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Canadian Urbanism Uncovered

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6 comments

  1. Another wonderful juxtaposition.

    It’s 1930 and Montreal is now well into Great Deression. Look at how few cars there are.

    Or people for that matter. This was a busy business area, so I imagine the image was taken on a quiet Sunday morning, or something…?

  2. Ah, the blessed times when proletariat was not motorized…

  3. Oh, wait the date has been changed to 1925…

  4. Yeah..there wasn’t any date on the picture so 1930 was just a random guess..but then, i realise that we saw a church in the back : the St-Andrew church. This one was demolished in 1927.

  5. Remarkably unchanged – I do like the addition of the trees.

    Yes, of course there are too many cars nowadays, but hopefully this will have to change and trams will be brought back, as has been done in many cities.

  6. “Ah, the blessed times when the proletariat was not motorized…”

    …I once read a wonderful description of The Strand in London from the late 19th century about the stench of the “soup” the horses would create in the street and how it would splash up on pedestrians with the passing of a too quick-moving carriage.

    So while we bemoan our automobile and its problems, I’m thankful that our cities are actually a lot cleaner and better smelling than in times past. (And thanks to indoor plumbing and deodorant, the inhabitants as well :)

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