Originally
built in 1976 to house the Olympics, the
Montreal Olympic Stadium was originally
designed to be retractable. This dream
was never fully realized though, and after
wrestling with mechanical and structural
problems the stadium was made into a dome
permanently. In 1987, engineers capped
the stadium with 60,696 square feet of
orange and silver Kevlar fabric, a synthetic
fibre used in some bullet-proof vests.
There have been other problems; many parts
of the building were poorly designed and/or
constructed. In the summer of 1991 the
stadium was closed after a 55-ton concrete
beam came loose, fell towards the ground,
and crashed onto a walkway. This forcing
the Expos (Montreal’s Baseball team)
to play their last 13 regular-season home
games on the road.
In fact, when the Olympics were actually
being hosed the stadium itself was only
partially completed. Constructed at a
cost of one billion dollars, the stadium
is an ellipse (like an oval) 340 feet
wide by 575 feet long. Its roof is a network
of supporting cables that work something
like a suspension bridge.
Despite
these problems the Olympic Stadium is
a popular place to watch a Baseball game;
the building is specifically constructed
to house a baseball diamond. The stadium
houses all of the typical things one might
expect of a professional sorting park,
including fast food restaurants and concession
stands.
After all is said and done (and against
public opinion), the stadium is up and
open for business (although for how long
no one can tell). It remains one of Montreal’s
most interesting and beautiful buildings,
and there are public tours during the
week. If you’re not a baseball fan
you can still enjoy this futuristic building,
if only from afar.
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