Photostory #449: Nightfall at Expo 67

Photographers
André Sima
Maker
National Film Board Photostory - [Story by] John Ough, photos by Andre Sima
Release Date
August 15, 1967
Collection
CMCP fonds
Credit Line
Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography fonds, National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives
Main Text
As the setting sun sends its last deep-orange rays aslanting over the busy scene at Expo 67, then a myriad man-made stars appear, lighting up the gay panorama in breathtaking design. This is when the futuristic shapes of the nations of the globe, on show at the Montreal's world fair, take on their most spectacular form. Great buildings, carefully created for maximum effect to attract the daytime viewer with exciting promises, become even more wondrous when the velvet void of summer darkness casts its warm embrace. Suffused lighting blends the bold patterns of space-age architecture with the oriental pillars and carving spires of the east into a vista of magic and fantasy. The graceful Russian pavilion seems to sweep higher into the star-strewn vaulted heavens, the British tower stands with added pride in the floodlights, the angled outlines of the Canadian and Ontario exhibits show sharper against the muted horizon, while, over all, glowing softly with inner luminosity, the United States' huge globe shines like an enormous captured moon. For the thousands of visitors another day of memorable sight-seeing is nearly over. Now is the time for leisurely meals, strolling along soft-lit avenues and enjoying refreshments in a variety of exotic lounges and places of entertainment. At nightfall, Expo 67 truly becomes an island setting of international enchantment.
Locations: