Address: | 101 Pembina Highway |
Use: | Community Centre |
Original Use: | Public Plaza |
Constructed: | 1966 |
Architects: | Étienne Gaboury |
Contractors: | F.W. Sawatsky Construction Ltd. |
Locally referred to as the “bear pit,” this plaza was largely demolished in 1987 with the construction of the new River Osborne Community Centre, designed by Number Ten Architectural Group.
Metro Plaza was sunken below street level to provide an urban “breathing space,” an "oasis" removed from the noise of nearby traffic. Featuring sweeping areas of concrete geometric forms, small landscaped areas and a fountain, this space demonstrated the sometime Brutalist tendency to recollect ancient architectural aesthetics, in this case presenting a faint echo of the ruins of Mexico’s Tenochtitlan. It was never well – received by the neighbouring community and eventually became a place of petty crime and little use. Still visible are the concrete perimeter walls and the large sculptural element – since modified into signage – which features a raw, vertically patterned concrete and other inscribed decoration.