La Spirale to be dismantled in November, third Expo 67 ride lost since 2017

After nearly 55 years, La Ronde’s iconic 360-degree glass observation tower and Expo 67 marvel, La Spirale, will be dismantled next month.

In a statement to CityNews, La Ronde said the ride had “reached the end of its life,” adding that restoring it would have required tens of millions of dollars with “no guarantee of safety or long-term viability.”

“This is a difficult decision, but we no longer have a choice,” said Sophie Emond, General Manager of La Ronde. “La Spirale will take its final bow in November, heading into a well-deserved retirement.”

Closed since 2018 due to major technical problems and the unavailability of replacement parts, La Spirale never returned to operation after pandemic restrictions, La Ronde management said.

“The millions required for refurbishment and ongoing maintenance are simply not available,” Emond said.

Built for Expo 67, Canada’s centennial world’s fair considered one of the most celebrated technological exhibitions in history, La Spirale offered riders a slow, rotating climb that offered sweeping views of Montreal’s skyline, the river and the grounds below. As the two-story glass gondola spun three times at its peak, generations of riders got a rare, floating glimpse of the city.

La Spirale was a defining memory for Montrealers like Marc Perusse, who experienced the ride first-hand at its inauguration in 1967.

“We loved it. You were so high and you had a view of Montreal and La Ronde and everything,” Perusse said. “At the time that was a big thing.”

For others, its disappearance marks yet another piece of the city’s history slipping away.

“There’s little room left for history,” said Luc Beaulieu, a Montreal resident. “It’s part of our heritage. It’s like a symbol of La Ronde. I think it’s a shame when rides like that close.”

The sentiment was echoed by Dee Edouard Williams, another Montreal resident, who said, “I feel like it’s just another thing that we’re losing and we’re not getting anything back in return. So it’s kind of unfortunate.”

Standing at almost double the height of the Port of Montreal Tower, La Spirale’s 125-metre red mast has long been a centerpiece of the park.

But now, it too will join the memories of lost Expo-era amusement rides. 

La Spirale is the third Expo 67 ride to close at La Ronde after La Pitoune in 2017 and Le Minirail in 2022.

Critics say they wish La Ronde had explored more creative options before deciding to take down the ride, arguing that the amusement park could have repurposed La Spirale and preserve its history rather than scrapping it altogether.

According to Taïka Baillargeon, assistant policy director of Héritage Montréal, the defining feature of La Spirale was its full-spherical view from atop of one of Montreal’s highest vantage points. La Ronde could have kept the observation tower in tact, she said, while building new infrastructure like stairs to allow visitors to continue enjoying the view.

“I have the feeling they didn’t really think out of the box,” Baillargeon said. “We can definitely keep it and also document it. There are so many ways to remind and remember the importance of that place and that infrastructure.”

She agreed with La Ronde that the ride’s obsolescence has always been an inevitability, but said that the amusement park failed to have a “long term view” in preserving what she called a “heritage site” for the city.

“We know that these things will happen,” Baillargeon said. “So we have to think way ahead of time to really also finance a possibility of a second life.”

After demolition, the space will be converted into a shaded rest area for park visitors, according to La Ronde.

“We have a feeling that (La Ronde) was looking for ways to make it function again like it used to,” Baillargeon said. “But couldn’t they use this infrastructure, expose it, value it, use it in a different way?”