Canadian Clippings – May 1964

I’ve spent a lot of time in Canada over the years. Consequently, I'm always interested in what’s going on up there in the news. Unfortunately, today’s struggling American newspapers seem to routinely ignore our friendly neighbor to the north, and to find out anything at all, it’s necessary to visit a Canadian news website.

But that wasn’t always the case. Back in the 1960s, when the Journal was still packed with news stories, you could expect to see at least some news filtering out about the Great White North.

Along those lines, here are a few samples, both from May 1964.

The first one (below) is pretty interesting and ran in the Journal on May 20, 1964.

At the time, Canada wasn’t even a hundred years old (that birthday would be celebrated in 1967 at Expo 67), and was still trying to establish its own identity independent of the United Kingdom. Thus, there was a national debate over the design of a new flag for Canada, with the goal of coming up with something that French-speaking Quebec would accept.

Here’s the old design (which incorporated the British Union Jack) that was being replaced.

Prime Minister Lester Pearson preferred this design (below).

But in the end, this now-iconic design (below) was chosen. 

To learn more about the flag debate, click here.

The second Journal clipping (below) is from ten days later – May 30, 1964. This article noted that construction had started on the latest tourist attraction on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls: a 500-foot tower.

Canada Makes Bid For
U. S. Niagara Business

Latest addition to the Niagara Falls “high rise” observation points is a tower which will be completed by late spring 1965 on the Canadian side.

Niagara International Center adjoining Queen Victoria Park will double as a sightseeing vantage point for tourists and a showroom for Canadian industry.

The tower will be 500 feet high, with exterior press elevators, revolving restaurant at the top, glassed-in observation deck and construction requiring unusual engineering features.

- Heating coils will be incorporated in the canopy at the top of the dome to prevent build-up of snow or ice. Elevator guide rails will be equipped with electrical heating cables to prevent icing conditions.

The dome will be faced with “self-cleaning” stainless steel or similar weather-resistant high-finish material.

Canada’s ‘business pitch’ will be a 105,000 square foot exhibition hall on two levels and a mezzanine at the base of the tower.

A different “thematic approach” will be used each year, with the opening season accenting “The World of Travel” and an early climax coming in 1967, when Canada will note its centennial.

A 60-foot diameter half-globe, representing the northern hemisphere, will be the central display in the tower.

Several towers have been erected recently on the American side of the falls as an attraction for tourists.

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Since the photo of the tower from the article is rather poor, here’s a better look at it through a series of vintage postcards. Note that the tower eventually received a name: Skylon Tower.

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Niagara Falls has been a regular topic on this blog over the years. Click here to visit some of those old posts.