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June 30, 2006
Hello from Montreal: Exploring Montreal's
History with the Old Montreal Walking Tour
Every time I go to a new city, the spirit of adventure and discovery
heightens my energy level and 6:10 am I was already awake. I read
my guidebook for a while and then doze off again, only to be awakened
by a major thunderstorm that drenched the city with a downpour.
So I got up and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and by 9:30 or so
things had calmed down again, just in time for my explorations of
the city. The Old Montreal Ghost
Tour last night had already given me a bit of an overview of
the old historic centre of Montreal and introduced me to some interesting
characters.
Five minutes from my hotel is the Place d’Armes, one of Montreal’s
most famous squares. The old part of the city was still quiet, and
I enjoyed a peacefull stroll through the cobble-stoned streets.
I headed into one of Montreal’s Tourist Information Office,
located right at the southwest corner of Rue Notre Dame and Place
Jacques Cartier to stock up on maps and ask various questions of
the helpful staff.
Old Montreal in the morning has such a European feel to it, with
the little cafés just setting up shop and local residents
getting ready to walk to work. The calm relaxed atmosphere contrasts
quite sharply with the usual frenetic hustle and bustle that we
are so used to in our North American metropolitan cities.
Gothic Revival splendour at the Basilica of Notre Dame
After a relaxing walk that allowed me to admire the architecture
and the narrow streets and alleyways I returned to Place d’Armes
where my Old Montreal Walking Tour, provided by licensed tour guides
from Guidatour,
would be starting at 11:00 am. The meeting place was just outside
the Notre-Dame Cathedral and our two tour leaders were already waiting.
Our English-speaking group would be handled by Louis while the French-speaking
group was entrusted to another guide, Bruno.
Eleven of us tourists congregated around Louis and in his charming
French accented yet perfect English he started to educate us about
the history and architecture of Old Montreal, adding a dose of subtle
humour. Naturally our tour started with the Basilica of Notre Dame,
probably Montreal’s most visited building. Louis took us inside
the basilica and we discovered that the C$15 admission ticket for
the walking tour actually covers the $4 that the Basilica charges
for admission.
The Basilica of Notre Dame is a magnificent Gothic revival church,
designed ironically by the Protestant Irish-American architect James
O’Donnell who had also designed churches in New York City,
and built between 1824 and 1829. In addition to a stunning Gothic
revival exterior, Notre Dame features a dramatic interior, with
a deep blue ceiling that is decorated with golden stars. It is one
of the most unusual churches I have seen and its visual impact is
stunning.
The amazing interior of the Basilica
Louis explained to us that for about Can$2000 you can get married
in this church, but obviously there is a waiting list of at least
two years. Celebrities like Quebecois singer Celine Dion and hockey
great Mario Lemieux got married here. Notre-Dame Basilica was also
the location of former prime minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau’s
funeral, Canada's most well-known prime minister. Louis then took
us through the side chapel out into the wedding chapel, officially
called “La Chapelle Notre-Dame du Sacré-Coeur”
which unfortunately was seriously damaged in a fire in 1978. Much
of the woodwork has been reconstructed in a more modern style, but
the chapel is still an impressive space.
The Wedding Chapel
After our first introduction to Montreal architecture we walked
westwards just a few steps on Rue Notre-Dame and had a look at Montreal’s
oldest building: the Old Seminary or “Vieux Séminaire
Saint-Sulpice”. Built in 1683 by Sulpician priests, this building
used to be a manor from which the priests managed their vast land
holdings. During the early years of Montreal’s history, the
town’s citizens were exposed to frequent attacks by the Iroquois,
and the Old Seminary represented a refuge in a place that was still
mostly wilderness. The characteristic public clock was installed
in 1701 and is among the oldest such timekeepers in all of North
America.
We then stopped to admire Place d’Armes, right in front of
the Basilica, so called because it used to be a location for military
manoeuvres as well as for religious processions. Place d’Armes
is a veritable collection of architectural history. The New York
Insurance building, dating back to 1888, was the first building
to install the newly invented elevator, at the time making it the
highest building in all of Montreal. The Hotel Place d’Armes
just north, originally five stories high, actually had three stories
added once the building was retrofitted with an elevator.
Place d'Armes with the New York Insurance Building
The Aldred Building is a fine example of Art Deco skyscraper architecture
and for many years it was the highest building in Montreal. Louis
quite appropriately referred to the stepped back skysraper design
as the wedding cake architectural style. The centre of Place d’Armes
is watched over by a statue of Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maissoneuve,
who founded Montreal in 1642.
The north end of Place d’Armes holds another architectural
marvel: the Bank of Montreal building. Founded in 1817 as the first
bank in Canada, the Bank of Montreal decided to build an impressive
headquarters in 1847 and created a neoclassical exterior modeled
after the Roman Pantheon. The interior was completely redesigned
in 1904 to 1905 by the famous New York architectural firm of McKim,
Mead and White with a magnificent banking hall modeled after a Roman
basilica.
Frieze on the Bank of Montreal Building
Heading west of St. James Street (or rue St-Jacques), Louis explained
that this used to be Canada’s business centre during the 19th
century. Many Canadian banks had their headquarters here until they
were moved into downtown Montreal or later to Toronto. Railway and
shipping companies also had their head offices here, many of them
founded by immigrants from Scotland.
The architectural mix on rue St-Jacques is impressive and Louis
pointed out one example that has recently been renovated and reincarnated
as the extremely upscale St. James Hotel. This trendy boutique hotel
offers a penthouse suite that can be rented for around $5000 a night
(in low season) and it is a favourite hangout of celebrities. To
mention just one example, Madonna just stayed at the St. James recently
at the end of June during her Montreal concert stop.
The recently restored boutique hotel St. James
Another truly impressive architectural jewel came into view: the
former head office of the Royal Bank, whose construction began in
1928 according to designs by famous New York skyscrapers experts
York and Sawyer. For a long time this building was the largest in
the British Empire. The design is influenced by a Florentine palazzo
and the impressive high ceilings of the Great Hall feature the coats
of arms of eight of Canada’s ten provinces.
Unfortunately no photography was allowed in either the Bank of
Montreal or the Royal Bank buildings, but they are astounding examples
of architectural styles of different eras. Louis then took us through
the narrow streets of Old Montreal towards the city’s waterfront
and the birthplace of the city. As a major port town and shipping
centre, many of the buildings in Old Montreal were warehouse buildings
featuring large windows to let in a lot of natural daylight. This
was to reduce the risk of fire that would have been caused by artificial
lighting at the time, putting at risk the precious cargo that these
buildings were storing.
Old Montreal on a gorgeous day
I kept asking Louis numerous questions about the architecture and
social history of Montreal. His knowledge of architecture was impressive,
and to compare architectural styles, he was referencing numerous
other well-known buildings in other cities such as New York City,
Toronto, Boston and Chicago. He mentioned that a lot of historic
buildings were torn down in Montreal during the 1960s as in so many
other North American cities, but fortunately the architectural preservation
movement gained strength and today all of Old Montreal is protected.
Old Montreal languished for a number of decades since most of the
action had moved downtown, but in the last fourty years Vieux Montréal
has experienced a revival that started with the major international
event of Expo 67. Today, many of these former warehouse buildings
have been converted into upscale condos and Louis informed me that
even a small studio apartment will probably fetch a price tag of
at least half a million dollars. Old Montreal has made a successful
transition from a former commercial district to a vibrant tourism,
entertainment and residential area.
Close to the waterfront we arrived at Place d’Youville, an
elongated public space that is located on the former riverbed of
the Rivière Saint-Pierre that was canalized in the 1830s
and eventually covered over and dried out completely. The History
Centre of Montreal is a former fire station and a rare example of
Flemish architecture in Quebec.
Montreal's History Museum, a former fire hall
Just a few steps east is Montreal’s Museum of Archeology
and History at Pointe-à-Callière. It is very rare
to know exactly where a city was founded, but Montrealers know exactly
where their city first came into being: on a narrow strip of land
between the St. Lawrence and the Saint-Pierre River. Right there
the first settlers built Fort Ville-Marie, using earth and wooden
posts. As a matter of fact, on May 17, 1642, Father Vimont held
a mass celebrating the founding of Montréal, attended by
Sieur de Maisonneuve, Jeanne Mance and some of the other founding
colonists.
Today, the museum consists of six buildings and introduces visitors
to the city’s history in the most innovative ways. There is
even an archeological dig here, unearthing further knowledge about
the city’s history. Various festivals including a multicultural
festival and a historic market weekend are also held a Pointe-à-Callière.
Pointe-à-Callière, Montreal's Museum of History and
Archeology
Our route then took us back up to Notre Dame Street. The former
Palais de Justice, built between 1849 and 1856, is a fine example
of Canadian neoclassicism. Today the building houses the Quebec
Court of Appeal. Across the street is the Ernst Cormier Building,
opened in 1926 and named after the famous architect that also designed
the main pavillon of the Université de Montreal as well as
the doors of the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.
Our tour through Old Montreal appropriately came to an end at Place
Jacques-Cartier, the gently sloping grandest public space of Old
Montreal. Numerous restaurants with outdoor terraces line both sides
of the square and the centre holds a variety of wooden stalls selling
flowers, artwork and souvenirs. The north end of the square is overlooked
by a statue of Admiral Horatio Nelson, who curiously faces away
from Montreal’s port area. The statue is a testimony to the
power of the merchants of British descent who wished to commemorate
the British defeat of the French and Spanish fleet in the Battle
of Trafalgar.
Our guide Louis in front of Montreal's City Hall
The northeast end of Place Jacques Cartier is the location of Montreal’s
City Hall, built in the Second Empire Style and opened in 1878.
A fire destroyed the roof and the interior of the building in 1922
and the roof was reconstructed in 1926 along the lines of the city
hall in Tours, France. Today, Montreal’s City Hall is still
located in this historic building.
Place Jacques-Cartier was a fitting place to end our tour of Old
Montreal and everyone in the crowd thanked Louis profusely for sharing
his local insight and knowledge. By this time it was almost 1 pm,
and my stomach was telling me what it was time for: lunch at the
Café du Chateau.
Useful books about travel to Montreal:
Related articles:
Hello from Montreal 2006 - My 4-day
explorations of Montreal
Hello from Montreal: An interesting
train ride and first impressions
Hello from Montreal: Getting
the lay of the land in a driving tour
Hello from Montreal: Dinner and a
little jazz at Modavie
Hello from Montreal: Reliving
history with the Old Montreal Ghost Tour
Hello from Montreal: Architectural
discoveries in the Old Montreal Walking Tour
Hello from Montreal: Exploring
the Chateau Ramezay during a torrential downpour
Hello from Montreal:
Mexican delights at La Iguana & a peak at the Jazz Festival
Hello from Montreal: A guided bicycle
tour to explore Montreal's neighbourhoods
Hello from Montreal:
Biking on the Lachine Canal - Industrial history turned into a recreational
opportunity
Hello from Montreal: A chat with
André Giroux about Bicycling in Montreal
Hello from Montreal: Savouring Italian
cuisine at Galiano's and Canada Day Celebrations
Hello from Montreal:
Exploring the Olympic Stadium, the Botanical Garden & Insectarium
and outdoor action at the Jean Talon Market
Hello from Montreal: A Peruvian immigrant
success story at Restaurant Mañana
Hello from Montreal: Friendly
neighbourhood encounters on Square St. Louis
Hello from Montreal: Exploring
the Casino de Montreal
Hello from Montreal: Gourmet
dining at Nuances and amazing fireworks at La Ronde
Hello from Montreal: A final walk
to discover amazing architectural beauties
Helpful links for travel to Montreal:
Tourisme
Montreal - Montreal's official tourism information office
Quebec Tourism
- Official tourism website for Quebec
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