Expo 67

Tom hosts Tuesday's Treasures.

Summer 1967 - Montreal QC

It is the 50th anniversary of Expo 67 this year. WOW where did those years go?

Opening Day was April 28.

I was living in Montreal and spent my entire summer there as I was lucky to have a season pass - above photo is my original passport. I collected stamps from all the pavilions.
I was allowed to go by myself to Expo 67 as well as going often with family and friends.

The cost was $30 which was a lot of money then.That would be $215 today.

Here is a link to many interesting stories and photos of Expo.



The theme song was Hey Friend, Say Friend. This video starts with the theme song for the 100th anniversary of Canada, CAN A DA.

Montréal's Expo literally rose from the depths of the St. Lawrence River to give Canada a dazzling one hundredth birthday party.



Montréal mayor, Jean Drapeau, came up with the idea of enlarging Ile Ste Hélène, an island park in the St. Laurence, and adding another island to become the fair site. His plan was met with skepticism and derision by almost everyone. But Drapeau and his engineers persevered and began the momentous task of filling the river with 25 million tons of earth to create a magnificent and unique locale.

The choice of the islands in the St. Lawrence River for the location also carried historical significance for Canada. As an important trade route and the access point for early immigrants, the St. Lawrence symbolizes the link between Canada and the world.

Wikipedia

Photo credit: © National Archives of Canada

Here is a great video.

How I wish we'd had digital back then. I don't have many photos. *SIGH* which meant I thought of my postcard collection and thought I must have some in there. Two hours later, they are scanned!!

This bottom photo above is the Canada Pavilion.



Expo By The Numbers

To give you a sense of the grandeur that was Expo 67, here's a rundown of some of the very interesting figures about the World's Fair.

• Cost: $1,000,000,000


• Participating Nations: 62


• Total Attendance: 50,306,648


• Area: 900 acres


• Movies shown: 5, 000+


• Ticket costs: $2.50/day (adults), $1.25/day (children)


• Opening Times: 9:30am to 10pm


• Opening Date: April 27, 1967


• Closing Date: October 29, 1967

Habitat 67, or simply Habitat, is a model community and housing complex, designed by Israeli/Canadian architect Moshe Safdie. It was originally conceived as his master's thesis in architecture at McGill University and then built as a pavilion for Expo 67.

The development was financed by the federal government, but is now owned by its tenants, who formed a limited partnership that purchased the building from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in 1985. Safdie still owns a penthouse apartment in the building.

My Dad worked as an electrician on Habitat when it was being built for a few years. 

These are the only photos I seem to have.

Three heads in front towards right are me, Mom and my sister.

The province even released special license plates.