Home » Friday Fictioneers » Repurposed – Friday Fictioneers

Repurposed – Friday Fictioneers

Posted on by

Good Wednesday!  Hope all is well in your necks of the world.  This week’s Friday Fictioneers, as always hosted by the wonderful Rochelle Wisoff-Fields is brought to you through J. Hardy Carroll’s picture.  I could not help but go to Montreal for this one.  Should you have a different idea that you’d like to share, click on the frog below and add your 100-word story!

J. Hardy Carroll

Click me!

REPURPOSED

Let’s go visit the Biosphere on Parc Jean-Drapeau.

Wasn’t that the Expo ’67 American Pavillion?

Yep.  The most famous geodesic dome created.

Didn’t it burn to a crisp?

Yeah, sadly, a welding accident in ’76 while fixing the acrylic cover.

That blows. But then they fixed it up, right?

Took forever and by the’90’s became a water museum.

Cool. Wait. What happened during the ice storm in ’98?

Some damage and it was shut down for five months.  By 2007, Environment Canada decided it would be called an “Environment Museum”. Only one of its kind in North America.

So, worth a visit, then?

Absolutely!

 

 

For more on the Biosphere, click here

Today’s Biosphere
US Pavillion Expo ’67
Lit up (changes colours)
On Fire

 

 

 

 

135 thoughts on “Repurposed – Friday Fictioneers”

    • Dear Rochelle,

      Oh absolutely one of the places I WILL bring you! Glad it worked – I was afraid it would be choppy!

      Shalom and lotsa environmentally friendly love,

      Dale

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Q,

    How cool to use this challenge to highlight a positively impacted structure. Because it seems as if so many of these half century- and older- exhibition sites were just left to rot by the cities they belong to. The ’64 World’s Fair site in Flushing Meadows, Queens is an example of this. It was like visiting a ghost town, every time I went there.

    This pavilion finding new life as a museum is quite a novel concept and one to which should have been embraced by other cities long ago. And oh by the way, same goes for all those Olympic sites around the world where they construct these arenas and sites, only to leave them behind to wither when the games are over.

    I like your ending way better. 🙂

    B

    Liked by 1 person

    • B,

      When I saw the picture, I immediately had to go there. All the other pavilions were dismantled after Expo except this one, which was gifted by the Americans.

      It’s actually quite cool to visit. There is a video to show the building of it – because ya gotta include that! – and they have many exhibitions, a 360 movie, and much more. I have to return myself as a few of the things were closed for renovations (grrr).

      Yeah, so many Olympic sites are eyesores. We use ours for quite a few things even if it did cost us an arm and a leg… we don’t call it the Big O, we call it the Big Owe…

      I do, too. 🙂

      Q

      Liked by 1 person

      • It”s a great structure and I’m glad it found a purposeful second life, rather than being left to rot.

        It’s funny how some places get it and others never will. Because I don’t understand how something can be built for a celebratory purpose- be it a sporting event or exhibition- and then be forgotten after it is used for that purpose. This logic seems to run counter to what it was built for in the first place.

        I know Lake Placid residents got soaked AND they left the structures to just crumble away. Same in other countries, where they really can’t afford such extravagances in the first place. Where was/is the IOC?

        🙂

        Liked by 1 person

        • It is and I must admit it does bring on a sense of pride that it was not left to rot.

          So many. And I don’t understand it. It costa a fortune, surely when you choose to accept to host something that requires building, you can also foresee its future use? The Montreal athletes’ residence has been turned into apartments…

          Lake Placid is sad to see. We went six years ago (already?) to go hiking and walking through the village, there is just one sad structure. I honestly don’t get why they couldn’t do something – its a ski town, for heaven’s sake. Surely you could have figured something out?

          🙂

          Liked by 1 person

          • Thank goodness.

            These events are planned out years in advance with more money involved in the transactions than our governments would ever care to admit. And yet . . they rarely get it right as far as planning goes for AFTER the events culminate. Unbelievable.

            Nope. Why figure something out when the IOC got paid and that’s all that matters?

            Liked by 1 person

          • Yessiree.

            They are and you would think that the exorbitant cost would be factor enough to ensure there is a re-purposing planned. I know ours went beyond over-budget. The estimate was $30MM and it cost $90MM. Un-fucking-believable. Needless to say, Montrealers paid for that fucker for years and years.

            Nope. Why bother?

            Liked by 1 person

          • 😉

            The costs would become a lot more responsible if the IOC were made to pay for the upkeep for a given period of years after these sites are vacated. Of course this will never happen. We’re talking about an organization that behaves very much like a syndicate.

            Right?

            Liked by 1 person

          • I get it. Believe it or not, mine either. Of course, that’s because I was always more of an eclectic reader. Chasing thrillers with period romance with baseball fiction. All over the place.

            😉

            Like

  7. My daughter would love to visit the biosphere so I will tell her all about it. I also got a new word – geodesic – which I have now looked up and will use. I love the energy in your writing. It’s infectious in the best possible way 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Jilly, you are the best, you know that?
      It took me years to finally go inside (Why? Probably because it was just THERE.) It is truly worth the visit. Unfortunately, when I went, there were quite a few exhibitions under renovation… wait, gives me a reason to return, doesn’t it?
      I only learned of the term geodesic when I watched the movie about the creator.
      Such a nice thing to say. Infections. Who doesn’t want to be infectious?

      Like

  17. I enjoyed reading about this structure. I once wanted to become an architect.. It never happened…. If I was able now, I would put a stop to almost all new building work. Your story made me think

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks, Josh. You mean mine is closer to me (a 15 minute drive)… des Moines ain’t next door!
      Hey, think they built the Botanical Garden using the same plans as Buckminster Fuller?

      Like

  25. This biosphere dome sounds a lot like our planet. Sensitive, tiny in a wide space and not as resilient as one might hope. Let’s hope our planetary biosphere doesn’t end up as a museum. Very interesting story, Dale.

    Liked by 1 person

  29. Wow, it looks amazing, Dale. Funny how so many of these places are prone to fire – same thing happened to the Great Exhibition site in London. Fantastic that it’s been put to such wonderful use since the fire. Enjoyed this

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you, Lynn. Yes, it is funny how that happens. At least when they are able to repurpose it, all is not lost. It is a wonderful place to visit – and I only saw a small portion as so many of the exhibits were under renovation. It gives me an excuse to return.
      Glad you enjoyed.

      Like

      • We have an environmentally focused venue called the Eden project in Cornwall that comprises a range of biodomes with various ecosystems, tropical, Mediterranean etc. We went a few years ago and it’s a beautiful place to be. They’re extraordinary places

        Like

  31. I liked the historical background supported by the pictures. I trust there were many lessons learned from this ‘experiment’ showing how fragile these forms of structure are. I enjoyed reading this.

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.