After the flukey success of Montreal's world's fair that almost didn't happen, Mayor Johnny "Two Flags" Drapeau (who was actually opposed to Expo 67 when it was first announced) clamped his jaws on the rose-coloured notion that the world would come back here forever. It didn't. Eight summers after the mid-'60s fiesta rolled in and out of town, Montreal was still trying to flog this sucker to suckers.The only real winners in Man and His World were the countries that had built pavilions for Expo 67 -- by signing over their buildings, they saved big bucks by not having to demolish them.
This ad appeared in a New York magazine. Who wrote this crap -- the same guys who do the translations for Touring, the CAA-Quebec laugh-a-zine?
The branding, the imagery, the Basque clowns -- nothing would bring the crowds back to this playground for pyromaniacs. The poor thing finally got shuttered down -- well past its best-before date -- in 1981.
And what replaced it? That other legendary blockbuster! A flower fair: The Floralies. Remember? (Zzzzz - Chimples) Close to perfect, indeed.
Seriously? C'mon. Expo brought 50 million people in 1967 and followed that up with 20 million in 1968. Terre des Hommes ran at a profit at least until 1976. Furthermore, as you've pointed out yourself in your book, the ruins of Expo helped generate our film industry with Paul Newman's Quintet. I've seen that movie - not great, but Expo certainly is. It didn't take Drapeau long to warm to the idea, and credit needs to be given - the man had a big role in making it happen. Transforming a city from a regional economic power into an avante-garde metropolis in five years is an amazing feat by anyone's standards. Drapeau played a good internationalist game - I wish we had a Mayor who didn't seem spiteful of his citizens and city. Drapeau was no angel, but he made a modern metropolis, one we cherish every day. Finally, the writing isn't that bad considering it's from forty years ago. The tagline is honest, the message straightforward and the introduction is sincere.
ReplyDeleteWe really need another Expo - environmentalism themed; make this city into an eco-sustainable test bed and invite the world leaders in the field to practice and experiment. Drapeau dreamed the state-of-the-art and so should we.
That's 50 million unaudited turnstile clicks. Like any website, you can crank figures as high as you like and people will swallow hook-line-and-sinker.
ReplyDeleteAnd stinkers like Quintet do not a DisneyWorld make.
I never said he didn't get behind the plan. Maybe Zampino woulda, too.
Drapeau will be remembered as the guy who tore down half of Montreal. He tore down half of Old Montreal. He tore down Griffintown 'cause he didn't like Frank Hanley's face.
A metropolis we cherish every day? A break. Me. A. Give.
Drapeau: crap-o.
Montreal a test bed? Sure. But no Sealy.
Glad you checked out the book, though.
Plenty more needs to be torn down in this town
ReplyDeleteI remember being taught some damned Floralies song in school before our class visit to the place.
ReplyDeleteDrap-o crapp-o, indeed. The slimebag gutted Montréal to make highways and parking lots; Dorchester STILL looks like a war zone, 50 years later. He also gutted public transit under the pretense of building a metro that drained all ressources, leaving a crappy bus service elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteMr stupid blamed suburban sprawl on commuter trains, yet he was oddly silent about the highways who drained the life and blood of Montréal.
And it wasn’t Drapeau who brought Expo to Montréal, but his predecessor, Sarto Fournier.
However, Expo-67 was the most successful universal exhibition.
Ever.
Whoa. Sweet comments. Yeah, the Flagboy was something, wasn't he? I remember the mansions of the Golden Square Mile crumbling to the ground to make room for yet another faceless high-rise; the trucks coming and going (without being loaded or unloaded) at the Olympics site; the demolition of several historically significant buildings in the name of progress for this man with a vision that grew from some suburban nightmare. Hell, he probably thought white shoes and belts were the height of class. I do remember the excitement of getting my arms stamped at as many pavillions as possible and not washing for the rest of the weekend in order to maintain the Expo 67 "tats." Sigh...
ReplyDeletePG
Drapeau was a man of its time, a time when the future was seen in rose-colored glasses. He was not the one who made predictions of 10 million people living in Montreal by year 2000.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Ile Notre Dame is still underused for public events such as rock concerts, and in light of the justified noise complaints by residents of the south shore--St. Lambert included--you would think such events would be moved further west--closer to the Concordia Bridge where I seem to remember concerts had indeed previously been presented in years past.
ReplyDeleteDo the promoters presume that music fans are "too lazy" to walk a little further away from the Jean Drapeau Metro station that they feel it necessary to set up the stage north of the swimming pool and with the speakers facing south towards the south shore's residential areas? Someone is not very smart and certainly inconsiderate.
See:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-s-south-shore-residents-fed-up-with-noise-at-parc-jean-drapeau-1.2672794
How many decibels are safe for human eardrums? How loud is "necessary" for the crowd to hear?
Changes need to be made.