A few more images from my walk around Old Montreal last Tuesday evening.
First, a picture of the Centre d’histoire de Montréal (Montreal History Centre) on Place d’Youville. The building constructed in 1903-1904 was originally a fire station (known as Fire Station N0. 1) from 1904 to 1972. Behind the new name plate above the doors you can still see the inscription “Caserne centrale de pompiers – Central Fire Station” despite the fact it did not contain the headquarters, nor was it the first fire station in Montreal.
Following its closure as a fire station in 1972, in 1983 it was decided to locate the new Centre d’histoire de Montréal in the building. The centre was designed by art historians Raymond Montpetit and Sylvie Dufresne and educator Huguette Dussault.
The centre has a permenant exhibition called Montréal Five Times that transports visitors through the 5 key eras of the city’s history:
- 1535-1759: Contacts
- 1760-1849: Tensions
- 1850-1899: Organization
- 1900-1949: Unions
- 1950-2000: Explosion
In addition to the Montréal Five Times permanent exhibit, the centre also holds regular temporary ehibitions…A new exhibit that will run from November 15 2013 to October 2015 looks like an interesting one to visit: Scandal, Vice, Crime and Morality in Montréal: 1940-1960…With all the current scandal and corruption going on, I think they could have extended it to the present day – I imagine that will be a future exhibit in 50 years time 😉
Centre d’histoire de Montréal
ISO 200 – 10mm – f10 – 8 sec
After taking the above shot, I happened to turn around and noticed the new moon was sitting just above the Édifice Gerald-Godin on rue McGill which houses the Immigration et Communautés Culturelles offices.
New moon on rue McGill
ISO 200 – 116mm – f10 – 2 secs
On my way to Place d’Armes I stopped to take a shot of the courtyard at the Accords winebar which I thought would make a nice image – although may have worked better had the gates been open and people sitting at the tables.
Accords Restaurant on rue Notre-Dame
ISO 200 – 10mm – f10 – 0.8 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)
I’ve not been to Accords but the menu looks great and it’s fun that they suggest unusual wine selections with each menu item (a reflection of the establishment’s name Accords, meaning “pairing”).
I discovered it is co-owned by “Quebec star” Guy A. Lepage (humourist, actor, producer, writer and the TV host of Tout le monde en parle). I added the double quotes, not out of disrespect to Lepage, but as reference to a recent poll by Le Journal de Montréal that found 96% of Quebec Anglo’s had never heard of him…I’m pleased to say I’m in the 4% who do, and even been in the audience of Tout le monde en parle once 😉
Have a great weekend everyone!
Thanks for stopping by. Until next time.
– Martin
Montréal in Pictures
Your virtual guide in and around Montréal