May 17 2012

Today marks the 370th anniversary of the founding of Montreal by Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve. To mark the occasion, I headed down to Place d’Armes late afternoon to get some shots of the Maisonneuve monument that is the main focal point in the center of the square in front of the Basilica Notre-Dame.

The monument was created by the Quebec sculptor Louis-Philippe Hébert and unveiled on July 1 1895 in memory of Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve as part of the 250th anniversary celebrations.

At the top of the monument stands Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve:

Around the base of the monument are 4 sculptures depicting:

Charles le Moyne de Longueuil et de Châteauguay

Lambert Closse

Jeanne Mance

One important update with regard to Jeanne Mance. Today, Mayor Gérald Tremblay announced that Jeanne Mance was to be officially recognized and honored as a co-founder of Montreal along with Maisonneuve. I will now have to go and shoot her own monument that stands outside the Hotel Dieu hospital.

Iroquois Indian

It was good to see that they have turned the water back on for the summer which cascades out of the 4 Mascarons  between each sculpture around the base. You will notice in two of the pictures below a plaque. In fact there are four commemorative plaques that for some reason I always neglect to shoot close ups of. I’m considering making another trip one evening to photograph the monument at night and will make a concerted effort to remember to shoot them next time.

On my way back, I passed through the Place des Festivals where there were various groups of performers entertaining the public, so I took the opportunity to go into street mode and try to improve my street photog skills.

It wasn’t only the Maisonneuve monument that had it’s water turned back on. Another great sight and sign that summer is on its way is that the fountains on the Place des Festivals were back on. I read somewhere that the water spectacle at Place des Festivals is the largest in Canada, but I need to check the facts before I revisit one evening to capture the display with lights.

I was lucky though today to see a group of friends playing in the fountains, so I leave you today with this set of images.

To view images in gallery format, simply click on one of the images below.

Thanks for stopping by. Until next time.

– Martin

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