Superbe. Mais qu’est-il arrivé au massif edifice qui n’est plus?
The area appears to have been much more vibrant than today. Nowadays, St-Jacques is pretty much an expressway with little foot traffic
C’était l’hôtel Queen, démolie dans les années 1990 sous l’ère Doré, après avoir été longtemps abandonnée.
Il fut démoli en 1988.
It was a very charming streetscape; sadly today it is merely part of the back alley of the downtown core, no longer part of it. Everything south of St Antoine was treated as a poor cousin to rest of downtown.
Indeed. Demolishing the Queen was a great mistake. Nowadays, if it were not refurbished as a hotel, it could have made great apartments for those who can pay.
Sadly, it seems to be nothing but a parking lot, behind the few trees one sees in the pic. The new condo buildings are west of there.
The Federal building to the right is not without interest, though there again, all of the interiors have been demolished. (I taught second-languages there a few years back).
Of course not all new building is ugly or tacky – some of the towers in the background look very nice indeed – but it is such a pity to destroy viable neighbourhoods.
And the Queen has pretty much a classic “Parisian” density – hard to improve upon that. I suspect its builders knew full well they were building on a hill and had to take the slope and terrain into account.
Other than the obvious more modern extension to the north (up the hill), the hotel also gained a couple of storeys, and lost its exquisite decoration on top in the process.
You can click on full screen for a much more detailed photo. Lovely.
Snif, snif.
It is a shame – in this age of the chic boutique hotel, The Queen’s would have made a brilliant one! But let’s face it, for 25 years or so, Montreal lost some gems, including the Windsor – either to demo or office conversions.
There certainly Once WERE several interesting Buildings South of CPR Windsor Station.
Now, as another Writer has pointed out, this Area could well be Called the “back alley of the downtown core, no longer part of it. Everything south of St Antoine was treated as a poor cousin to rest of downtown”.
CNR’s Bonaventure Station, another Transportation Hub, Montreal and Southern Counties to St. Lambert and Granby.
Montreal Harbour and the Lachine Canal once Hosted PASSENGER Steamers to Ports Up and Downriver and Ocean Liners that Crossed the Seas.
It was a Big Event to watch Family leaving on an Atlantic Liner for Overseas, and, Yes, there were those Paper Streamers from Ship to Shore, a ‘Last Link’ as in the Now-Old Movies.
Other Local Boats left the Harbour via the Lachine Canal to ‘Shoot the Lachine Rapids’ back down to Montreal Harbour.
This explains why the Victoria Bridge Rises to it’s Centre and the Through Trusses on Pont Mercier and the CPR Bridge at LaSalle/Highland.
The Downstream Portion of Pont Mercier was Completed in 1961.
The Large Building to the Right in the Colour Photo Above was once the Post Office, Close By to both CN and CP when Surface Mail went by Rail.
Once the Hub of Old Montreal.
Very Evident in the Old Photo are the Cobble Stones in the Street before Asphalt Covered All.
They Provided Traction for Horses’ Shoes and could easily be Removed so the Tramways could Change Ties and Rail by Man Power without Digging Up the Whole Street.
But, the Stones provided a Rough Ride for Spoked-Wheeled Wagons and Solid-Rubber-Tired Chain Drive Trucks.
They were also the Sh**ts Riding a Bicycle. No Skate Boards, yet!
Both Cobble Stones, polished smooth, and Streetcar Tracks were Dynamite in Wet Weather, especially on a Bike.
As a Child, I was told, but, never Confirmed, the Cobble Stones were Hand Cut by Prisoners at Bordeaux and St. Vincent de Paul, BOTH Facilites having Quarries years ago.
St. Vincent de Paul had a Narrow-Gauge Railway from the Prison North to it’s Quarry, about a 1/2 Mile North, that lasted into the 1950s.
Many years ago there were Quarries on St. Denis and Stone and Gravel were Hauled by Montreal Tramways Motor Dump Flats to Commercial and Residential Clients by Rail.
There once was another Quarry, Water Filled, where Kids used to Swim, in Pointe Claire/Beaconsfield just West of Avenue Cartier and South of then 2-17 behind the Lumber Yard, now Gone, where the Stone Blocks for the Piers of Pont Victoria were Cut in the 1850s.
Quarry Filled in in 1960s and Beaconsfield Golf Course Situated there today.
9 comments
Superbe. Mais qu’est-il arrivé au massif edifice qui n’est plus?
The area appears to have been much more vibrant than today. Nowadays, St-Jacques is pretty much an expressway with little foot traffic
C’était l’hôtel Queen, démolie dans les années 1990 sous l’ère Doré, après avoir été longtemps abandonnée.
Il fut démoli en 1988.
It was a very charming streetscape; sadly today it is merely part of the back alley of the downtown core, no longer part of it. Everything south of St Antoine was treated as a poor cousin to rest of downtown.
Indeed. Demolishing the Queen was a great mistake. Nowadays, if it were not refurbished as a hotel, it could have made great apartments for those who can pay.
Spacing Montréal has a thread not long ago on the Queen: http://tinyurl.com/5jease
Sadly, it seems to be nothing but a parking lot, behind the few trees one sees in the pic. The new condo buildings are west of there.
The Federal building to the right is not without interest, though there again, all of the interiors have been demolished. (I taught second-languages there a few years back).
Of course not all new building is ugly or tacky – some of the towers in the background look very nice indeed – but it is such a pity to destroy viable neighbourhoods.
And the Queen has pretty much a classic “Parisian” density – hard to improve upon that. I suspect its builders knew full well they were building on a hill and had to take the slope and terrain into account.
I found a beautiful Notman photo of the original Queen’s Hotel at the McCord Museum site:
http://www.musee-mccord.qc.ca/en/collection/artifacts/VIEW-2701§ion=196
Other than the obvious more modern extension to the north (up the hill), the hotel also gained a couple of storeys, and lost its exquisite decoration on top in the process.
You can click on full screen for a much more detailed photo. Lovely.
Snif, snif.
It is a shame – in this age of the chic boutique hotel, The Queen’s would have made a brilliant one! But let’s face it, for 25 years or so, Montreal lost some gems, including the Windsor – either to demo or office conversions.
There certainly Once WERE several interesting Buildings South of CPR Windsor Station.
Now, as another Writer has pointed out, this Area could well be Called the “back alley of the downtown core, no longer part of it. Everything south of St Antoine was treated as a poor cousin to rest of downtown”.
CNR’s Bonaventure Station, another Transportation Hub, Montreal and Southern Counties to St. Lambert and Granby.
Montreal Harbour and the Lachine Canal once Hosted PASSENGER Steamers to Ports Up and Downriver and Ocean Liners that Crossed the Seas.
It was a Big Event to watch Family leaving on an Atlantic Liner for Overseas, and, Yes, there were those Paper Streamers from Ship to Shore, a ‘Last Link’ as in the Now-Old Movies.
Other Local Boats left the Harbour via the Lachine Canal to ‘Shoot the Lachine Rapids’ back down to Montreal Harbour.
This explains why the Victoria Bridge Rises to it’s Centre and the Through Trusses on Pont Mercier and the CPR Bridge at LaSalle/Highland.
The Downstream Portion of Pont Mercier was Completed in 1961.
The Large Building to the Right in the Colour Photo Above was once the Post Office, Close By to both CN and CP when Surface Mail went by Rail.
Once the Hub of Old Montreal.
Very Evident in the Old Photo are the Cobble Stones in the Street before Asphalt Covered All.
They Provided Traction for Horses’ Shoes and could easily be Removed so the Tramways could Change Ties and Rail by Man Power without Digging Up the Whole Street.
But, the Stones provided a Rough Ride for Spoked-Wheeled Wagons and Solid-Rubber-Tired Chain Drive Trucks.
They were also the Sh**ts Riding a Bicycle. No Skate Boards, yet!
Both Cobble Stones, polished smooth, and Streetcar Tracks were Dynamite in Wet Weather, especially on a Bike.
As a Child, I was told, but, never Confirmed, the Cobble Stones were Hand Cut by Prisoners at Bordeaux and St. Vincent de Paul, BOTH Facilites having Quarries years ago.
St. Vincent de Paul had a Narrow-Gauge Railway from the Prison North to it’s Quarry, about a 1/2 Mile North, that lasted into the 1950s.
Many years ago there were Quarries on St. Denis and Stone and Gravel were Hauled by Montreal Tramways Motor Dump Flats to Commercial and Residential Clients by Rail.
There once was another Quarry, Water Filled, where Kids used to Swim, in Pointe Claire/Beaconsfield just West of Avenue Cartier and South of then 2-17 behind the Lumber Yard, now Gone, where the Stone Blocks for the Piers of Pont Victoria were Cut in the 1850s.
Quarry Filled in in 1960s and Beaconsfield Golf Course Situated there today.