Casino Hotels / Entry 03.01
Montreal Casino & Hotel
Montréal, Québec, Canada
Expo 67 pavilions on an island in the St Lawrence, still doing a job sixty years on.
The French pavilion from Expo 67 is the building: stepped, faceted, unmistakable from the water. Québec's pavilion stands beside it. Both were kept, and both now hold a casino — one of the more successful reuses of a world's fair site anywhere.
The setting is Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Notre-Dame: river paths, the old fair grounds, the circuit that closes for racing weekends. Hotel accommodation nearby serves the island's calendar of concerts and dining.
Downtown Montréal is one short crossing away, which makes the island a quiet base with the city on call.
Gaming occupies several levels of the pavilions. The architecture is why most people photograph the place.