Above: While it glistened in the daytime, the American Pavilion glimmered at night. Photo: Peter Whyte.
You can never learn less, you can only learn more.
– Buckminster Fuller
Creative, popular, sophisticated, inventive, alluring, and magical are just a few – all apt – words one can use to describe the United States pavilion at 1967 International and Universal Exposition, or as it’s better know, Expo 67. The incredibly successful 1967 World’s Fair took place in Montreal from April to October of 1967 and drew over 50 million visitors. The most popular pavilion was the impressive geodesic dome of the United States designed by Buckminster Fuller.
In 1963, the U.S. Information Agency asked architect, inventor, and utopian Buckminster Fuller to design the U.S. Pavilion for Montreal’s World’s Fair. What he, and partner Shoji Sadao, came up with was first derided as impossible, but convinced it would work Fuller presented a plan for what would be the world’s largest geodesic dome soaring over 200 feet in height and close to 250 feet in diameter. It should be noted that Fuller’s original plan was for a structure twice the size.
A progressive framework of tens of thousands of steel rods created a giant dome roughly three-quarters of a complete sphere. To complete the dome 1,900 clear acrylic ‘lenses’ created a transparent ‘skin’ to the structure that housed five exhibition platforms inside. The effect was a striking bauble that glittered in the sunlight and glowed in the evening. It was, in effect, the crowning jewel of the Fair and a technological masterpiece. The theme of ‘Creative America’ was chosen for the exhibition.
Photos of the construction of Buckminster Fuller's Geodesic dome, the US pavilion at Expo 67, Montreal.
Pierced by the ‘mini rail’ that toured the fairgrounds, featuring the world’s longest escalator, decorated with colorful pop-art and Hollywood ephemera, staffed by hostesses in vibrant Bill Blass-designed outfits, and representatives of the various wings of the military in smart sartorials, the pavilion was an engineering triumph with crowd pleasing displays. The organizers and designers chose more light-hearted exhibits focusing less on technology and U.S. enterprise and more on the leisurely pursuits of American life. While popular with visitors, it was not a hit with everyone. Some, including high-ranking U.S. politicians in particular, dismissed Fuller’s design and exhibits as silly and frivolous. But what was presented – unlike the sober, displays of the Soviet Pavilion that loomed across the water – was a fun, light-hearted, and confident America entirely at ease with itself. It was an America with nothing to prove to any nation. With over 11 million visitors during the six-month Fair (the most to any pavilion) both the mesmerizing structure and entertaining exhibits resonated with the public.
Photos of the US pavilion during Expo 67, Montreal.
After the Fair ended the pavilion was gifted to the city of Montreal and it went on to become an exhibition space for a few years. In 1976, during some repairs, a welder accidentally set fire to the one of the acrylic panels and the entire dome was quickly engulfed in flames. Fuller’s dome sat unused for some time and in early 1990’s was transformed into the Montreal Biosphere, a museum dedicated to raising environmental awareness. Today ‘Bucky’s Bubble’ is an icon of the city of Montreal. Without its original acrylic skin the structure now soars like delicate filigree lace and still impresses. While Fuller’s dome has a new purpose, it will always stand as testament to the creative, often fearless, ingenuity of America.
After being damaged by fire and then repurposed, the former US pavilion as it is today.
Buckminster Fuller poses in front of his design for the US pavilion. At 200 feet in height and 250 feet in diameter it was, at the time, his largest structure and largest geodesic dome ever built. Expo 67, Montreal. Photo: Buckminster Fuller Institute
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Ahhh! Two of my favorite subjects: Forward thinking inventors and inspiring architecture. My father, Samuel Kennedy told me stories about working with Buckminster Fuller when Fuller was at SIU in Carbondale, Illinois. At that time, my father, also an inventor, was manufacturing the latest grain storage devices and other agricultural products at a factory in Taylorville, Illinois. They tried to create geodesic grain bins, and dad said they got rip-roaring drunk together on his factory floor, playing at this and other ideas. Can you imagine how beautiful the multi-faceted shiny domes would be, dotted along our landscapes, around the world?