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canadian bank of commerce, montreal, picture, st jacques, st james ossie83
5:59 am
St Jacques is one of the oldest streets in Montreal. Sky scrapers began popping up on St Jacques, St James to the English-speaking Montrealers of the time, at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Many banks and financial institutions would open their head offices on this street making it the financial centre of Canada at the time.
The building with the large columns on the left was the main Montreal branch of the Canadian Bank of Commerce, now CIBC. Built between 1907 and 1909, its architecture is very representative of the times, it tried to give the message of solidity. Most of the businessmen getting to work when this picture was taken traveled by street car. In the recent picture you can see that the main method of transportation to and from this sector of the city is now by car.
Source: The McCord Museum
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des seigneurs, Historic, little burgundy, montreal, notre dame ossie83
6:01 pm
The history of this street corner in the burough of Little Burgundy is one of boom, bust and a slow recovery. During the second half of the the 19th Century this street would be transformed its residential, and even religious buildings, to give way for “progress” as Notre Dame would becoming one of Montreal’s leading commercial streets. Buildings became more ornate to represent their new commercial status.
In the 20th Century this neighbourhood would see some hard times. The economy suffered and Little Burgundy became infamous as a center of crime. This would continue until the Lachine Canal closed to commercial shipping, and the neighbourhood’s industrial and commercial past would give way to condos, posh shops and other forms of gentrification.
Little Burgundy now dually takes on both aspects of its past. Side by side elaborate condos and government assisted housing, prestigious antique shops line Notre Dame yet empty lots and dilapidated builds are not hard to come by.
Source: The McCord Museum and from personal and anecdotal experience (see Host it All Began in the blog section).
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1896, 2007, architecture, dominion square, Historic, motnreal ossie83
5:24 pm
During the Victorian Era public squares began popping up all throughout the Commonwealth. Dominion Square was Montreal’s most prestigious public upon its construction, it was a place to be visited by distinguished visitors. The square was designed as a place to relax in the shade and admire Montreal’s burgeoning skyline. It was built in one of the “poshest” neighbourhoods of Montreal, even snagging the Sun Life Tower which was the tallest building in the British Empire at the time. By 1895 Dominion Square began to become the heart of the new downtown sector.
Dominion Square still remains flanked by many prestigious buildings, both the new and the old. Although the square itself seems all but forgotten by Montrealers except for memorial services held there every Remembrance Day. At times the square seems poorly maintained, littered with garbage, unshoveled paths and in the summer large spots bare ground where the grass has eroded away.
Source: The McCord Museum and personal experience.
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ossie83
6:22 am
Whoops! I got the date backwards on these pictures, too late to fix it now!
Not only did Montreal’s port make it an important transportation hub but it was also a vital rail junction. Both the Grand Trunk Railway, serving Quebec and Ontario, and the Canadian Pacific Railway established their headquarters in Montreal. Along with the corporate brass came their main rolling-stock manufacturing and maintenance shops.
Today the main train station has moved further down the block and passengers are serviced by Via Rail. The old CPR Windsor Station is still connected underground to the new station but is not used by trains at the moment. Heritage Canada has named the CPR station as a national historic site. Recently the CPR has expressed interest in selling the old station, although it may be tedious due to its historic stature.
Source: The McCord Musuem and I interviewed the CPR and Heritage Canada this summer while working as a researcher for CTV Montreal when the CPR announced they wanted to sell the building.
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architecture, Historic, montreal, musee des beaux arts ossie83
3:48 am
Montreal has a tradition of promoting cultural institutions, much of this funding comes from philanthropic donations from individuals and organizations. This was the case in 1912 when the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts was built and is largely the case today. An art association was formed in 1860 to organize the growing number of Montreal art exhibitions. This resulted in the establishment of a gallery in Phillips square in 1877. By 1912 the gallery spaces were quickly filling, a larger art gallery (seen above) was built to house all of the artwork. The construction of the museum was funded entirely through private donations.
In 1991 the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts opened another building facing the original 1912 structure on the South side of Sherbrooke . The architect Moshe Safdie (designer of the National Gallery of Canada and the Musée de la Civilisation in Ottawa and Hull) wanted to give the new building a monumental appearance that would match the original museum, and at the same time show a completely different concept for the new structure.
Source: the McCord Museum and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
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ossie83
3:28 am
Montreal was flourishing economically at the beginning of the 20th Century. Banking and industry leaders flocked to Montreal. The shift of smaller enterprises to larger corporations like Montreal Heat, Light and Power, Bell Telephone, and Dominion Textile lead Montreal to be Canada’s undisputed economic capital of the time.
The building you see is of Montreal’s first Stock Exchange. In 1969 the stock exchange was converted to the Centaur Theatre. The Centaur went on to become one of Canada’s lead theatre companies, producing such classic Montreal plays as David Fennario’s Balconville.
Source: The McCord Museum and the Centaur Theatre
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daniel mcallister, Historic, montreal, port, s.s. durham city ossie83
2:21 am
Montreal’s port was once the busiest in Canada, acting as a transportation hub between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic. Every boat traveling the St Lawrence Seaway had to pass through Montreal. In 1850 the Harbour Board expanded the facilities at the port by digging a channel between Quebec City and Montreal. Once finished larger ocean-going ships could safely travel to Montreal.
In the picture on the right you can see a typical scene of the Montreal port at the time as the S.S. Durham City unloads its freight. On the left you see what has become of the old shipyards. The Daniel McAllester sits alone, floating next to the wharf season by season. If you look closely you can see branches from plants that have took root in the tires of the boats stern. (Not shown in this photo is the upscale tourist restaurant that is next to the boat).
Source: The McCord Museum
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1922, 2007, Bell Telephone, Historic ossie83
1:33 am
Bell Telephone moved their offices to Montreal in 1929, just a few months before the great depression. As Bell bought up local telephone companies in Quebec and Ontario the number of employees working in its headquarters swelled to 2000 people. When originally constructed the Bell Telephone building was the second tallest in the city (next to the Sun Life Building). Now the stone structure is dwarfed by glass and steel sky scrapers.
(Note here in this picture is an annex built on to the building, I chose this angle of the building to show the much newer larger Telus Tower looming behind the old stone building.)
Source: The McCord Museum
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1922, 2007, Historical, Phillips Square ossie83
1:24 am
At first when Phillips Square was built, between 1842 and 1844, it was surrounded by houses. Over time the square attracted major businesses and companies such as Birks jewelers, Morgan’s department store and the Hudson’s Bay Company. Several hundred people would come to work in these new establishments that were changing the economy of Montreal forever. Although the prestige that it once had has faded, today, Phillips Square remains an important economic center in Montreal
Source: McCord Museum
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1905, 2006, Historic, St Laurent, Ste Catherine ossie83
1:10 am
Formerly the corner of St Lawrence and St Catherine, this corner remains one of the city’s the busiest, it is also one of the most (in)famous. Worlds collide as people from all walks of life merge on two of the city’s most vital streets. This corner has seen economic ups and downs throughout the years. Although the buildings and even the names have changed the hustle and bustle of this corner remains.
Source: McCord Museum
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