Place d'accueil
Place d'accueil (literally "welcome area") was Expo 67's main gate, situated in the Cité du Havre portion of the exhibition. The plaza's most striking architectural element was it's roof, composed of large, groovy plexiglass "umbrellas", which were spectacular lit up at night.
Visitors that went to Expo 67 by car parked at the Victoria parking lot and took a shuttle to Place d'accueil. Most visitors, however, went to Expo 67 by Metro, which let them off directly on Île Sainte-Hélène, thus never actually seeing Place d'accueil.
Place d'Accueil was equipped with many services such as information booths, shops (including a liquor store), banks, restaurants, lounges, and a day hotel. A walkway lead directly from Place d'accueil to the CBC International Broadcasting Center.
French Canadian caricaturist and artist Robert Lapalme was asked by mayor Jean Drapeau to be Expo 67's artistic director. Mr. Lapalme created three giant murals, each over 10 meters long, for Place d'accueil. These murals named Science, Culture and Entertainment were moved to the Berri-UQAM Metro station after Expo 67, upon mayor Drapeau's request.
It is interesting to note that these murals are the only works of art on canvas in the entire Montreal Metro system.Click here to see the murals as they appear today.
images: (1-2) FOS productions
(3) expo67.ncf.ca
(4-5) personal collection
Labels: expo life
posted by Jason Stockl @ 10:42 pm
3 Comments:
Interesting post!
I used to go to high school in Montreal when I lived on the South Shore and went by this mural so often!
I wonder when place d'accueil was demolished. And why did they?
Was it in very bad condition and/or there just wasn't any use for it anymore? I really wish much of Expo 67 had been preserved. What an amazing University campus it could have made, for example. So much incredible architecture - all gone now. Oh well, I guess time can be ruthless. I am glad for sites like this that preserve the memory of Expo 67.
Post a Comment