Montreal In Pictures

Feb 24 2012

I’ll be the first to admit, today’s photos are nothing to write home about, but I’ve got a new mission!

At a press conference yesterday, Heritage Montreal unveiled a list of 10 endangered heritage sites in Montreal together with a list of sites they have put on a watch list. I thought I should aim to get pictures of the buildings listed before they are probably lost forever.

I’ve listed the sites highlighted by Heritage Montreal at the end of the post, but for today I selected the Rodier Building on Notre-Dame street and the Dow Planetarium on Saint Jacques street. I plan to try and cover many others on the list in the near future.

First the Rodier Building. This triangular building is considered by some to be Montreal’s miniature version of New York’s Flatiron.

The Rodier Building – rue Notre-Dame

The Rodier Building was built in 1875 by Charles Séraphin Rodier Jr. who was the nephew of Charles-Séraphin Rodier, the mayor of Montreal from 1858-1862.

Most recently, the Rodier Building was occupied by the retailer Baron Sports which closed its doors in late 2010 and now sits vacant awaiting its fate in the Bonaventure Expressway redevelopment plan.

The Rodier Building – rue Notre-Dame

Just a few steps away to the east is the Dow Planetarium.

Dow Planetarium

The Planetarium was inaugurated on April 1, 1966 by Montreal’s mayor Jean Drapeau. The Planetarium was conceived by Dr. Pierre Gendron, professor of chemistry and founding Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Ottawa and an avid amateur astronomer. At the time, Dr. Gendron was also president of the board of directors of Dow Breweries. It was through his impetus that Dow Breweries decided to endow Montréal with a world class planetarium.

The Planetarium were developed by the architectural firm of David-Barott-Boulva. Although not visible from street level, the dome in the center of the building resembles Saturn surrounded by its rings.

Front entrance of the Dow Planetarium

Side view of the Dow Planetarium

Rear view of the Dow Planetarium

In Ocober 2011, the Planetarium closed its doors after 45 years. Star gazers though will have a new world class Planetarium which is currently under construction next to the Olympic Stadium. The Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium is due to open in the spring, 2013.

I was hoping that the projector would still be at the Dow and that I could gain access to take some shots of it – I thought it would make a great HDR subject. Unfortunately I was informed it had been dismantled in October last year and is currently in storage. It will however be on display at the new Planetarium, so I may still manage to get my shot.

Standing guard at the front of the Dow building is a monument to Nicolaus Copernicus, inaugurated as part of Exo ’67 and installed at its present location in Chaboillez Square in 1975. The original sculpture was cast in 1822 by Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844) and erected in downtown Warsaw in 1830. The Montreal replica was presented by the Polish-Canadian community in celebration of the Canadian Confederation Centennial and the Millenium of Christian Poland.

Monument to Polish astronomer Nicholas Copernicus at the Dow Planetarium

I’m not sure if the armillary sphere that Copernicus should be holding in his left hand has been removed or stolen (hopefully the former) and if plans are to relocate the monument to the new Planetarium.

Just a few meters away is an equatorial sundial by Dutch artist Herman J. van der Heide.

Equatorial sundial sculpture by Herman J. van der Heide

Although not on the list of endangered buildings, I also shot this old building next to the railway line on rue Ottawa and fairly certain it will not be a survivor of the Bonaventure Expressway redevelopment.

Derelict building on rue Ottawa

Finally for today, just across the street from the Dow is the ETS (École de technologie supérieure). Outside the main entrance is this modern sculpture – unfortunately I don’t know the name of the work or artist.

Sculpture outside the ETS

As I mentioned at the start, here is the complete list of endangered buildings and sites flagged by Montreal Heritage:

Viger Square, between Viger, Berri, St. Antoine and St. Denis Sts (see recent post)
Rodier Building, 32 Notre-Dame St. W
Cadieux Forge, 815 St. Paul St
St. Laurent/Monument National City Block, 1190-1220 St. Laurent Blvd
Griffintown Horse Palace, Ottawa St. between Eleanor and Murray Sts
Redpath House, 457 rue du Musée
Bonheur d’Occasion Workers’ Houses, corner of St. Ambroise and St. Augustin Sts
Empress Theatre, 5560 Sherbrooke St. W
Très-Saint-Nom-de-Jésus Church, 1465 Desjardins St.
Hôpital Miséricorde, 970 René-Lévesque Blvd. E