Back to future nostalgia

On an island one subway stop away from the city lays the remains of 1967, the year the world turned its eye on Montreal. Built for Canada’s first world fair, the sparkling white dome that is the Biosphere is one of the last Expo 67 structures still standing.

As I wrote last summer in  Marketing, On April 27, 1967, nearly 700 million television viewers and radio listeners tuned in as reporters broadcast the opening day of Canada’s first world fair.

The six-month fair was an optimistic time for the nation and for Montreal, the host city. Sixty-two countries and a handful of businesses set up pavilions showcasing the best new technologies from around the world. Celebrating its 100^th birthday that year, Canada’s future seemed undeniably bright.

Optimistic as we were, the future failed us. As the historian Pierre Berton put it, 1967 was Canada’s “last good year.” After Expo was the oil shock, separatism, local terrorism from the FLQ, and massive economic decline. 

So much for the future. Still, standing in the centre of the dome with wind blowing through the Biosphere and across the frigid observation deck, it’s hard to think Expo wasn’t worth it. The mid-day sun is obstructing everything, so I squint and snap one last photo. Then I take the elevator down and walk out wishing I could slip into the alternative future the architects had imagined.