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79-410: Turcot is the largest interchange in the province and the third busiest interchange of Montreal (after Décarie and Anjou Interchanges, respectively) as of 2010, with numbers averaging a north-southbound flow of 278,000 approximate daily cars, and over 350,000 west-eastbound in total. Moreover, Turcot is an occasional spot for road accidents, as speed is limited to only 70 km/h (43 mph) on any of

158-477: A boat pier, cost more than the Saint Lawrence Seaway project did only five years earlier: this was even before any buildings or infrastructure were constructed. With the initial phase of construction completed, it is easy to see why the budget for the exhibition was going to be larger than anyone expected. In the fall of 1963, Expo's general manager, Andrew Kniewasser, presented the master plan and

237-484: A brief time in the 1970s. The Olympic basin is used by many local rowing clubs. A beach was built on the shores of the remaining artificial lake. There are many acres of parkland and cycle paths on both Saint Helen's Island and the western tip of Notre Dame Island. The site has been used for a number of events such as a BIE-sponsored international botanical festival, Les floralies . The young trees and shrubs planted for Expo 67 are now mature. The plants introduced during

316-555: A commentator said: "film was everywhere, unreeling at a furious rate. Expo was a fair of film." Expo 67 also featured the Habitat 67 modular housing complex designed by architect Moshe Safdie , which was later purchased by private individuals and is still occupied. The most popular pavilion was the Soviet Union's exhibit. It attracted about 13 million visitors. Rounding out the top five pavilions, in terms of attendance were:

395-403: A few remaining structures from Expo 67 to show that the event was held there. The idea of hosting the 1967 World Exhibition dates back to 1957. "I believe it was Colonel Sevigny who first asked me to do what I could to bring Canada's selection as the site for the international exposition in 1967," wrote Prime Minister John Diefenbaker in his memoir. Montreal's mayor, Sarto Fournier , backed

474-866: A gold watch for his feat. On opening day, there was considerable comment on the uniform of the hostesses from the UK Pavilion. The dresses had been designed to the then-new miniskirt style, popularized a year earlier by Mary Quant . In conjunction with the opening of Expo 67, the Canadian Post Office Department issued a 5¢ stamp commemorating the fair, designed by Harvey Thomas Prosser. The World Festival of Art and Entertainment at Expo 67 featured art galleries, opera, ballet and theatre companies, orchestras, jazz groups, famous Canadian pop musicians and other cultural attractions. Many pavilions had music and performance stages, where visitors could find free concerts and shows, including

553-440: A new world's fair would regenerate the spirit of Canada's landmark centennial project. Plume Latraverse Plume Latraverse (born Michel Latraverse 11 May 1946) is a prolific singer, musician, songwriter and author from Quebec . At the end of the 1960s he formed a band named La Sainte Trinité with Pierrot le fou (Pierre Léger) and Pierre Landry. Then he formed a duo with Steve Faulkner (1972–1975). They performed for

632-480: A public works project that was already under construction before Expo was awarded to Montreal. The remainder of the fill came from quarries on Montreal and the South Shore, however even with that it was insufficient and so bodies of water on both islands were added (lakes and canals) to reduce the amount of fill required. Expo's initial construction period mainly centered on enlarging Saint Helen's Island, creating

711-586: A significant portion of the Village des Tanneries neighbourhood. The project's environmental hearings ended on June 19, 2009. They revealed new plans for the area by CN, as well as strong public desire to protect existing communities, rethink the modal balance of Montreal's urban transportation, and plan realistically for a future of energy shortages and environmental crisis. After MDDEP conducted several environmental and technical impact investigations in early summer of 2009, construction plans were halted because of

790-443: A standing collection of international pavilions known as "Man and His World". However, as attendance declined, the physical condition of the site deteriorated, and less and less of it was open to the public. After the 1971 season, the entire Notre Dame Island site closed and three years later completely rebuilt around the new rowing and canoe sprint (then flatwater canoeing ) basin for Montreal's 1976 Summer Olympics . Space for

869-478: Is around 40 metres (130 ft), which was, at the time of its inauguration, both the highest freeway interchange in all of Canada and a dramatic demonstration of Montreal's status as a modern global metropolis at the time. The construction of the junction was said to be rushed during the 1960s boom, with a lack of drainage and permeable concrete, and deteriorated, with pieces of concrete slabs falling from overpass structures. In 2000, more than 300,000 vehicles used

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948-401: Is at least three times that of the original. "If this project is to replace the original," stated Julie Boulet, "we can expect at least two more years of stalling," and suggested that Turcot should not be seen as a sandbox for any kind of proposals coming from all levels of the government. According to Gerald Tremblay, former mayor of Montreal, that was exactly the time necessary to prepare for

1027-524: Is considered to be one of the most successful World's Fairs of the 20th century with the most attendees to that date and 62 nations participating. It also set the single-day attendance record for a world's fair, with 569,500 visitors on its third day. Expo 67 was Canada's main celebration during its centennial year . The fair had been intended to be held in Moscow , to help the Soviet Union celebrate

1106-542: Is still regarded fondly by Canadians. In Montreal, 1967 is often referred to as "the last good year" before economic decline, Quebec sovereignism (seen as negative from a federalist viewpoint), deteriorating infrastructure and political apathy became common. In this way, it has much in common with the 1964–65 New York World's Fair . In 2007, a new group, Expo 17 , was looking to bring a smaller-scale — BIE sanctioned — exposition to Montreal for Expo 67's 50th anniversary and Canada's sesquicentennial in 2017. Expo 17 hoped

1185-557: The 2009 financial crisis . In April 2010, the city of Montreal gathered all previous commentary reviewed by BAPE and announced a different reconstruction project in which the railroad tracks and the main body of the A-20 are kept at their original location, the height of the interchange is maintained but replaced with better-lasting materials, and the former Turcot Yards serve as ground for a new urban redevelopment district with its own community aspect. The cost as set at least $ 5 billion, which

1264-667: The Arab–Israeli conflict in the Middle East flared up again in the Six-Day War , which resulted in Kuwait pulling out of the fair in protest to the way Western nations dealt with the war. The president of France, Charles De Gaulle , caused an international incident on July 24 when he addressed thousands at Montreal City Hall by yelling out the words "Vive Montréal... Vive le Québec... Vive le Québec Libre! " In September,

1343-604: The Canadian Pavilion (11 million visitors), the United States (9 million), France (8.5 million), and Czechoslovakia (8 million). The participating countries were Diverse countries were absent due a diverse motives and financial reasons: among the list are Spain, South Africa, the People's Republic of China, and many South American countries. After 1967, the exposition struggled for several summer seasons as

1422-519: The Montreal Casino . Part of the structural remains of the Canadian pavilion survive as La Toundra Hall. It is now a special events and banquet hall, while another part of the pavilion serves as Parc Jean-Drapeau's administration building. ( Katimavik 's distinctive inverted pyramid and much of the rest of the Canadian pavilion were dismantled during the 1970s). Place des Nations, where

1501-591: The National Gallery of Canada ; novelists Hugh MacLennan and Gabrielle Roy ; John Tuzo Wilson , geophysicist; and Claude Robillard, town planner—met for three days at the Seigneury Club in Montebello, Quebec . The theme, "Man and His World", was based on the 1939 book entitled Terre des Hommes (translated as Wind, Sand and Stars ) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry . In Roy's introduction to

1580-587: The Russian Revolution 's 50th anniversary; however, for various reasons, the Soviets decided to cancel, and Canada was awarded it in late 1962. The project was not well supported in Canada at first. It took the determination of Montreal's mayor, Jean Drapeau , and a new team of managers to guide it past political, physical and temporal hurdles. Defying a computer analysis that said it could not be done,

1659-556: The Ukrainian Shumka Dancers . Micheline Legendre organized Canada's first puppetry festival in conjunction with the Expo. Most of the featured entertainment took place in the following venues: Place des Arts , Expo Theatre, Place des Nations, La Ronde , and Automotive Stadium . The La Ronde amusement park was always intended to be a lasting legacy of the fair. Most of its rides and booths were permanent. When

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1738-789: The artificial island of Île Notre-Dame and lengthening and enlarging the Mackay Pier which became the Cité du Havre . While construction continued, the land rising out of Montreal harbour was not owned by the Expo Corporation yet. After the final mounds of earth completed the islands, the grounds that would hold the fair were officially transferred from the City of Montreal to the corporation on June 20, 1964. This gave Colonel Churchill only 1042 days to have everything built and functioning for opening day. To get Expo built in time, Churchill used

1817-480: The minirail were shut down by 3:50 p.m., and the Expo grounds closed at 4:00 p.m., with the last Expo Express train leaving for Place d'Accueil at that time. A fireworks display, that went on for an hour, was Expo's concluding event. Expo performed better financially than expected. Expo was intended to have a deficit, shared between the federal, provincial and municipal levels of government. Significantly better-than-expected attendance revenue reduced

1896-678: The Atlantic pavilion and Quebec pavilion at this period. After the 1981 season, the Saint Helen's Island site permanently closed, shutting out the majority of attractions. Man and His World was able to continue in a limited fashion with the small number of pavilions left standing on Notre Dame Island. However, the few remaining original exhibits closed permanently in 1984. After the Man and His World summer exhibitions were discontinued, with most pavilions and remnants demolished between 1985 and 1987,

1975-582: The Autostade in Montreal. The fair was visited by many of the most notable people at the time, including Canada's monarch , Queen Elizabeth II , Lyndon B. Johnson , Princess Grace of Monaco, Jacqueline Kennedy , Robert F. Kennedy , Ethiopia 's emperor Haile Selassie , Charles de Gaulle , Bing Crosby , Harry Belafonte , Maurice Chevalier , Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Marlene Dietrich . Musicians like Thelonious Monk , Grateful Dead , Tiny Tim ,

2054-581: The Canadian government to try again for the fair, which they did. On November 13, 1962, the BIE changed the location of the World Exhibition to Canada, and Expo 67 went on to become the second-best attended BIE-sanctioned world exposition , after the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris. (It is now fourth, having been surpassed by Osaka (1970) and Shanghai (2010) .) Several sites were proposed as

2133-445: The Canadian pavilion, had been written for a 1963 television special. The Ontario pavilion also had its own theme song: " A Place to Stand, A Place to Grow ", which has evolved to become an unofficial theme song for the province. Official opening ceremonies were held on Thursday afternoon, April 27, 1967. The ceremonies were an invitation-only event, held at Place des Nations. Canada's Governor General , Roland Michener , proclaimed

2212-547: The Expo 67 corporation's book, entitled Terre des Hommes/Man and His World , she elucidates the theme: In Terre des Hommes , his haunting book, so filled with dreams and hopes for the future, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry writes of how deeply moved he was when, flying for the first time by night alone over Argentina, he happened to notice a few flickering lights scattered below him across an almost empty plain. They "twinkled here and there, alone like stars.   ..." In truth, being made aware of our own solitude can give us insight into

2291-593: The Expo fairgrounds closed nightly, at around 10:00 p.m., visitors could still visit La Ronde, which closed at 2:30 a.m. In addition, The Ed Sullivan Show was broadcast live on May 7 and 21 from Expo 67. Stars on the shows included America's the Supremes , Britain's Petula Clark and Australia's the Seekers . Another attraction was the Canadian Armed Forces Tattoo 1967 at

2370-422: The Montreal area, which usually meant that visitors would stay at the homes of people they were unfamiliar with, rather than traditional hotels or motels. The Montreal populace opened their homes to thousands of guests. Unfortunately for some visitors, they were sometimes sent to less than respectable establishments where operators took full advantage of the tourist trade. Management of Logexpo was refused to Expo and

2449-516: The St. Lawrence River. Ceremonially, construction began when Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson pulled a lever that signalled a front-end loader to dump the first batch of fill to enlarge Île Sainte-Hélène , and Quebec premier Jean Lesage spread the fill with a bulldozer. Of the 25 million tons of fill needed to construct the islands, 10–12% was coming from the Montreal Metro 's excavations,

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2528-587: The Tokens and Jefferson Airplane entertained the crowds. Despite its successes, there were problems: Front de libération du Québec militants had threatened to disrupt the exhibition, but were inactive during this period. Vietnam war protesters picketed during the opening day, April 28. American President Lyndon B. Johnson 's visit became a focus of war protesters. Threats that the Cuba pavilion would be destroyed by anti-Castro forces were not carried out. In June,

2607-498: The atomic clock-controlled countdown that ended when the exhibition opened precisely at 9:30 a.m. EST. An estimated crowd of between 310,000 and 335,000 visitors showed up for opening day, as opposed to the expected crowd of 200,000. The first person through the Expo gates at Place d'Accueil was Al Carter, a 41-year-old jazz drummer from Chicago , who was recognized for his accomplishment by Expo 67's director of operations Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien. Beaubien presented Carter with

2686-482: The basin, the boathouses, the changing rooms and other buildings was obtained by demolishing many of the former pavilions and cutting in half the area taken by the artificial lake and the canals. By this point, both major transportation systems for the site, the Blue Minirail and Expo Express , had permanently ceased operation. In 1976, a fire destroyed the acrylic outer skin of Buckminster Fuller 's dome, and

2765-758: The botanical events have flourished also. Another attraction on today's Notre Dame Island site is the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve race track that is used for the Canadian Grand Prix . The Czechoslovakian pavilion was designed to be disassembled and sold, attracting the interest of the province of Newfoundland, though its bid was not preferred by the Czechoslovakian government at first. On September 5, 1967, Ceskoslovenske Aerolinie Flight 523 crashed during takeoff from Gander International Airport , and many people were saved by

2844-523: The ceremony in which national flags were lowered in the reverse order to which they had been raised, with Canada's flag lowered first and Nigeria 's lowered last. After Prime Minister Pearson doused the Expo flame, Governor General Roland Michener closed Expo at Place des Nations with the mournful spontaneous farewell: "It is with great regret that I declare that the Universal and International Exhibition of 1967 has come to an official end." All rides and

2923-565: The chief architect Édouard Fiset was added. All ten were honoured by the Canadian government as recipients of the Order of Canada, Companions for Dupuy and Shaw, Officers for the others. Jasmin wrote a book, in French, La petite histoire d'Expo 67 , about his 45-month experience at Expo and created the Expo 67 Foundation (available on the web site under that name) to commemorate the event for future generations. As historian Pierre Berton put it,

3002-549: The cooperation between Canada's French- and English-speaking communities "was the secret of Expo's success—'the Québécois flair, the English-Canadian pragmatism.'" However, Berton also points out that this is an over-simplification of national stereotypes. Arguably Expo did, for a short period anyway, bridge the " Two Solitudes ." In May 1963, a group of prominent Canadian thinkers—including Alan Jarvis, director of

3081-754: The cultural impact the exhibition had on the city, Montreal's Major League baseball team, the Expos (now the Washington Nationals ), was named after the event. 1967 was also the year that invited Expo guest Charles De Gaulle , on July 24, addressed thousands at Montreal City Hall by yelling out the now famous words: "Vive Montréal... Vive le Québec... Vive le Québec Libre !" De Gaulle was rebutted in Ottawa by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson : "Canadians do not need to be liberated, Canada will remain united and will reject any effort to destroy her unity." In

3160-481: The debt to well below the original estimates. The final financial statistics, in 1967 Canadian dollars, were: revenues of $ 221,239,872, costs of $ 431,904,683, and a deficit of $ 210,664,811. Expo 67 featured 90 pavilions representing Man and His World themes, nations, corporations, and industries including the U.S. pavilion , a geodesic dome designed by Buckminster Fuller . Many pavilions had innovative presentations, almost all using film in one way or another, or, as

3239-471: The demolition and reconstruction of the structure, which was projected to be complete in 2016. The announcement came four years after a study on the interchange showed the Turcot structure was crumbling, with reports of concrete slabs up to one square metre (square yard) falling from the overpasses. In addition to a new interchange built lower to the ground, a large segment of Autoroute 20 would be rebuilt more to

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3318-536: The exhibition open after the Expo flame was ignited by Prime Minister Pearson. On hand were over 7,000 media and invited guests including 53 heads of state. Over 1,000 reporters covered the event, broadcast in NTSC Colour, live via satellite, to a worldwide audience of over 700 million viewers and listeners. Expo 67 opened to the public on the morning of Friday, April 28, 1967, with a space age -style countdown. A capacity crowd at Place d'Accueil participated in

3397-524: The fair opened on time. After Expo 67 ended in October 1967, the site and most of the pavilions continued on as an exhibition called Man and His World , open during the summer months from 1968 until 1984. By that time, most of the buildings—which had not been designed to last beyond the original exhibition—had deteriorated and were dismantled. Today, the islands that hosted the world exhibition are mainly used as parkland and for recreational use, with only

3476-408: The former site for Expo 67 on Saint Helen's Island and Notre Dame Island was incorporated into a municipal park run by the city of Montreal. The park, named Parc des Îles, opened in 1992 during Montreal's 350th anniversary In 2000, the park was renamed from Parc des Îles to Parc Jean-Drapeau , after Mayor Jean Drapeau , who had brought the exhibition to Montreal. In 2006, the corporation that runs

3555-538: The ground because of the cliff existing between the Upper Lachine domain and the Turcot sorting yard overtaking the old Saint-Pierre Lake basin. The highest point of the interchange (62.5 metres or 205 feet) is located in its southern part over the Lachine Canal to allow for the passing of ships, but the canal closed its waterway operations just three years later, in 1970. The mean height of the interchange

3634-407: The interchange and was shortened by 25%, which required the demolition of a roundhouse . In 1969, upon reviewing the situation, city authorities concluded that the project used unnecessary space and could have co-existed perfectly alongside the buildings that were otherwise demolished, including some 20 residences. When it was originally constructed, nearly the entire interchange was built high above

3713-461: The interchange every day, far more than the 50,000-60,000 vehicles that it had been designed to carry. Since 2010, the interchange became subject to major repairs of the most heavily accessed ramps. During the summer of 2011, over 2.7 km (1¾ miles) worth of lanes were restored, repaved, and returned to safely accessible condition for larger vehicles. In June 2007, the Quebec government announced

3792-507: The interchange itself, and some existing streets/exits/entrances (Girouard, Crowley (after the CUSM completion), Côte-Saint-Paul, Angrignon/Pullman) had been reconfigured to accept the new flow once the body of the A-20 was moved northward. The reconfiguration and reconstruction of the interchange started in 2015 and was completed by fall 2020. In October 2016, much of the old interchange was closed to allow continuous work. The $ 3.7-billion project

3871-405: The interchange's directions, and the limit is often disregarded by the night drivers going over 100 km/h (62 mph). The interchange underwent an extensive reconstruction commencing in 2015 which was completed by fall 2020. The $ 3.7-billion project is the largest roadwork in the province's history, while doing little do revert the mistakes of a car-centered planning policy. The interchange

3950-721: The last time at the Chant'Août in Quebec City. In 1976, Plume started a solo career and became one of the most influential names in Quebec counterculture . During a European tour (1979–1980) he staged a show during Le Printemps de Bourges and won the Prime Minister of France's Prize (Prix international de la jeune chanson) and the Pop-Rock prize for the best songwriter from Quebec. In 1982 he worked with Offenbach and produced

4029-460: The main Expo grounds. One location that was considered was Mount Royal Park, to the north of the downtown core. But it was Drapeau's idea to create new islands in the St. Lawrence river, and to enlarge the existing Saint Helen's Island . The choice overcame opposition from Montreal's surrounding municipalities, and also prevented land speculation. On March 29, 1963, the location for the World's Fair

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4108-547: The mass resignations was that on April 22, 1963, the federal Liberal government of Prime Minister Lester Pearson took power. This meant that former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker 's Progressive Conservative government appointees to the board of directors of the Canadian Corporation for the 1967 World Exhibition were likely forced to resign. Canadian diplomat Pierre Dupuy was named Commissioner General, after Diefenbaker appointee Paul Bienvenu resigned from

4187-424: The most serious problem turned out to be a 30-day transit strike. By the end of July, estimates predicted that Expo would exceed 60 million visitors, but the strike cut deeply into attendance and revenue figures, just as the fair was cruising to its conclusion. Another major problem, beyond the control of Expo's management, was guest accommodation and lodging. Logexpo was created to direct visitors to accommodations in

4266-434: The north. Reconstruction of the interchange is expected to cost between $ 1.2 billion and $ 1.5 billion. At the time of its announcement, the project created controversy as to how Turcot should be rebuilt. Local residents and community groups have come out against the project as proposed by the government, claiming that it will worsen pollution, increase automobile traffic downtown, and require the demolition of housing including

4345-672: The opening and closing ceremonies were held remains, however in an abandoned and deteriorating state. The Jamaican, Tunisian and partial remains of the Korean pavilion (roof only) also survive, as well as the CIBC banking centre. In Cite du Havre the Expo Theatre, Administration and Fine Arts buildings remain. Other remaining structures include sculptures, lampposts and landscaping. The Montreal Metro subway station Berri-UQAM still has an original "Man and His World" welcome sign with logo above

4424-659: The park also changed its name from the Société du parc des Îles to the Société du parc Jean-Drapeau . Today very little remains of Expo but two prominent buildings remain in use on the former Expo grounds: the American pavilion's metal-lattice skeleton from its Buckminster Fuller dome, now enclosing an environmental sciences museum called the Montreal Biosphere ; and Habitat 67 , now a condominium residence. The France and Quebec pavilions, now interconnected, now form

4503-471: The park on "Expo Service No. 5" survived. After it was decommissioned it ended up in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island in 1971 where it gave harbour tours. It was later moved to Nova Scotia and then New Brunswick. It has subsequently been renovated and returned to Charlottetown. In a political and cultural context, Expo 67 was seen as a landmark moment in Canadian history. In 1968, as a salute to

4582-584: The pedestrian tunnel entrance to the Yellow Line . La Ronde continued to be operated by the City of Montreal following the Expo. In 2001 it was leased to the Texas-based amusement park company Six Flags , which has operated the park since. The Alcan Aquarium built for the Expo remained in operation for a number of decades until its closure in 1991. The Expo 67 parking lot was converted into Victoria STOLport , an experimental short-take off airport for

4661-536: The post in 1963. One of the main responsibilities of the Commissioner General was to attract other nations to build pavilions at Expo. Dupuy would spend most of 1964 and 1965 soliciting 125 countries, spending more time abroad than in Canada. Dupuy's 'right-hand' man was Robert Fletcher Shaw , the deputy commissioner general and vice-president of the corporation. He also replaced a Diefenbaker appointee, C.F. Carsley, Deputy Commissioner General. Shaw

4740-519: The preliminary budget of $ 167 million for construction: it would balloon to over $ 439 million by 1967. The plan and budget narrowly passed a vote in Pearson's federal cabinet, passing by one vote, and then it was officially submitted on December 23, 1963. The logo was designed by Montreal artist Julien Hébert. The basic unit of the logo is an ancient symbol of man. Two of the symbols (pictograms of "man") are linked as to represent friendship. The icon

4819-594: The previous year the Ontario pavilion was lost due to a major fire. With the site falling into disrepair, and several pavilions left abandoned and vandalized, it began to resemble ruins of a futuristic city. In 1980, the Notre Dame Island site was reopened (primarily for the Floralies ) making both islands simultaneously accessible again, albeit only for a brief time. Minor thematic exhibitions were held at

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4898-544: The proposal, allowing Canada to make a bid to the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). At the BIE's May 5, 1960 meeting in Paris , Moscow was awarded the fair after five rounds of voting that eliminated Austria's and then Canada's bids. In April 1962, however, the Soviets scrapped plans to host the fair because of financial constraints and security concerns. Montreal's new mayor, Jean Drapeau , lobbied

4977-803: The residents of Gander, which may have led to Newfoundland's purchase offer being accepted. It was assembled as the Grand Falls Arts and Culture Centre , now the Gordon Pinsent Centre for the Arts. The government of Newfoundland also purchased the Yugoslavian pavilion, a triangular building that was converted into the Provincial Seamen's Museum in Grand Bank . One of the few Vaporettos that shuttled visitors around

5056-573: The rise in Saint-Henri in the first half of the 2000s, this space has also been high on drug dealers and violence gangs until they were cleared by the SPVM by 2010. Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition , commonly known as Expo 67 , was a general exhibition from April 28 to October 29, 1967. It was a category one world's fair held in Montreal , Quebec , Canada. It

5135-415: The solitude of others. It can even cause us to gravitate towards one another as if to lessen our distress. Without this inevitable solitude, would there be any fusion at all, any tenderness between human beings. Moved as he was by a heightened awareness of the solitude of all creation and by the human need for solidarity, Saint-Exupéry found a phrase to express his anguish and his hope that was as simple as it

5214-473: The suitability of the song, as its lyrics mentioned neither Montreal nor Expo 67. The song was selected from an international competition with over 2,200 entries from 35 countries. However, the song that most Canadians associate with Expo was written by Bobby Gimby , a veteran commercial jingle writer who composed the popular Centennial tune " Ca-na-da ". Gimby earned the name the " Pied Piper of Canada". The theme song " Something to Sing About ", used for

5293-471: The then new project management tool known as the critical path method (CPM). On April 28, 1967, opening day, everything was ready, with one exception: Habitat 67, which was then displayed as a work in progress. Building and enlarging the islands, along with the new Concorde Bridge built to connect them with the site-specific mass transit system known as the Montreal Expo Express , plus

5372-450: The weekend. On the final day 221,554 visitors added to the more than 50 million (54,991,806 ) that attended Expo 67 at a time when Canada's population was only 20 million, setting a per-capita record for World Exhibition attendance that still stands. Starting at 2:00 p.m., Expo Commissioner General Pierre Dupuy officiated over the medal ceremony, in which participating nations and organizations received gold and silver medallions, and over

5451-601: The works, which were postponed into the second half of 2012. Starting February 2012, the Quebec Ministry of Transport (MTQ) proceeded to hire excavation companies in order to start the ground leveling of the former yards in terms of the future project. The westbound lanes of the A-20 were to be moved to that location, and Boulet confirmed that the reconfiguration of the Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue—Pullman—Angrignon interchange would take place and that it

5530-406: The years that followed, the tensions between the English- and French-speaking communities would continue. As an early 21st-century homage to the fair, satirists Bowser and Blue wrote a full-length musical set at Expo 67 called The Paris of America , which ran for six sold-out weeks at Centaur Theatre in Montreal in April and May 2003. Expo 67 was one of the most successful World Exhibitions, and

5609-693: Was a professional engineer and builder, and is widely credited for the total building of the Exhibition. Dupuy hired Andrew Kniewasser as the general manager. The management group became known as Les Durs —the tough guys—and they were in charge of creating, building and managing Expo. Les Durs consisted of: Jean-Claude Delorme, Legal Counsel and Secretary of the Corporation; Dale Rediker, Director of Finances; Colonel Edward Churchill, Director of Installations; Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien , Director of Operations, dubbed "The Mayor of Expo"; Pierre de Bellefeuille, Director of Exhibitors; and Yves Jasmin, Director of Information, Advertising and Public Relations. To this group

5688-442: Was managed by a Quebec provincial authority. Still, Expo would get most of the blame for directing visitors to these establishments. But overall, a visit to Expo from outside Montreal was still seen as a bargain. Expo 67 closed on Sunday afternoon, October 29, 1967. The fair had been scheduled to close two days earlier, however a two-day extension granted by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) allowed it to continue over

5767-437: Was officially announced as being Saint Helen's Island. Expo 67 did not get off to a smooth start; in 1963, many top organizing committee officials resigned. The main reason for the resignations was Mayor Drapeau's choice of the site on new islands to be created around the existing St. Helen's Island and also that a computer program predicted that the event could not possibly be constructed in time. Another more likely reason for

5846-586: Was projected as part of the first Montreal highway in 1958 and planned to bind it to the Décarie Expressway, which was designed at the same time. Construction started in October 1965 and Turcot was built in time for the 1967 Montreal Expo , along with other big projects such as the Montreal Metro . Upon its erection, an old railroad yard belonging to the Grand Trunk Company (today merged into Canadian National ) served as location for

5925-486: Was repeated in a circular arrangement to represent "friendship around the world". The logotype uses the lower-case Optima typeface. It did not enjoy unanimous support from federal politicians, as some of them tried to kill it with a motion in the House of Commons of Canada . The official Expo 67 theme song was composed by Stéphane Venne and was titled: "Hey Friend, Say Friend/Un Jour, Un Jour". Complaints were made about

6004-502: Was rich in meaning; and because that phrase was chosen many years later to be the governing idea of Expo 67, a group of people from all walks of life was invited by the Corporation to reflect upon it and to see how it could be given tangible form. The organizers also created seventeen theme elements for Man and his World: Construction started on August 13, 1963, with an elaborate ceremony hosted by Mayor Drapeau on barges anchored in

6083-595: Was scheduled to be completed in 2018. Just as foreseen in the project, the part of the Angrignon Boulevard used as an exit overpass from the A-20 will be moved some 300 metres (330 yards) westward, forming the second half of the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Boulevard intersection. The original part of Pullman Street, between Angrignon and Sainte-Anne, simply ceased to exist. As of April 2014, the works could be seen to be underway near

6162-450: Was the largest roadwork in the province's history, while doing little to implement the promised improvements for local inhabitans. Famous Quebec folk singer Plume Latraverse , beacon of the late 1960s counterculture and key figure at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, compared Turcot to the "functional heart" of the city, with its inward ramps being the arteries and outward ramps being the veins in the lyrics of one of his late 1970s songs. Turcot

6241-458: Was the setting for writer-director René Balcer 's 1978 short film Turcot Interchange , a dark rom-com. Since late 1990s, the abandoned space underneath the ramps has become a place of urban gatherings for certain graffiti artists. The artistic trio "Flow", which was also rooted in Montreal in 1993 and has long ever since moved on, is involved in producing one of the paintings on the westbound A-20 ramp, "Smashing All Toys." With criminal activity on

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