Old ideas can sometimes use new buildings. New ideas must use old buildings.
-Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities
Buildings, parks, public squares, streets and allies make up the physical city around us. However they are more than concrete, glass and steel; they are reflections of ourselves. These spaces take on lives of their own as we live in them, eat in them, work in them, and learn in them. The physical environment of a city changes along with the cultural environment, as new people come adding to the mix. The design of a space reveals to us its past, yet it is the function of this space that will determine its future.
The architecture of Montreal is full of a variety of old gems which have found new life. Urban analyst, Jane Jacobs points out, in her seminal The Death and Life of Great American cities, that, “city areas with flourishing diversity sprout strange and unpredictable uses and peculiar scenes. But this is not a drawback of diversity. This
is the point of it.”
This website is to document some of these strage “sprouts” of diversity within the city of montreal. The photos on this site are to help us see some of the unpredictable turns this city has taken, and also to remind us of things that have not changed at all. For a more detailed explaination visit the FAQ section.
All of the historical pictures for this site come from Montreal’s McCord Museum the contemporary photos I took myself. In the future I hope to open up the site to others who wish to upload photos of the city, both current and dated. I hope as well to get a wider span of history, however for the time being I think the difference of 100 years
was the most dramatic way to show the changing city. In the mean time; enjoy.
-Ossie Michelin
Nov. 19, 2007
