Montréal

Montréal
in Mind
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10
a
Pont Victori
in Mind
Montréal
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Summary
Introduction
, city of history
Montréal
4
7
, city of 100 steeples
11
, city of architecture
15
, city of neighbourhoods
23
, city of the arts
39
, city of seasons
45
, city of multiculturalism
51
, city of leisure and festivity
55
Montréal
Montréal
Montréal
Montréal
Montréal
Montréal
Montréal
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Introduction
B
oth Latin and Nordic, European and North American,
cosmopolitan and parochial, Montréal is first and foremost
the metropolis of Québec and the second city in the world
after Paris with the largest population whose mother tongue is
French. Visitors fall in love with the city for many different reasons; it succeeds in delighting American tourists with its European charm while also managing to surprise overseas travellers
with its haphazard character and nonchalance.
A
bove all, Montréal holds nothing back and visitors often
find what they are looking for without having to search too far.
The city seems to be caught between several different worlds:
firmly rooted in America yet looking towards Europe, laid
claim to by both Québec and Canada, and always, it seems, in
the midst of social, economic and demographic mutations.
I
t is difficult to define this city, especially since no postcard or
cliché truly succeeds in evoking an image that seems realistic
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or honest. If Paris has its grand boulevards and squares, New York its skyscrapers and celebrated Statue of Liberty,
what best symbolizes Montréal? Its many beautiful churches? Its famed Olympic Stadium? Its sumptuous Victorian residences?
D
espite Montréal’s rich architectural heritage, it is above all its unique, engaging atmosphere that appeals to people.
Montréal is an enchanting city to visit and an exhilarating place to discover; it is generous, friendly and totally unpretentious.
A
nd when the time comes to celebrate jazz, film, comedy, French chanson or Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, hundreds of
thousands of people flood into the streets, turning cultural events into friendly public gatherings. There is no doubt that
Montréal is a big city that has managed to keep its human touch. For while its towering glass-and-concrete silhouette
gives it the appearance of a North-American metropolis, Montréal has trouble hiding the fact that it is primarily a city of
small streets and unique neighbourhoods, each with its own churches, businesses, restaurants, and bars—in short, its
own personality, shaped over the years by the arrival of people from all over the world.
E
lusive and mysterious, Montréal is nevertheless genuine, and is as magical for those who experience it on a daily basis
as it is for visitors who are immersed in it for only a few days.
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6
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Montréal,
city of history
I
n the 17th century, the fur trade was the driving force behind France’s bid to
colonize Canada. Yet this lucrative trade was not the initial cause of the founding of
Montréal; rather, it was the religious conversion of First Nations peoples.
P
3
The remarkable facades of Rue
de la Commune catch the eye.
aul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, was not only chosen to carry out this
mission, but also designated as the new colony’s first governor. De Maisonneuve left
France in May 1641, leading an expedition of some 50 people, the Montréalistes de
la Société Notre-Dame, a group that included Jeanne Mance. Jeanne Mance’s ship
reached Québec three months later without incident.
5
A view of Rue Notre-Dame of
yesteryear, with the Basilique
Notre-Dame.
D
5
Jeanne Mance, one of the
founders of Montréal and the
founder of the Hôtel-Dieu
hospital.
4
A map from 1744 shows the
Montréal archipelago.
e Maisonneuve was not so fortunate, however, encountering violent storms
along the way. In fact, he arrived so late that the founding of Montréal was postponed
to the following year, and the group spent the winter in Québec City. On May 17,
1642, de Maisonneuve founded Ville-Marie on the island of Montréal. A few years
later, the name “Montréal” supplanted that of Ville-Marie.
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I
n 1665, de Maisonneuve was summoned back to France indefinitely. He returned to Paris with a heavy heart, abandoning his duties and his beloved city and
retiring among the Doctrine Chrétienne order of priests, where he died in 1676.
T
he founder of Montréal was a warm-hearted man of great intelligence and virtue. Erected in 1895, a monument to Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve,
stands in Place d’Armes, in the heart of Old Montréal.
T
hough the centuries of Montréal’s history can still be counted on the fingers
of one hand, the city has strived to preserve the icons of its storied past within its
world-class museums.
P
ointe-à-Callière, the Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History, lies on the
exact site where the city was founded on May 18, 1642. Its multimedia presentations provide a fascinating overview of the city’s history.
8
5
The sweeping port of Montréal
during the era of tall ships.
Page 9
5
A monument to Maisonneuve stands
on Place d’Armes.
5
Château Ramezay, built in 1705.
4
Pointe-à-Callière, the Montréal
Museum of Archaeology and
History, is located on the site where
Montréal was founded.
T
he Musée du Château Ramezay is located in the humblest of all
the “châteaux” that were once built in Montréal, and the only one
still standing. Built in 1705 for the first French administrators of
the city, it was later occupied by American insurgents who wanted
Québec to join the nascent United States. Today, the museum
boasts a rich collection of furniture, clothing and everyday objects
from the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as many Aboriginal artifacts.
L
ocated in the arsenal of Île Saint-Hélène’s fort, the Musée
Stewart is dedicated to colonial history and the exploration of the
New World.
S
et up in a former warehouse of the storied Hudson’s Bay Company, the Fur Trade at Lachine National Historic Site preserves the
artifacts of the lucrative trade that would become the basis for the
city’s economic expansion.
9
5
Montréal was an important fur trade site during the
18th century.
4
An old fire station is now home to the Centre
d’Histoire de Montréal.
F
acing the Saint-Lawrence River, Prison du Pied-du-Courant is where 12 of the Patriotes were executed for having
participated in the armed rebellions of 1837-38 in an attempt to emancipate Québec.
T
he McCord Museum of Canadian History occupies a handsome English Baroque-style building and houses a large
collection of artworks and objects that provide a glimpse into the day-to-day life of the island’s residents during the 18th
and 19th centuries.
T
he Centre d’Histoire de Montréal’s exhibits shine a spotlight on the different communities and neighbourhoods that
have shaped the city’s cultural landscape.
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Montréal,
city of 100 steeples
M
ontréal’s rich religious heritage
remains very present throughout its
neighbourhoods despite the fact that
the faithful have gradually deserted its
churches since the 1970s.
Extrait de la publication
3
The Basilique Notre-Dame, a masterpiece of
Gothic Revival architecture.
5
The red roof of St. John the Evangelist Church
reflected on the multicoloured wall of a UQAM
building.
5
The stunning Church of Saint Michael’s and
Saint Anthony’s, with its Byzantine-inspired
architecture.
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A
mong the city’s many magnificent religious institutions are
the majestic Basilique Notre-Dame, a masterpiece of Gothic
Revival architecture; the Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde,
whose style was inspired by St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome; and the
famous Saint Joseph’s Oratory, a pilgrimage site which welcomes
millions of visitors every year.
S
everal of these places of worship are located in wide-open
spaces that provide excellent views of their architecture, like
the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, in Vieux-Montréal;
others, however, lie virtually hidden between the skyscrapers of
downtown Montréal. This is the case of St. James United Church
and its magnificent facade, which seems to appear out of nowhere on bustling Rue Sainte-Catherine; St. Patrick’s Basilica,
built for the city’s Irish Catholic community and tucked away
on Boulevard René-Lévesque; and the Renaissance Revival-style
Église Le Gesù, on Rue De Bleury.
3
Downtown skyscrapers surround the Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde.
5
The rich interior of the Basilique Notre-Dame.
5
St. James United Church recalls classic French Gothic cathedrals.
4
The Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, a historic place of worship.
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13
O
ther churches bear witness to the important contributions of the various religious communities that have inhabited
the metropolis over the years. Among these are the lovely medieval-style Presbyterian Church of St. Andrew and
St. Paul, one of the most important institutions of Montréal’s Scottish elite; Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste, which was built
thanks to the contributions of the working-class Catholic residents of the Plateau Mont-Royal; and the beautiful Gothic
Revival-style St. George’s Anglican Church, whose delicately sculpted sandstone exterior conceals an interior tapestry
that was donated by Westminster Abbey.
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5
St. George’s Anglican Church, a national historic site.
5
Saint-Joseph’s Oratory, set on the hillside of Mont Royal.
Montréal,
city of architecture
W
hen strolling through the streets of Montréal,
one cannot help but notice the great diversity of
architectural styles that make up the landscape of
Québec’s metropolis. With buildings dating from the
New France era to present times, the city’s interesting blend of genres is unique in North America.
5
Habitat 67, built for Expo 67 and designed by architect Moshe
Safdie.
4
The splendidly flamboyant architecture of the Casino de Montréal
comes alive at night.
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15
B
y the end of the French Regime,
Montréal resembled a typical French
provincial fortified town. Within its
fortifications were streets lined with
churches whose steeples reached above
the walls, as well as convents, colleges,
hospitals and a few aristocratic and bourgeois homes surrounded by French gardens. A place d’armes (parade ground)
and a market square rounded out the
landscape.
T
he building of the Gothic-Revivalstyle Basilique Notre-Dame in Montréal
between 1824 and 1829 announced the
arrival of historicism in Québec architecture. Originally quite marginal, historicism would come to dominate the
skyline of Québec’s cities and towns in
the second half of the 19th century. It
is defined by the use of decorative elements taken from different architectural
epochs in history, and was popularized
by archaeological discoveries, the invention of photography, and the growing
fondness for historical novels across the
world.
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C
haracterized by its eclecticism and taste for ornamentation, the Victorian era might seem contradictory; while it
looked back in time in terms of its architectural style, it was decidedly forward-looking when it came to comfort. The
technological innovations that made life much more pleasant were numerous during this era: running water, automatic
hot water heaters, additional washrooms, central heating, telephones and electricity. The colourful houses that border
Square Saint-Louis, complete with turrets and wood trims, are a good example of this style.
T
he favourable contacts that Québec architects and artists maintained with their colleagues in Paris, Brussels and
London did not deter them from choosing to embrace popular North American architectural styles at the beginning of
the 20th century. And so the first skyscrapers pierced the Montréal sky in 1928, following the definitive repeal of a ruling
that had limited the height of buildings to 10 storeys.
3
An eloquent example of Art Deco architecture: the
beautiful Aldred building.
5
The Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal: view
of the south elevation showing the Alcan Scholars’ Wing
(1989, Peter Rose, architect) and Shaughnessy House
(1874, W.T. Thomas, architect), looking west.
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5
The Bonsecours Market with its dome and portico.
3
The romantic Hostellerie Pierre du Calvet, a house that
dates back to 1725.
3
Rue Saint-Jacques, once the city’s major financial artery.
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T
he period from 1900 to 1930 saw the advent of an important architectural
phenomenon in the working-class neighbourhoods of the city, as thousands
of duplexes, triplexes, quadruplexes and quintuplexes, often equipped with
outdoor staircases, were built along the rectilinear streets of Montréal. These
two- and three-storey wood-frame buildings were covered either with local
limestone or a seemingly endless variety of brick styles. Even though these
dwellings were mainly designed to be economical, they were often adorned
with decorative cornices or parapets, balconies with Tuscan columns and
beautiful Art Nouveau-inspired stained-glass windows.
18
5
The Victorian homes that border Square Saint-Louis.
3
Montréal is famous for its curved outdoor staircases.
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Travel better,
enjoy more
www.ulyssesguides.com
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ontréal buffs will love this splendid album packed with magnificent colour photos.
Grouped by theme and accompanied by brief but insightful texts, these images bear witness
to the distinctive look and spirit of Québec’s metropolis.
D
iscover or rediscover the different faces of Montréal:
, city of history
Montréal
, city of 100 steeples
Montréal
, city of architecture
Montréal
, city of neighbourhoods
Montréal
Montréal
Montréal
Montréal
Montréal
, city of the arts
, city of seasons
, city of multiculturalism
, city of leisure and festivity
ISBN: 978-289464-843-8
$12.95 CAD
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Montréal in Mind
M