August 10, 2013 -- Montreal hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics and many of the original venues are located in Olympic Park, which is easily accessible via the Montreal Metro. Just get off at either Pie-IX or Viau and it is a short walk to Olympic Stadium, Montreal Tower, Biodome, Planetarium, Saputo Stadium and other attractions.
After walking around the Olympic Park grounds, I decided to buy a ticket for the funicular, which takes you to the top of the Montreal Tower. It is the tallest inclined tower in the world at 165 metres (541 feet) with a curved angle of 45 degrees. Completed in 1987, the tower is designed to support 75 percent of the weight of the roof of Olympic Stadium.
The funicular takes about two minutes to ascend from the base to the multi-story observation deck that offers spectacular panoramic views of Montreal, the St. Lawrence River and the surrounding area.
A tour guide named JC Gagnon explained to me some of the problems associated with the stadium and pointed out an area of the roof that ripped from too much snow accumulation. He told me the stadium hosts events throughout the year including some Alouettes and Impact home games and that they are looking into other roof fixes.
Wikipedia has much more information on the many problems that have plagued Olympic Stadium and Montreal Tower over the years at what many Montrealers consider to be a White Elephant.
I took the funicular back down to ground level and walked over to the home of Major League Soccer's Impact -- Saputo Stadium. It is a wonderful little soccer-specific stadium with modern amenities and a modern design.
Here are more pictures of Olympic Park:
And here is video of the ride up and down the funicular and the view from the observatory:
No comments:
Post a Comment