I had the opportunity to get a temporary base transfer to Montreal for work, for the months of September and October. I was excited for all the flying to new and different destinations, mostly to Europe and North Africa. However, I was also looking forward to spending time in Montreal. I was able to stay at a friend's place, in the neighbourhood of Hochelaga, in east Montreal. I had spent two years in the city, in my early twenties, at two different "quartiers". One of which was quite close to where I was staying now. The neighbourhood was a lot grittier and tougher back then. Now, like so many places, slowly gentrifying.
Montreal is famous for its buildings with external stairs. This was a result of building codes and taxes in the 19th century that had regulations for houses to be built a certain distance from the road. The external stairs were a way having more space in the apartments. They are also everywhere in back lanes, where they tend to be spiral.
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| Older houses have nice decorative rooftops and window frames. |
As Montreal is one of the older cities of North America, you see many buildings out of stone, with styles not unlike what you find in Europe. I was impressed by the many church and cathedral spires, most of which are in copper, oxidized to a light green. As the population of practicing Catholics decreased, several churches stopped functioning, some converted to condos, others changing from their original denominations.
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| Oratoire Saint Joseph (huge, and on a hill) |
Montreal was the largest city in Canada up until the early seventies, when it was surpassed by Toronto. As well, it was the hub of finance in the early 20th century. Many institution's architecture reflect its past position of power and importance. There has always been a sort of competitive streak between Montreal and Toronto. The former, was known as a sin city, with it's strip bars and much looser regulations on alcohol and bars while the latter, known as 'Toronto the good' more reminiscent of British conservatism (pubs closing early etc). This was back in the 50s though... Toronto's population is much larger now, and arguably more multicultural. Still, Montreal pushes above its weight in terms of culture and character and, of course, the metropolis of French Canada and is still the second largest French speaking city in the world after Paris.
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Dépanneur (literally repairman) is the ubiquitous corner store for a
quick snack or beer. |
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A 2$ 'all-dressed' steamed dog from the Montreal Pool Room.
An institution on St.Laurent. |
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| Across the street, an old strip club (with tacky graphics) |
As the city's underground metro system was mostly developed in the 60s and 70s, there is a considerable amount of brutalist architecture. One rainy day, I decided to check out the most popular ones. Deep cavernous stations in concrete with a variety of styles.
Of course, the crowning glory of the city's brutalist architecture would be both Habitat 67 (built for the city's expo of that same year) and the Olympic stadium, for the 1976 olympics. The stadium had not been fully completed until years after. The retractable roof is apparently going through its third version. The stadium has been cursed with so many problems and has probably had the largest ballooning budget of any building in Canadian history. Yet, there it is, an icon of the city.
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| The Olympic village complex, two pyramid like structures that are now condos. |
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| Habitat |
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"Blocked road"... the city is infamous for its orange cones... so many repairs of old
infrastructure and construction from spring until fall. |
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| When in Mtl... bagels! |
The street art in the city is impressive as is its public art. With its old buildings and back alleys there are hundreds of murals throughout all neighbourhoods. I enjoyed snapping pix as I cycled around town some, still there and recognizable from years ago, some ever changing.
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Several dead trees in a park where they left 12 ft 'stumps'
in which were carvings. |
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A colossal commissioned mural of Leonard Cohen by 'El Mac' one
of the top street artists in the world, from LA. |
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| 'Rocket Richard' the legendary Habs player. |
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A mosaic tribute to the singer Lhasa de Sela, who had lived in
the neighbourhood of Mile End. |
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| My home away from home. |
