Montreal Then and Now

I could spend hours looking at this fab series of photos... In fact, I have!

Guillaume St-Jean is a contributor to the Spacing Montreal blog (a regular read of mine). St-Jean has re-photographed over 400 historical snapshots of Montreal, painstakingly re-creating the original vantage points...

This fascinating and ever growing collection of montages is featured regularly on the Spacing blog. They can also be seen in their own flickr set.

A few historical shots in St-Hyacinthe are also included in the collection...

image montage by Guillaume St-Jean

Place Ville Marie

Place Ville Marie was the vision of world renowned modernist architect I.M. Pei. (Among his works, Pei is credited with having designed the Louvre's magnificent glass pyramid.) Arguably the most distinctive building in Montreal, the tower's smooth aluminum and glass surface and crisp geometric form set new standards for architecture in Canada in the 1960s.

Place Ville Marie's most distinctive feature was its cruciform (cross-shaped) 45-storey tower. Shops, restaurants and cinemas were located below a vast plaza, playing a key role in what became Montreal's unique below-ground pedestrian walkway system.

The rivalling CIBC Building was completed in 1962, only a few months before Place Ville Marie. Touted as the "tallest building in the Commonwealth", Place Ville Marie surpassed it later that year, when a last minute penthouse was deliberately added to the building...

...

The photos from this post (excluding the last one) were taken by an amateur photographer upon PVM's opening in 1962. Over 40 years later, Bob (a retired banker and retired antiques dealer now living in Stayner, Ontario) uploaded the fab photos to flickr.com.

In his description of the set, he states:

"In 1962 when the building was opened, my father was employed with the Royal Bank of Canada. To celebrate the opening of its new Head Office, the bank invited staff and their families to an open house and a tour of the new facilities. I would have been about 16 at the time and was just getting started with a 35mm camera, when I, my parents and my two brothers attended the open house. I documented the visit photographically, getting 21 shots out of roll of 20, all of which appear in this set."

Click here to see the entire flickr set.

PVM's plaza, as viewed from Dorchester Boulevard (today Rene Levesque).

The south plaza and the reflecting pool.

Place Ville Marie's south entrance.

The ground floor (plaza level) reception area.

A large Safety Deposit Vault was located on the mezzanine level.

A corner office, typical of what would be accorded a General Manager in 1962.

Reception area for the office of the bank president.

This presidential office suite was located on the 4th floor.

Generous square wells provided daylight as well as access to PVM's shops.

A view of some of the boutiques in the underground shopping center.

Michèle Richard poses on the steps of PVM's plaza, in the late 1960's.

images: all flickr.com, except Michèle Richard: Echos Vedettes

Pink Party

The invitation for the party, designed by yours truly.

Last Saturday, my dearest friends and I got together to celebrate my upcoming 30th birthday. (In our circle of friends, there are many birthdays in July, so I like to get mine out of the way early...)

The theme for this year's birthday festivities? Pink!

Guests were asked to wear pink and bring a pink dish for the buffet. Rosé wine was the drink of choice for the evening, while fare such as salmon, fresh watermelon, and anything strawberry was enjoyed by all.

I've always loved pink, it's such a hopelessly retro color. It makes me think of 50's convertibles, cotton candy, frosty lipstick, etc.

What better way to celebrate my 30th birthday?

Click on the above image to see the photos from the party.

Envelope Security Patterns

I love finding art in unconventional places.

In my ongoing research (i.e. net-surfing), I've stumbled upon a great collection of envelope security patterns from around the world.

These mod patterns vary from simple to intricate, in unexpected colors...

images: flickr.com/photos/josephking/

The Clairtone Sound Corporation

The Clairtone Sound Corporation was founded in 1958 by Canadian electronics engineer and businessman Peter Munk with furniture designer David Gilmour. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company established an international reputation for stereo and cabinetry design in the 1960's.

Clairtone's logo (left) was as sleek as their product design.

The most famous Clairtone design was the Project G series which featured groovy black globe speakers, with a wood cabinet. This series also introduced the now-standard modular approach to consumer audio.

The 7002 G2 from the Project G series.

Clairtone's reputation was built on its use of futuristic designs, combined with quality materials as well as good marketing. A Project G system could be seen in the 1967 film The Graduate (an early example of product placement), and Frank Sinatra was a Clairtone pitchman.

An ad for the G-TV at Expo 67, courtesy of DC Hillier.

Clairtone also manufactured television sets. Their G-TV model was featured in the Chatelaine House at Expo 67.

Click to see a Clairtone catalog and instruction manual from the late 60's.

images: (1 & 3) flickr.com/photos/cote/
(2 & 5) clairtone.ca
(4) FOS Productions

Dudley and Beatrice Berson Visit Expo 67

I just love "tourist" photos of Expo 67.

Dudley and Beatrice Berson visited Montreal in June of 1967. Like Lillian Seymour's photos, I'm fascinated by images of Expo 67 as seen through the eyes (and camera lenses) of tourists.

There's something quaintly charming about these shots. They have a technicolor quality that no longer exists with today's digital photography...

Click here to see the entire set.

images: flickr.com/photos/berson/

Retro Photoshop Art

My latest obsession has been re-interpreting retro images to suit my own purposes. It started out as something I was doing for my MySpace page...

Click here to see a series I've done.

Montreal's Parisian Metro Portico

Mayor Jean Drapeau had always felt that Montreal had an affinity with the city of Paris.

Among his sillier plans was the idea of dismantling the Eiffel Tower (built for the 1889 Paris World Exhibition) and have it shipped off to Montreal to be rebuilt for the duration of it's own World Exhibition, Expo 67! [Small historical sidenote: it never happened...]

Engineers from the Parisian Metro system collaborated with the city of Montreal during the planning stages of it's subway system, in the early to mid 1960's.

On a trip to Paris for Metro-planning purposes, Mayor Drapeau noticed the dismantling of an Art Nouveau Metro portico and came up with an idea. He suggested that an entrance, designed by artist Hector Guimard in the late 1800's, be brought back to Montreal.

A little easier to ship than the Eiffel Tower, wouldn't you say...?

The idea was accepted and in 1967, the Regie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP) donated an original Hector Guimard Metro entrance to the city of Montreal, in honor of their aforementioned collaboration.

The portico was installed at the Square-Victoria station, but Montreal building codes would not allow an entrance narrow enough to properly install it, thus making it impossible to put up the typical Metropolitain sign.

In 2003, with special permission to build a narrower stairwell, the Guimard entrance was completely restored to it's full Art Nouveau splendor.

Today, the Guimard entrance stands proudly at the St-Antoine exit of the Square-Victoria station. It is the jewel of the Montreal Metro art collection, and the centerpiece of the newly revitalized Quartier International.

To see the entire series of photos I took of it, click here.

photos: author's own

Michèle Richard at Expo 67

At the private party I attended on September 3rd, I finally got to ask Michèle Richard the question that I had been dying to ask her! I got to ask about her impressions and memories of Expo 67.

Michèle told me that the French pavilion had set out an exquisite buffet for her and her entourage upon her visit to the Expo site in the month of June, 1967. Michèle also told me that she had fallen under the charm of the exotic pavilion of Algeria. The Algerians had given her the gift of a beautiful hand-made bracelet. It is a bracelet that Michèle treasures to this day...

At this same party, I had obtained an original 1967 newspaper document detailing Michèle Richard's visit to Expo, including many photographs, the best of which can be seen here.

While on the subject of Michèle Richard and Expo 67, check out this ultra-rare video of her rendition of Un jour un jour, the french version of the Expo 67 theme:



image source: personal collection

Michèle Richard Happening

On Sunday, September 3rd, I was fortunate enough to attend a very special event. By know you know how much I love Michèle Richard, so imagine my being invited to a private party for fans of hers, held at the home of her #1 fan...

And the best part? A personal appearance by Michèle Richard, herself!

Maryanne Frégeau has been collecting Michèle Richard newspaper clippings, record albums and memorabilia since 1966, when she was a teenager. Throughout the years her collection has grown to mammoth proportions (you have no idea) and she's been fortunate enough to become close personal friends with Michèle.

I met Maryanne at a Michèle Richard show at the Montreal Casino (which is, by the way, housed in the old France and Quebec pavilions from Expo 67...) Maryanne spoke of having a party for her biggest fans, and let me tell you, I made sure to get invited!

Radio-Canada was there to film this special event, and highlights will be broadcasted Monday, the 18th of September at 10 am.

image: invitation designed by yours truly!

La Ronde

La Ronde was one of the most popular sections of Expo 67, attracting 22.5 million visitors in 1967. Though Expo 67 was designed to be dismantled at the end of it's 6-month run, La Ronde had been intended as a permanent Montreal attraction that would last beyond Expo. Indeed, La Ronde has been thrilling visitors for almost 40 years now...

Popular sections of the park included Fort Edmonton, an "old West" town sponsored by the city of Edmonton. Visitors could have their hair cut, have their picture taken behind bars, or relax and have a drink at the Golden Garter Saloon. It was in this section that the popular log flume ride, La Pitoune, was found. The aquatic roller coaster still exists today, one of the most popular of La Ronde. An estimated 20 million people have been on it since 1967!

La Ronde had an impressive collection of the latest in amusement park rides, the star attraction being the Gyrotron. The Gyrotron was a huge pyramid of metal scaffolding, reminding me of the exterior of the U.S. or the Netherlands pavilions. The ride promised to be a thrilling adventure first through space and then down to the core of the earth. Unfortunately, the ride had to be slowed down due to safety concerns, and was a little less thrilling than promised...

La Ronde's cable car system, called the Sky Ride, offered visitors a convenient means of crossing the park. A cable car station was intentionally located near the entrance of La Ronde, to help disperse the thick crowds. The ride has been dismantled in recent years, but I remember riding on it as a kid when visiting La Ronde. It was one of my favorite rides, offering a magnificent view of the park.

The Garden of Stars was a 1500 seat theatre that held teen-age activities during the day, and Las Vegas-like revues at night. The building still exists today and even the interior (complete with cheesy brown and orange carpeting) has been mostly unchanged since Expo 67...

A Children's World section, devoted to kids aged 4 to 9 years, offered rides inspired by the "Tales of Mother Goose". Three of the original rides are still in operation: a miniature roller coaster, a water journey in a tub, and an old-time train ride.

The La Ronde theme park is the only part of Expo 67 in existance today that still serves it's original purpose. I go every summer, and imagine myself visiting Expo 67...

To see photos of my trip to La Ronde on August 15, 2006, click here.

images: from top: (1) author's own, (2) FOS productions,
(3) alamedainfo.com (4) naid.sppsr.ucla
(5) alamedainfo.com (6) author's own
(7) FOS productions (8) alamedainfo.com

Expo 67 Ads

In the 10 years I've been collecting Expo 67 paraphernalia, I've amassed quite a large collection.

A few years ago, I acquired the Expo opening day editions of the Montreal Gazette and the now-defunct Montreal Star.

Each of these newspapers had published "special Expo editions" on April 27, 1967. The information and photos are amazing, the enthusiasm of the day was unmistakeable.

The best part of these documents are the ads. Expo 67 was a world class event that was to generate millions of tourist dollars. Every business in Montreal wanted to jump on the bandwagon, and they almost all did. Everything from camera shops to pet stores... There's even an ad for a strip club!

I've scanned a collection of these ads and uploaded them on Flickr.com. I also included the comics of the day, which all mention Expo. And, lastly, the Gazette's special Expo crossword puzzle (with solution, of course...).

Click here to view the whole set.

images: personal collection

Piknic Électronik

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One of the most famous sculptures at Expo 67, Alexandre Calder's "Man" still stands today, on Île Saint-Hélene. It was sponsored for Expo, in 1967, by the International Nickel Company of Canada. It stands exactly 67 feet tall (coincidence?...)

The sculpture was moved from it's original spot, during the relandscaping of the old Expo site, in 1992. It now occupies a platform visible from the old port of Montreal. The sculpture is even illuminated at night, the way it would have been during Expo.

For the last 2 years, a group of local Montreal DJ's have been organizing the "Piknic Électronik" on weather-permitting Sundays during the summer. The event is centered around the famous sculpture that has become it's symbol. For those familiar with the Montreal Tam-Tam's, it's the same concept but with DJ's spinning electronic music. The crowd is surprisingly diverse, and the event has become very popular.

I love Piknic Électronik! It brings life back to the old Expo islands. The music's great, and it's fun to dance in the sunshine under an Expo relic!

To visit their website, click here.

1967 photo: naid.sppsr.ucla.edu/expo67

Vintage Sears Catalogs

SearsWishbook.1975C.P228
Originally uploaded by Sears Wishbook.

Gotta love the internet, you can find the coolest things!

I have always loved to look at catalogs. Especially the big, thick ones like Sears and the now-defunct Eaton's.

Someone scanned old Sears catalogs from the 70's and 80's, and put them on Flickr.com. They include Christmas Wishbooks from 1975, '79, '83 and '85 as well as a Toys 'R' Us catalog insert from 1986. When looking at these images, you get a sense not just of clothing styles, but home decor, appliances, etc...

The Toys 'R' Us pages, especially, brought back memories. I wanted all those toys when I was a kid!

Expo 67 Through the Eyes of Lillian Seymour

This is an amazing collection of vintage vacation photos I came across while surfing the internet.

Taken by an elderly Lillian Seymour, an abandoned scrapbook of these photos was recently found on the streets in Cambridge, Massachusets. Included in the set are photos of the New York World's Fair in 1964, Expo 67, and Expo's 1968 follow-up: Man and His World.

Not much is known about Lillian Seymour, and this mystery intrigues me.

These photos are amazingly sophisticated for a little old lady on vacation...!

Of course, Lillian would never see the invention of the internet. I can't help but wonder, though, what she would say if she knew her pictures would one day be seen all across the world...

photo: www.flickr.com/photos/ninecormorants