Montreal In Pictures

March 26 2012

Today I decided to head down the old port specifically to get some shots of the iconic Silo no 5 grain elevator.

Before reaching the grain elevator however, I took the following shot of a couple of ships that seem to be permanently moored alongside Quai Alexandra at the far west side of the old port.

Ships in the old port

A couple of other images I shot prior to shooting the silo no 5 was down rue Mill that runs alongside the Farine Five Roses building and beneath the Bonaventure Expressway.

Farine Five Roses grain silo arch

The Farine Five Roses building was built in 1946 for Ogilvie Flour Mill in 1946. The original neon was Ogilvie Flour Mill and was changed in 1954 to Farine Five Roses Flour. The French language Bill 101 forced the withdrawal of the word Flour from the sign and so reads Farine Five Roses .

Farine Five Roses sign

Farine Five Roses Grain silo and building

Flood gate from the Lachine Canal

Okay, onto the main subject of this post – Silo no 5.

Silo no 5 was designed and built by John S. Metcalfe between 1903 and 1906, with later additions being made in 1913, 1924 and 1958.

Despite being abandoned since 1996 and in a state of disrepair, Silo no 5 on Pointe-du-Moulin pier is a well known landmark in the old port of Montreal. The pier on which the silo stands was built in the 1840s with the excavated dirt from the widening of the Lachine Canal.

On November 1st, 2010, Canada Lands Company (CLC) acquired the site of the Pointe-du-Moulin from the Montreal Port Authority and is currently reviewing possible uses for the site. A recent idea put forward is the Siloctet Rehab Montreal project that plans to convert annexe B1 to an energy efficient data center consisting of 112,000 servers. Other suggestions include touristic attractions, while many would prefer to see it demolished entirely.

Silo no 5 in the old port

Silo no 5

Silo no 5 from rue Mill

Silo no 5

Last year Heritage Montreal ran guided tours inside the Silo. Unfortunately I missed that opportunity but hoping they will repeat again this summer – I have my name on a waiting list just in case.

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