Photo du jour : Démolition jour 1

6 comments

1. where is that?

2. Sad but not unexpected as Montreal has a history of neglecting landmarks. To view more, you can visit my blog.

3. I am hoping that many people will keep a watch on the demolition of the church. The direction of the hospital has told journalists that the stained glass windows, boarded up finally last year for protection from further vandalism, have been ‘distributed to various religious groups in the city’. None such are known to have received such donations. Also, at various times in the past, other uses for the windows have been given. When the walls are opened, the most recent assertion can be verified. Even damaged windows are valuable. Heck, when the windows were vandalized, the shards on the floor should have been picked up so that the windows could be repaired. All art is important. The best use for the windows would be incorporation into the public spaces in the new hospita even if they are damagedl. Thanks to Guillaume for his pictures. Pictures that I took later in the day show a pile of shattered wood piled against the church in what can only be styled as looking like they are being prepared for lighting up. That worries me.

4. I have been satisfied that the windows, or what remained of them have been removed. Four which were relatively undamaged have been installed in a church on boulevard de l’Acadie, others, in various states of damage are stored there. A further four windows have been sent to the Crafts Museum on St Croix in Ville St-Laurent. I have been invited to see all of them within the week. I am sorry for having doubted the authorities who said that they had been removed from the church.

5. It’s such a shame the way our construction economy is structure. There is still a ton of high quality material in that building that could be re-used, hell possibly even sold as a high-end product. I know a guy whose entire job is sourcing out old stone in China and selling it to high-end housing developments for their kitchen counters. There are some big pieces of timber and solid, straight wood that you can’t buy anymore inside those walls. Great stuff that could be sanded down and made into beautiful flooring or walls. Instead, it’s all just broken into rubble and sent to a landfill (I assume, unless perhaps it gets separated somewhere and some of it recycled or burnt for fuel). Such a wasteful society we live in.

6. Bonne nouvelle, le plus d’églises (synagogues et mosquées incluses) on va détruire, le mieux l’humanité va se porter. Pourquoi ne pas construire une bibliothèque sur les lieux de l’ancienne église?