Westward Ho to Expo 86

Vancouver's world's fair sparks a building and tourist boom

Two years ago, the waterfront along Vancouver's False Creek, a narrow inlet off the city's main harbor, was covered with rusting railroad tracks and a few ramshackle factories. Garbage was strewn everywhere. Today the 173-acre site is the home of Expo 86, the Canadian world's fair that opens May 2 and runs through Oct. 13. The fair's theme is transportation, and visitors will be able to gaze at exhibits ranging from a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft to a Japanese high- speed passenger train that can travel more than 250 m.p.h. Moored in the harbor are dozens of boats and ships, including a...

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