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Between 1818 and 1870, Île Sainte-Hélène, named by Samuel de Champlain in honour of his wife, Hélène, served as a fortification for the British government. The new Canadian government then acquired the island, and transformed it into a public park in 1874, following an agreement with the federal department of Defence which, after Confederation, took ownership of the island from the British Army. Parc Jean-Drapeau was one of the great foundational parks, along with La Fontaine and Mount Royal Park, in Montreal’s system of large urban parks.
The fruit of an agreement between the City of Montreal and federal authorities, it incarnated, in a powerfully symbolic way, the transition from a military defence site under European monarchical control in a French and then British colonial society, to a site devoted to the renewal and relaxation of the citizens of a modern metropolitan society. In this sense, and beyond its association with a key event in our history, namely Expo 67, Île Sainte-Hélène is an important landmark and a testament to the modernization and democratization of Montreal.
Jean-Drapeau Park is a vital metropolitan landmark, situated in the St. Lawrence River, across from Old Montreal and the old town centres of Saint-Lambert and Longueuil, and linked by two of the metropolis’s most remarkable artistic gems, the Victoria Bridge and the Jacques-Cartier Bridge. The park also features important architectural emblems, most notably the former Expo 67 pavilions, the Lévis Tower and the Île Sainte-Hélène fort.
Place des Nations was created as part of a major development plan for Île Sainte-Hélène and the neighbouring islands for the 1967 World Fair, a major international event held to celebrate the centennial of Canadian Confederation. Situated close to the Expo Express Station, Place des Nations served as the symbolic and ceremonial reception site for foreign dignitaries and was also the venue for several shows for the general public that celebrated cultures from around the world. Its asymmetrical architecture, distinct in particular for its concrete tiers and massive laminated wood beams, was a major departure from more classic amphitheatre models. It boasted a modern spirit, as did the Expo 67 emblem, moulded into the wall behind the stage. Place des Nations is one of the most important surviving venues from this exhibition and a testament to the openness onto the world that characterizes and informs Montreal to this day.
The Biosphere, a geodesic dome designed in 1967 by American architect Richard Buckminster Fuller, is also a remarkable element on the Montreal skyline. During Expo 67, this steel structure enveloped in plastic was the largest one of its kind in the world and housed the American Pavilion. In 1976, a fire destroyed the plastic cover, but the exposed steel structure survived. It was not until 1990 that the dome found a new vocation, when Environment Canada proposed turning the site into a museum: the Biosphere. Architect Éric Gauthier designed the new museum inside the Fuller dome.
Over the last few decades several events have made Jean-Drapeau Park a vulnerable site, particularly its building and landscape heritage. A notable example is the cutting up of the massive laminated wood beams of Place des Nations to make way for trucks, the demolition of the former Alcan aquarium at La Ronde, the Olympic House and the Centre de telecommunications at Cité dpu Havre, as well as the original interior of the La Toundra restaurant in the Canadian Pavilion, the dilapidation of the Expo 67 furniture, the privatization of Île Notre-Dame or the Place de l’Homme for concerts and shows, the neglect of the canals on Île Notre-Dame and the transformations of the Jacques-Cartier Bridge. These few examples alone demonstrate the pressing need for a frame of reference that respects all of the elements of heritage value on this territory. The heritage ensemble of Jean-Drapeau Park deserves coherent, concerted and exemplary management in recognition of the importance of this site in Montreal’s history.
Used as a warehousing site, Place des Nations has been subject to affronts and negligence that completely ignore its value. In 2013, the City and the Quebec government announced its restoration by the Société du parc Jean-Drapeau in the lead up to the 375th anniversary of Expo 67 in 2017. A budget was set aside for this purpose, but the project was shelved and the future use of the Place des Nations is still in question.
While the former American Pavilion was given a new vocation in 1995 following an agreement between the federal government and the City of Montreal, Environment Canada’s lease expired on December 31, 2019, leaving the future of the Biosphere uncertain.
In 2019, the Office de consultation public de Montréal held public consultations on the future of Jean-Drapeau Park. On the basis of these consultations, several projects to restore the park and develop the buildings and green spaces were set in motion. In particular, there is a plan to restore Place des Nations and possibly transform the Biosphere into an environmental campus.
In 2020, with the federal government ending its role in managing the Biosphere, the City of Montreal announced that it would take up the role of managing the site, in collaboration with Canadian Heritage, to ensure the Biosphere’s survival.
Heritage Montréal has long maintained the demand that this exceptional and complex site be endowed with an overall vision, consistent with its history and its value as a public place in order to ensure its conservation, accessibility and function in the community. We have seen the consequences on the collective heritage that the park constitutes, of the confusion between a true “overall vision” based on the values of the place for society and a succession of “major projects” and piecemeal decisions.
Over the years, Heritage Montréal has participated in the following exercises:
1988: Round table in preparation of the master plan for the Parc des Îles in 1992 (City of Montreal)
1992: Advisory committee on the Future of St. Helen’s Island Fort (City of Montreal)
Ville-Marie borough
Urban Development
Civic Heritage
Public: municipal
Vacant
No upkeep
Lack of knowledge
Inappropriate/incompatible use
St. Helen’s Island park : Frederick G. Todd; Place des nations : André Blouin, architect; Biosphère : Richard Buckminster Fuller, architect (1967); Éric Gauthier, architect (1995).
City of Montréal (owner); Société du parc Jean-Drapeau (manager)
Public art
Public spaces / Parks / green space
Landscape view
St. Helen’s Island park : 1937; Place des Nations : 1966; Biosphère : 1967, 1995
Located on a recognized heritage site; Located in an area of exceptional heritage value
How do you see this Montreal site? What legacy has it left us? What future can we create for it? Where to start to get there? Who wants to participate in the project?
You have questions? Want to do more, but lack the information? Consult our toolkit to learn more about the heritage of the Montreal metropolitan area, the preservation mechanisms in place and possible actions.
