for buildings here. I expect The Butterfly will have the same problem.
*wet dream There, fixed it
That or Space Mountain at Disneyland
Man, the slope is shallow enough to use a surface cleaner. You could make a huge difference in a short amount of time... buuuuuut then there's God damned worksafe ruining everything.
> then there's God damned worksafe ruining everything. How dare the government ensure that working conditions are not unsafe!
Space dust from landing on this planet.
I don't remember mold and mildew being nearly as much a problem a few decades ago. Yes they were more diligent when it came to upkeep back then but the local climate also seems to have become more mold and mildew friendly.
Cannot wait for the city to sell naming rights to this.
I heard rumours that they were going to point it yellow and name it Galen Weston's Space Centre.
Hopefully someone will capture the eventual drawing of the space dick by the cleaners before they finish the job. Everyone who's pressure washed knows that a dick must be drawn, then erased.
Nah, govt buildings actually make you follow safety rules.
Have never even seen this bldg before :0
Hard on the ankles
Naw, working on that roof would absolutely suck, but it would be a good sped up video
Everytime I walk past it with my wife I tell her I want to start a pw company just to wash that roof.
Oh man, we had a building like this back in my hometown that was just absolutely filthy, and it happened to be the 2nd tallest building in the city, so it really was very visible. I started a social media campaign trolling them to #washtheeducationbuilding and got a bunch of other people involved until they finally did. In all fairness, it was a very tall skyscraper with weird angles, but it was becoming an eyesore. I always wonder if the people who design buildings ever think about keeping them clean or painting them in the future.