Montage du jour : L’église baptiste Olivet

12 comments

1. Dommage. I think I’ve hated that building on the corner of Guy and Rene-Levesque more than any other structure in the city. Whatever hotel company is there never seems to stick for too long. It was the gateway to the desolateness of the south side of R-L from Guy to Peel in the 80s and 90s. God, architecture can be idiotic. I hate that building!

   (ahem. pre-coffee rant.)

2. Weirdly, I actually like it: it’s a rare example of a trend in hotel/motel architecture of the 50s and 60s that we don’t have a lot of up here. Sort of Jetsons-like.

   I recently returned from Wildwood, NJ where the place is awash with this kind of stuff. That was overkill. But here, this is a little Tomorrowland-like treat.

3. Mid century architecture is so mis-understood and still not respected. That said, with the right hotel operator, (ie: The Standard for example) this could be a hipster/ very chic establishment. I think the problem in the overall area of Guy and R-L is the fact that R-L is lined by parking lots and resembles Beirut in the 1980s.

4. I agree Leila, that hotel is hideous and so cheap looking. I remember working at meetings held there – it is just as shoddy inside.

   Pity, as nowadays the church coul be recycled for some other use if it were no longer wanted as a place of worship.

5. I don’t like the building either.

6. I love it, but I think more could be done to show off the original design. (start by getting rid of those awful draps/blinds!)

7. This is one of my favorite Montreal buildings, and when in town on the weekend for the Spacing Anniversary party I went for a long run down Rene Levesque to see it (and run through hundreds of Habs fans on their way to the Bell Centre). Indeed, it’s misunderstood, likely because it isn’t taken care of the way it should be.

8. The rotunda-thing could also be a great place to dock our flying cars, jet packs and other 21st century accoutrements. You’re not thinking practically, Leila.

9. Yes, if the design of the interiors is done right, in keeping with the same period of the architecture, and the level of service brought up to 4 star, it would be incredible. It too is a real gem of the mid-century. Right now it is a cheap, hotel with a mish-mash of hideous, left over styles mostly from the 1980’s. Of course it is going to be hated. That is the problem: great architecture is often “updated” with different styles both inside and outside and it thus destroys the purity of the look.

10. Funny how the men love it, and the women don’t…am I missing something here?? It’s hideous!

11. Je vais faire s’écrouler ta théorie: je suis un homme et j’ai toujours trouvé cet hôtel atroce.

12. I don’t know why there is always a fondness for old relic buildings that were torn down. Trust me when that church was demolished it was not in a good state…

    as for the hotel it is passable, I pass it every day. That said that area, particularly a bit lower next to the Days Inn and the police station, it stinks. No really it stinks a LOT I don’t know exactly why, but pass by some day, you’ll get a whiff.