Fireworks accompanied the midnight opening of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal at the Royal Ontario Museum, considered the boldest architectural addition to Toronto in decades.
Governor General Michaelle Jean dedicated the structure's opening, marking the end of a six-year redevelopment project for the museum.
''This bold and alluring building is proof of the spirit of ingenuity that exists in this country,'' she told the crowd.
The Saturday evening event to mark the beginning of the ROM's "crystal age" included fireworks and a concert.
The concert, a 75-minute event on three stages dubbed "A World of Possibilities", included performances from David Foster, singer Deborah Cox, Jann Arden, rapper K'naan, jazz singer Dione Taylor, East Coast fiddler Natalie McMaster and the classical quartet The Canadian Tenors.
There were also performances to show mankind's evolution through the ages.
"The Royal Ontario Museum is one of our crown jewels," said Premier Dalton McGuinty in a news release. "It shines even brighter with the opening of the new Michael Lee-Chin Crystal and helps make Ontario an even better place to live and visit."
The ROM started issuing tickets at noon but some people began lining up at 7:30 a.m. The lineup stretched all the way down Queen's Park Circle and into the University of Toronto Campus.
The crystal, which cost about $135 million, is the centerpiece of the museum's $270-million Renaissance ROM expansion project. Its futuristic, metallic look and juxtaposition with the rest of the building's classic style has been controversial since the design was first revealed.
The 10-storey-high, 175,000-square-foot, aluminum-and-glass-covered structure houses seven galleries overlooking the street as well as the museum's new main entrance, replacing the former one on Queen's Park.
The crystal, designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, is named in honour of billionaire investor Michael Lee-Chin. His donation of $30 million launched the ROM's renaissance campaign in May of 2003.
Lee-Chin said he was inspired by his mother Hyacinthe, whose name graces the entrance.
"You don't choose your parents, you don't choose a country or society you're born into. You don't choose your financial circumstances or the colour of your skin," he told the crowd. "You choose your future. We all have a choice to make."
The federal government also invested $30 million into the project. Bev Oda, the federal minister of Canadian heritage, celebrated the opening. The ROM is Canada's largest museum.
"Canada's New Government recognizes how important cultural infrastructure projects are to the vitality of Canada's cities," Oda said in a news release. "Thanks to a federal investment ... we can gather today to celebrate the opening of this extraordinary new facility."
Friday night, people paid $5,000 per ticket to get a sneak peak of the crystal before Saturday's official event.
The elite crowd included former prime minister Brian Mulroney and CTVglobemedia's president and CEO Ivan Fecan.
The ROM unveiling comes on the opening weekend of Luminato, Toronto's 10-day festival of the arts.
With reports from CTV's Andria Case and Desmond Brown
