A more open ROM

The Royal Ontario Museum plans to brighten up what amounts to its front porch on Bloor St. W., putting in some greenery and installing an outdoor event space. It’s a relatively small thing, but it’s another welcome sign that, after a decade of presenting an intimidating face to the world, the ROM has decided to make it easier for us to love it.

The first move came in December, when the museum reopened its grand entrance facing east onto Queen’s Park. It was closed in 2007 when the stern, jagged “Crystal” addition opened on Bloor.

Visitors were forced to enter through sliding glass doors at the base of the Crystal. Then they had to pick their way through an entrance area that even fans of the Daniel Libeskind project conceded was confusing and sterile. Certainly not welcoming.

Intentionally or not, the ROM was sending a negative message: You have to really want to get into this building, and you’re probably going to feel uncomfortable while you do it.

In fact, the whole Bloor St. entrance area has been a missed opportunity. The museum’s director acknowledges that it’s basically “a lot of hardscape” — in a city that’s crying out for human-scale urban gathering spots.

The ROM won’t come out and admit it, but jamming the “Crystal” onto the north face of the venerable museum hasn’t worked well, especially if you believe that welcoming the outside world into a museum should be an essential part of its mission. It took 10 years, but it’s good to see the ROM’s leadership start to undo the damage.