If you were around before the 1970s, you might still remember the Mountain Street viaduct, which spanned the Canadian National tracks between St. Jacques and Notre Dame. These photos, taken around 1930 and scanned from the city archives by Coolopolis’ Kristian Gravenor, show a particularly lively and substantial part of the city. It’s now unrecognizable, the victim of highway construction, road widening and urban renewal. Nothing you see here remains today.
I still don’t know the exact year of the viaduct’s demolition. Can anyone help me out?
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I moved to Montreal in summer 1972 and remember the viaduct being demolished after that – though I think the new road was open already.
It was there into the 1980s, because punks used to cross the viaduct to get down to the Salvation Army store to look for oddments of vintage clothing. I’m guessing 1985, because I wasn’t taking photos before 1986 and I have no photos of it.
Maybe I can’t read, but how do you know they are scanned from the city archives? There doesn’t appear to be a credit on the coolopolis site for these photos – and a lot of others.
Does the city archives know that photos from their collection are being shown, uncredited?
Could have sworn I had posted here. Anyway, there was also a viaduct on Guy street and they both lasted until 88-89. Was very weird to see the huge space with no tracks and the viaducts gone. Was a massive chunk of history gone.
myself, i don’t mourn the loss of the viaduct so much as all the great buildings around it. there was a lot here.
anyway, for those unfamiliar with the viaduct, it began around torrance street on the north side and ran over the tracks to exit on notre dame street on the south side. mostly the tracks were for storage, loading and maintenance, but there was also a fairly important station, called the bonaventure station (the name of which was appropriated by the new central station during the 1960s).
as for this set, the first photo is on the notre dame side, looking north. the second and third are looking south. the fourth is looking northwest. and finally, in the last photo, we’re looking south (and slightly west), at torrance street, on the north side of the viaduct.
cool post.
the last picture shows a market on St. Jacques. (was it Bonaventure Market?) as a kid in 1963, it was gone and a tire warehouse and two level parking took its place. we used to cut across the street after school (towards the left) and take a shortcut through a large garage, National Spring Works. the mechanics would chase us out (for our own good) and we’d get the strap at home. not seen on the right was a night club in the 50’s called the St. Michel Club. Lots of jazz and nightlife. To the left of the picture, not seen, was Rockhead’s Paradise, owned by Mr. Rockhead. I’d always pause there as a schoolboy and admire the beautiful women in their “artist photos” outside the entrance – burlesque was alive and well endowed. That kept my mind busy as an eight year old!
I back Neath’s opinion – both it and the Guy street one came down at roughly the same time, and I took my bicycle across it along the iron railing after the deck had been demolished (I was drunk and insane) and believe therefore I drove the very last vehicle across it, on my way to my apartment in Pointe Saint Charles, which I lived in ’87-’88.