Montreal In Pictures

October 29 2012

Following my recent visit to Mount Royal when I noticed the Cross had been given a face lift (or rather a base lift), I returned today to get some more shots.

Until the recent changes were made, the base of the cross had been closed off to the public with a tall fence surrounding the perimeter. Although some people obviously used to find their way over, through or under the fence to party below the cross, the majority of visitors only had a partial view of the 98 foot tall metal landmark and icon of Montreal.

In addition to removing the fence, the City has installed a new foundation and added some decorative paneling to the base – it now reminds me a bit of a mini Eiffel Tower 😉

The metal cross was originally erected in 1924 to commemorate January 6, 1643, when Maisonneuve, Montréal’s founder, kept his promise to carry a wooden cross to the summit of Mount Royal if the colony survived flooding.

When lit at night, the cross can be seen from 80km away, which reminds me, I still need to get a close up shot of the cross at night.

The Renovated Mount Royal Cross
ISO 100 – 18mm – f19 – 50 sec

The Renovated Mount Royal Cross
ISO 100 – 18mm – f22 – 45 sec

The Renovated Mount Royal Cross
ISO 100 – 10mm – f4.5 1/250 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

The Renovated Mount Royal Cross
ISO 100 – 13mm – f5.6 – 1/250 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

The Renovated Mount Royal Cross
ISO 100 – 10mm – f5.6 – 1/250 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

The Renovated Mount Royal Cross cladding
ISO 100 – 28mm – f4 – 1/90 sec

The Renovated Mount Royal Cross from below
ISO 100 – 10mm – f5.6 – 1/8 sec

I think the changes will be very welcome to those who make the trip to see the cross close up – It was a good decision to carry out the work in my opinion, although surprised I hadn’t read about it anywhere (but maybe I just missed the announcement).

On the way down I stopped to grab a few final autumn shots for 2012 on Mount Royal. I’ve been reporting for the last few days that Autumn was quickly coming to an end, I think the side swipe that hurricane Sandy is forecast to land will certainly bring an end to what leaves were remaining on trees. Wishing all in the path of the storm a safe week ahead!