Close to six decades ago, Montreal was the epicenter of the world during the 1967 International and Universal Exposition.
Expo 67 marked the apex of Canada’s centennial celebrations and resulted in some of the largest infrastructure projects the city had ever witnessed.
The event, which attracted 62 nations and showcased nearly 100 thematic pavilions, drew over 50 million visitors during its six-month duration. This world’s fair propelled Montreal onto the global platform and reshaped the city’s landscape.
At the time, the Montreal Star hailed it as “the most remarkable Canadian accomplishment since the completion of the transcontinental railway.”
Yet, as time has passed, and with more relics vanishing, what remains to preserve Expo 67 from fading into obscurity?
“There’s still plenty,” affirmed Roger La Roche, a historian specializing in international exhibitions.
“First and foremost, the islands themselves. We often overlook the fact that much of it was constructed from scratch in ’67,” he remarked.
The fairgrounds were established on two man-made islands in the St. Lawrence River. Île Ste-Hélène preexisted but underwent significant expansion to incorporate the neighboring Île Ronde and beyond.
In contrast, Île Notre-Dame was entirely built in 10 months using sediments dredged from the river, materials from nearby quarries, and landfill from the excavation of Montreal’s new Metro system, which debuted the year before Expo 67 in October 1966.
Since Expo 67 thrust Montreal onto the global stage, the number of symbols and visual cues from that era has dwindled.
Among the notable landmarks of Expo 67 are Moshe Safdie’s innovative housing complex Habitat 67 and Buckminster Fuller’s monumental geodesic dome. Originally housing the U.S. Pavilion, the metal structure now hosts the Biosphere Environment Museum.
Pavilions, exhibits designed to be temporary
According to Monika Kin Gagnon, a retired communications professor from Concordia University, most pavilions and exhibits at the world’s fair were intended to be temporary.
“Some disappeared immediately,” she noted, “such as the Soviet Union pavilion, which was dismantled the day after Expo ended and shipped back to Moscow, where it remains today.”
Some pavilions deteriorated and were razed, while others found new homes elsewhere in Canada or were repurposed and rejuvenated at their original sites.
The former Canada pavilion now serves as a multip