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I'm sure there's a thread for this piece of land but too lazy to look. In Saturday's Gazette a report on a new Preval projet on the former Franciscan church site. Suspects are apparently already complaining though that's a small piece of the report. MONTREAL - A vast tract of downtown land, left partially empty after the site’s historic Franciscan church was destroyed in a 2010 blaze, could be reinvented as two 18-storey condo towers. Groupe Prével, the developer that transformed the former Seville theatre near the old Forum into a sold-out multi-phase condo project, has an option to buy part of the site on the south side of René Lévesque Blvd., west of Fort St. and the entrance to Highway 720. The Prével project — which would include a 330-square-metre public park on part of the site — would require the city of Montreal to change the zoning from institutional to residential. “We’ve had internal discussions with the planning department and they seem positive about it,” said Jonathan Sigler, a co-founder of the urban condo developer, which has also built the Lowney project in Griffintown. “But obviously, this is going to go through a public consultation.” The project comes at a time when the city of Montreal, along with other local muncipalities, is under fire for fast-tracking residential development at the expense of green space and such services as schools and daycares in areas like Griffintown. Sigler said Prével’s project would balance development with the need for green space, by creating the park and maintaining the woods in the back of the site known as the jardin des Franciscains. “Nothing would be knocked out,” Sigler told The Gazette. But some residents in nearby Shaughnessy Village have already called on city officials to “firmly oppose the project” and come up with a plan oriented toward better public access to the site instead of for “building condo towers.” Through the deal with the Franciscans, Prével would acquire only part of the site, which includes two heritage buildings used by commercial tenants. The religious order, which first stepped foot in Quebec nearly 400 years ago, would continue to own these two buildings. The historic Franciscan church was destroyed in an early-morning fire more than three years ago. News reports said the religious order had ceased holding services at the aging church, and abandoned the building in 2007 because it couldn’t afford the $5 million in needed repairs. Read more: Montreal Gazette | Page Not Found

Dans le quartier Sainte-Marie À la sortie du pont Jacques-Cartier, face au parc des Faubourgs. Ce terrain est juste au nord de Church of Latter Day Saints. sent via Tapatalk

http://spacingmontreal.ca/2010/05/25/parc-lahaie-transformation-underway/ Résultat du parc Lahaie: C'est très laid ! deux tables dans le milieu, c'est le seul truc qu'ils ont trouvé à installer ? Je crois qu'il serait mieux de détruire la rue si ont veut vraiment la transformer en place publique. Je laisse Étienne vous présenter ses rendus qui sont extra !

Via Irish America : The Point By John Kernaghan, Contributor December / January 2015 A view of Pointe St. Charles, "The Point" in the local anglophone vernacular. A visit to the McCord Museum helps uncover the history of two of Montreal’s historic Irish neighborhoods. In this tale of two Irish neighborhoods, leafy and modest Point St. Charles is in some ways unchanged from its heyday as a gritty Celtic enclave while just across the Lachine Canal, Griffintown bristles with cranes erecting a phalanx of condos from the ashes of factories and working-class residential blocks. What ties them forever is the canal, almost whimsically named after a time when many of Canada’s inland waters were probed as potential avenues to the Far East, or La Chine, China. It was the making of the Irish, and the death of some of them. The annual Christmas Bazaar at St. Gabriel’s Church. Katie Deegan is pictured on the left and her friend Pat Schell, with the red bow, is on the right. The Bazaar raised $15,000. The McCord Museum on the bucolic McGill University campus has a display of two pages of a canal pay ledger of 1822. Of the almost 50 entries, only one is French. There are Rileys, Kellys, and Cahills working for an average pay of 15 shillings for six days of work, many of them 10-hour shifts. The canal builders loved the Irish because they were strong and could work all day. The Lachine Canal they dug fostered an industrial boom as it bypassed rapids on the St. Lawrence River and provided inexpensive transport for factory goods. In 1848 it was enlarged, providing more work. According to the McCord Museum archives, Montreal grew by 54 per cent between 1852 and 1871 to 107,000 souls. Most of that growth was Irish immigration. But it was the Irish migration in 1847 and 1848 that is recalled darkly with the Immigrants Stone in Pointe St. Charles. It is erected at the foot of Victoria Bridge to mark the burial spot of 6,000 Irish who died of typhus during the famine immigration. Though many were passed as “seemingly well,” in official immigration parlance, at a quarantine station at Grosse Isle further north in the St. Lawrence, the stone’s inscription makes clear that the sickness ran wild on steamships bound for Montreal. The sick and dying overwhelmed health authorities as 20 hospital tents were erected near docks. Nuns, priests, doctors and the sitting mayor of Montreal also died as they sacrificed personal safety to minister to the wretched passengers. On the final Sunday each May, the modern Irish community gathers at St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church for the March to the Stone, a procession of a few miles that honors the dead at a grassy plot. The Stone, also known as the Black Rock, is a prodigious piece of work. Thirty tons of black granite dedicated in 1860, it now sits in a desolate area, but a recently formed group, the Montreal Irish Memorial Park Foundation, seeks support to create a new park at the Black Rock. A newspaper illustration from 1860 shows the laying of the Black Rock marking the graves of 6000 immigrants near Victoria Bridge. Image: Musée McCord. The Black Rock The Point and Griffintown were among Canada’s first bleak industrial areas with housing cheek-by-jowl with factories and rail yards.And that produced activists like Joe Beef, the publican who has a small park named after him in Point St. Charles. But Charles McKiernan, his square name, straddled both communities in Montreal’s Sud-Ouest borough. Still remembered in Restaurant Joe Beef on Notre-Dame West in Griffintown, “a drunken crawl from the historic Atwater Market,” its website notes, McKiernan was a working-class hero whose pub was the cultural center for a rollicking He printed this proclamation to the community, according to a McGill University publication: “He cares not for Pope, Priest, Parson, or King William of the Boyne; all Joe wants is the Coin. He trusts in God in summer time to keep him from all harm; when he sees the first frost and snow poor old Joe trusts to the Almighty Dollar and good old maple wood to keep his belly warm, for Churches, Chapels, Ranters, Preachers, Beechers and such stuff Montreal has already got enough.” The New York Times was not impressed, dismissing his tavern as a “den of filth.” Maybe that was because he had a menagerie of animals in house that included up to four bears, several monkeys and an alligator, noted the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network. Its account added that one bear, Tom, was said to consume 20 pints of beer per day, seldom spilling a drop. Joe Beef claimed to refuse no one food and was a central figure in a strike by Lachine Canal workers in 1877. Charles “Joe Beef” McKiernan, a working class hero. In the case of Griffintown, the population fell to less than 1,000 in the 1960s, not enough to support St. Ann’s Church. It was razed and is now a park with benches arranged like a church setting. The Lachine Canal, which fell into disuse midway through the last century and was a dump for excavation material when building Expo ’67 and the 1976 Summer Olympics, is now reborn as a recreational route. Walkers and cyclists and kayakers enjoy the walkways and waters, many stopping at the aforementioned Atwater Market, which is hard by the canal and has an amazing array of food and produce from Quebec provisioners. Several of the clothing factories which once employed the Irish along both sides of the canal have been converted to fashionable condos, and the smart Hotel Alt has risen in the midst of the condo boom in Griffintown. Restaurants like Le Richmond on Rue Richmond now occupy former factory space offering starters like veal Carpaccio with a black pepper and fennel crust and mains like ballottine rabbit stuffed with black pudding. The elegant setting, northern Italian cuisine and professional service are a long haul from the mean meals immigrants once consumed here. For startling contrast, the Maison Saint Gabriel Museum and Historic Site in The Point showcases 17th century life in New France before the English, Scots and Irish arrived. It illustrates the progression of the homes and lands from school to farm and finally museum. But even it has an Irish touch – the magnificent grandmother clock crafted in 1763 in Quebec City by James Hanna. Time has changed much of this corner of Montreal, but the clock still ticks precisely. The times are tame now compared to then, and walks and bike rides around both communities show a much reduced Irish influence as the neighborhoods are gentrified.

L'église Saint-Joseph situé au 550 rue Richmond devriendra le Salon 1861 dans les plans du Quartier de l'Innovation. LE SALON 1861 ET LE LABORATOIRE DE CULTURE URBAINE Riche de son histoire et des nombreux artistes qui y ont habité, le territoire qu’occupe le QI continue d’accueillir de nombreux joueurs de la scène culturelle montréalaise : espaces de diffusion, galeries d’art et studios, notamment. Le Laboratoire de culture urbaine du QI profitera de cette effervescence et de l’expertise universitaire dans le domaine des arts afin de créer des occasions d’échange entre artistes, professeurs, étudiants et résidents du quartier. Le Laboratoire s’installera au sein du QI, dans le Salon 1861, qui pourra accueillir des projets de recherche collaborative, des expositions, des événements, des ateliers d’artistes et des organismes communautaires, tout en favorisant l’échange avec la communauté. Piloté par : Will Straw, professeur, Département d’histoire de l’art et d’études en communications, Université McGill et Natalie Voland, présidente, Gestion immobilière Quo Vadis. Ce site explique l'histoire de cette église : http://avantlautoroute.com/2011/01/10/leglise-st-joseph-rue-richmond/ Article sur la transformation : SALON 1861: THE AFTERLIFE OF L’ÉGLISE ST-JOSEPH Mark Twain has said of Montreal, “this is the first time I was ever in a city where you couldn’t throw a brick without breaking a church window”. Quebec’s history has left the city with a wealth of beautiful churches that are now threatened due to lack of funds for upkeeping. The Église St-Joseph, located in Montreal’s Little-Burgundy neighbourhood, is an example of how the city is rapidly evolving while preserving its communities’ heritage. Starting this summer, Quartier de l’innovation, a McGill University and École de technologies supérieures initiative, will be working in partnership with Gestion Immobilière Quo Vadis to transform l’Église St-Joseph into The Salon 1861, which will host the Laboratory of Urban Culture while still remaining a fixture in the community. Conversion of churches to preserve the architecture and heritage is not uncommon in Montreal. In the city, there are many churches that have been given a second life and yet continue to create value for the community. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts converted the Erskine and American United Church on Sherbrooke West into a Canadian Art pavilion, completed in 2011, and a successful reinvention of the museum took place to integrate the church into its exhibits. Chic Resto Pop is the site of another converted church in Montreal accessible to surrounding residents. The former Saint Barnabé-Apôtre Church was sold for $300,000 in 2002 and converted into an affordable cafeteria large enough for 300 people. Le Saint-Jude spa opened in fall 2013 is the site of another converted church in the Plateau Mont-Royal district. The spa and health club was renovated into the century old church costing 2.65 million dollars and won the design excellence award in 2013 from Canadian Architect magazine. Soon the Laboratory of Urban Culture will be amongst the list of churches in Montreal that receives a prolonged existence and continues to benefit Montrealers. "a gathering for social or intellectual distinction through discussions, exchanges and ideas of all sorts." The idea for the Laboratory of Urban Culture emerged from a study mandated by the Quartier de l’innovation (QI) in 2012 to study the arts and cultural needs in the district. The QI is an innovative ecosystem located in Montreal’s historic Southwest district – Griffintown, Saint-Henri, Petite Bourgogne and Pointe Saint-Charles. It aims to increase collaboration between academia, the private sector, and the community, as well as encourage research and industrrial projects for social and cultural innovation. QI seeks to address needs and face real challenges, in order to improve the quality of life in its district. A collaboration between École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) and McGill University, since June 2013, the QI has developed into a non-profit organization that continues to develop impactful projects for the district. map of QI The zone marked in red is the area of QI The inception of the Laboratory of Urban Culture was a result of the study completed by Professor Will Straw, Director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada. The direct conclusion was the need to create “a YMCA of culture”: or a neutral space in the community for the intersection of academia, arts and culture. The Laboratory of Urban Culture is establishing an accessible link between different stakeholders to promote arts and culture in the community. Around the same time, Natalie Voland, President of Gestion Immobilière Quo Vadis, had just made quite an astounding purchase: a church! Initially intended for conversion into condominiums, Voland sought efforts to maintain its heritage having realized its priceless architectural value. Built in 1861, l’Église St-Joseph is one of the oldest catholic churches in Montreal with a heritage value close to that of the Oratoire St-Joseph. Having visited the church, the awe factor makes anyone who has seen the interior eager to preserve it. Voland then began a search for ways to preserve the Église St-Joseph. After learning about the purchase of the church in the QI, Isabelle Péan, Project Director of QI at McGill, met with Voland to present the vision of the Laboratory of Urban Culture. Soon after, a collboration was established between QI and Quo Vadis to host the Laboratory of Urban Culture within the Église St-Joseph, now called the Salon 1861. The name “Salon 1861”, comes from old French, meaning a periodic gathering for social or intellectual distinction through discussions, exchanges and ideas of all sorts. The Salon 1861 will be a socially responsible project put together by the synergy of diverse partners. The historically significant heritage building of l’Église St-Joseph will be maintained and transformed into a modern representation still carrying out its intended purpose, a place for civic community, culture and collaboration. In the coming months a McGil Arts doctorate student will finalize programming of workshops, lectures and concerts in the Laboratory. The Laboratory of Urban Culture will be an important aspect of the creative ecosystem, which will be established in the Salon 1861. Other elements of this ecosystem include an art gallery, event spaces and a co-working space in the church’s basement targeted at social economy and arts entrepreneurship. Students will have a variety of opportunities to get involved with the Laboratory and the Salon 1861. Currently, Mark Ramsey, a graduate student in architecture from McGill University, is working with Quo Vadis on the legacy and patrimonial work of the church before reconstruction begins. More internships and projects for students are currently being established within this framework. Essentially, the Salon 1861 will become an ecosystem where different components will mutually complement and benefit the community. Natalie Voland has said “The concept of the Salon 1861 has really been inspired by the QI’s vision. The Salon 1861 will be at the heart of the community and will be a real destination for cultural and social innovation in the District”. To stay connected with the developments of QI, including the progress of the Laboratory of Urban Culture, follow them on Facebook or Twitter! WRITTEN BY ZOEY TUNG IMAGE BY SAM GREGORY

Bonjour ! Hier j'ai eu l'occasion de faire une petite tournée de Pointe-Saint-Charles avec mon appareil photo . En voici les résultats: Centenary United Church (1930) Bank of Montreal (1901). Gurudwara Sahib Temple (1900) Maison Saint-Gabriel (1668). parc Marguerite-Bourgeoys. Restaurant Magnan. le Nordelec (1928) Holy Spirit Ukrainian catholic church. (1948)

Only ten years ago, but still interesting. Mostly commercial changes on Ste-Catherine, but also construction of the Demetrius, Cinema Parisien, St-James United Church restoration, and a few others!

http://www.montrealgazette.com/travel/this+architectural/6201759/story.html

Picture in question: From what I can determine, the church in the middle of the picture is the one at the corner of Saint-Jacques and Vinet in st henri, and the slope on the side is where the Ville-Marie highway is now. Based on the size of that church and its position, I say is between staint-jacques and notre-dame around Guy street. Things I hope you guys can help with, the church on the left, with the single steeple, where is/was it? The building on the right, in the background, with all the chimneys, what is it, it looks really familiar, I'm sure someone will recognize it. And finally, does anyone have a map of the rail lines in the general area around the turn of the century, there is a platform on the extreme right in the middle, and knowing where they were would help greatly. Thanks for the help in advance, I love trying to figure these old ones out.

In Edmonton, a confessed Satanist is running for an alderman seat

Toronto Star, May 19, 2010. By Carol Perehudoff I don’t dare sit down in this glass-encrusted dress. If I break one of the attached silvery rectangles, not only will I damage a piece of art, the splinters would be a serious pain in the you-know-what. “You’re the first person to try it on,” says designer Jessica MacDonald as I twirl around Espace Verre, a glass arts school, studio and exhibition centre housed in a former firehouse in southwest Montreal. I’m not sure how I convinced Jessica to let me try on the dress or how it fit over my hips after the almond croissants this morning at Patisserie Kouign Amann, but it’s a great introduction to “Montreal, City of Glass,” a year-long celebration of the city’s most translucent art form with more than 100 glass-themed events. That’s reason enough to visit, but I’m also on the trail of a mystery: “The Mystery of the Disappearing Windows.” This intriguing headline on the website of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel appealed to my inner Nancy Drew. It’s hard to sleuth in a glass couture outfit, however, so reluctantly — and carefully — I shed the dress and accompany my guide, Marie José, to Old Montreal, where the chapel was founded in 1655 by Canada’s first female saint, Marguerite Bourgeoys. Unfortunately the church doors are locked. “How am I going to solve the Mystery of the Disappearing Windows now?” I ask. “Do you mean the disappearing glass at Notre-Dame Basilica?” Marie José asks. “There’s a mystery there.” Either there’s an awful lot of vanishing glass in Montreal or I’m mixing up the two Notre Dames. To find out, we head down to Notre-Dame Basilica at Place d’Armes Square. Completed in 1829, this towering neo-Gothic basilica is a stained-glass showcase containing windows from three different historical eras. Like celestial skylights, three rose windows are set in the ceiling; in an unusual touch, the side windows depict historical rather than biblical themes. “But what about the mystery?” I ask, gazing up at a scene of Jacques Cartier coming upon the Iroquois village of Hochelaga (today’s Montreal). “It started with arson.” Marie José leads me to the back of the church. “In 1978 someone set fire in a confessional, causing millions in damages. During renovations, five stained glass windows were found behind a brick wall. They’d been walled up and forgotten for more than 80 years.” Two of the windows, St. Peter and St. Louis, now hang in the Basilica’s Sacred Heart Chapel. Masculine and medieval-looking, they glimmer with deep tones of blue, burgundy and gold. “Why would anyone cover them up?” I ask. Marie José offers a solution. “The windows were right behind the altar, so parishioners couldn’t see the priest during services because of the sun shining through.” Well, that’s one mystery solved. It’s not my original mystery, however, so the next morning I return to Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel. The current domed church dates to 1771, the foundations of the original chapel now mere stone traces deep in the church cellar. I hunt up Karine St-Louis, head of educational programming, who gives me a rare peek into the cellar’s depths. An eerie-looking room with ancient timber supports, it lay abandoned for decades, filled with dirt and debris. Then, during an archaeological dig here in 1996, two stained-glass angel fragments were found. “They were part of a much-larger window made around 1855,” Karine says. “It was either the Assumption of Mary or the Immaculate Conception.” “Who made them?” “We don’t know.” We visit one of the angels — now on permanent display in the chapel museum. Backlit, the angel glows with a luminous calm, his green wings and golden hair framing an unreadable expression. It’s hard to imagine that before Canada was even officially a country he stood watch in the chapel, then waited more than a century to re-emerge. “Who saved it, I wonder? And what happened to the rest of the window?” Karine smiles. “That’s the mystery.” “Why would anyone remove it?” This is something she can solve. “Like anything, glass goes in and out of fashion.” From stained glass angels to couture cocktail dresses, it certainly does. Evidently it can disappear and reappear, too, carrying with it fragments of history. Montreal may be the City of Glass, but it’s a city of secrets, too, making me wonder what other mysteries lie hidden behind its historical walls. http://www.thestar.com/travel/northamerica/article/811043--montreal-a-city-of-glass-and-secrets Here is a video by Ms. Carol... a little bit funny! http://www.thestar.com/videozone/811042 "In the end, I've come to the conclusion that Montreal is alot like glass. It shimmers its tiny shiny pieces that make up an incredible whole. And if you catch it in the right light, it's iluminating! "

1992–present || 1000 de La Gauchetière || 205 / 673 || 51 1964–1992 || Tour de la Bourse || 190 / 623 || 47 1962–1964 || Place Ville Marie || 188 / 617 || 47 1931–1962 || Sun Life Building || 122 / 400 || 26 1928–1931 || Royal Bank Building || 121m / 397ft || 22 floors What were the tallest buildings in Montreal prior to 1928 (and the Royal Bank building?) A church perhaps? Or another structure entirely? I believe that the New York Life Insurance Building was the first tall building in Montreal. Am I correct?

Le gout de faire des photos m'a repris de plus belle ! Petite promenade autour de chez-nous cet après midi, enjoy Intersection Hochelaga / Hogan Église sur Hochelaga Vieux divans Suzuki Esteem serré pour l'hiver ... Tour Olympique sur Sherbrooke Cabanes a oiseaux ... Nice skyline Longueuil Encore ! Railroad and church Tchou tchou tchou !! Skyline Samething Pont Jacques Cartier Merci

Montreal church stands as mariners' rock A view westward, toward the core of downtown Montreal, from a tower of the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel in the Old Montreal district. The Marguerite Bourgeoys Museum is adjoined to the church. (Marcos Townsend for the Boston Globe) By Patricia Harris and David Lyon, Globe Correspondents | May 9, 2007 MONTREAL -- Poet-songwriter Leonard Cohen was hardly the first Montrealer to gaze fondly on the chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours when he wrote "the sun pours down like honey / on Our Lady of the Harbour" in his pop hit "Suzanne." While the statue of the "Lady" wasn't erected until 1893, homecoming mariners have watched for the welcoming visage of the Old Port church since the first wooden chapel was erected on the spot in 1655. Although the church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, it is equally a monument to its founder, Marguerite Bourgeoys , who was born in France in 1620 , became known as "the mother of the colony," and was ultimately canonized by the Roman Catholic Church in 1982 . In an era when most women rarely left their villages, Bourgeoys crossed the Atlantic Ocean seven times in her mission to educate the women of Montreal and raise money in her homeland to support the Congrégation de Notre-Dame , the religious order she founded. Just as Bourgeoys's legend became ever more expansive over the years, so did the church. She persuaded the community to rebuild it in stone in the late 1670s , and when that church burned in 1754 , it was replaced with the stone structure that stands today. In 1893 it sprouted a central tower topped with the nearly 20-foot-high open-armed statue of "Mary, Star of the Sea," flanked by two herald angels. The single-vault chapel's intimacy contrasts sharply with Montreal's more bombastic churches, and ship models suspended from the ceiling as ex-votos for voyages survived identify the church as the mariners' own. With the rapid secularization of Montreal (the Catholic Church dominated education, health care, and social services through the 1960s), public recognition of Bourgeoys has declined. But she remains one of the rocks on which the city was built, and the Marguerite Bourgeoys Museum , attached to the chapel, memorializes her accomplishments. The exhibits evoke an intimate vision of the early years of Montreal. Visitors can inspect the original foundations of the early chapels and view artifacts exhumed during archeological work here in the 1990s . Cracked blue and white porcelain cups and plates, discarded belt buckles, and broken pipes seem to conjure up their long-ago owners, who were determined to maintain the veneer of civilization in the distant wilds. They never stopped thinking of themselves as French, as the green glass wine bottles attest. The tour winds up a 69-step staircase to the 19th-century tower. Walls along this level's open walkway are lined with images of the St. Lawrence River and the port of Montreal in 1685 . For a perfect juxtaposition of old and new, turn and look outside to see people strolling and cycling along the modern-day Old Port promenade while the grand geodesic dome of the Biosphère shines in the distance. Another 23 steps lead up to the belvedere, where visitors are suddenly almost face to face with the herald angels and the broad expanse of the modern city extends down the waterfront to the horizon. By 1668 , Bourgeoys had moved her religious order from the center of the town to a rural farm on Pointe St-Charles near the Lachine rapids , a short bike ride or bus trip from Old Montreal. Bourgeoys originally taught the women of the colony to read, but soon expanded her activities to include schools for surrounding First Peoples villages and the care of the "filles du roy," the young women given dowries by Louis XIV and sent to the colony to marry and multiply. The old stone farmstead, Maison St-Gabriel , now functions as a heritage museum of 17th-century rural life with a focus on the filles du roy, who still loom large in Quebecois legend. Often recruited among the urban poor, many of the women lacked even rudimentary skills for colonial life. Tours in English and French by guides in 17th-century garb focus on the transformation of the filles du roy into sturdy colonists. Their re-created period vegetable gardens underline the need for self-sufficiency. The property's 19th-century fieldstone barn holds temporary exhibitions, such as "An Iron in Time," which opens this month. It recounts the evolution of clothes-pressing, lest there be any doubt about the hard work of women in New France. When Marguerite Bourgeoys died in 1700 , she was interred on the farm. But in 2003 , the 350th anniversary of her arrival in Montreal, her remains were placed in the left side altar of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours below the statue she had brought back from France in 1672. Marguerite Bourgeoys Museum and Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel 400 rue St-Paul Est, Montreal 514-282-8670 marguerite-bourgeoys.com Tuesday-Sunday 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. May-October, 11-3:30 November-mid-January and March-April. Adults $5.10, seniors and students $3.40, family $10.20. Maison St-Gabriel 2146 place Dublin Pointe-St-Charles 514-935-8136 maisonsaint-gabriel.qc.ca Tuesday-Sunday 1-5 p.m. April 15-June 23 and Sept. 4-Dec. 21, 11-6 June 24-Sept. 2. Adults $6.80, seniors $5.10, students $3.40. Patricia Harris and David Lyon, freelance writers in Cambridge and authors of the "Compass American Guide: Montreal," can be reached at harris.lyon@verizon.net. © Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.

Montreal | Cold? Mais oui, but the winter welcome is warm By Kristin Jackson Seattle Times travel staff PREV 1 of 3 NEXT STEPHAN POULIN / TOURISM MONTREAL Sled-dog races are just one attraction of Montréal's Fête des Neiges, the winter festival. KRISTIN JACKSON / THE SEATTLE TIMES Saint Joseph's Oratory, seen from a tour bus, is one of Montreal's grandest churches. Related Archive | Europe without the euro awaits visitors in historic Montreal MONTREAL, Quebec — Taxi drivers kept stopping to offer us rides, beckoning to the steamy warmth of their cabs. No wonder; it was 10 degrees below zero on a February night, and we were the only people on the city sidewalk. "Non, merci," I'd wave off the taxis, determined to get some fresh air after spending the day on stuffy planes en route to this French-speaking Canadian city. The air certainly was fresh — sparkling clear and frigid as my daughter and I trudged along, swaddled in all the clothes we'd packed. I looked like a walking sleeping bag in my old, very puffy down coat. On the narrow street, wrought-iron banisters and balconies of Victorian buildings were glazed in ice. Snow sparkled in pools of light cast from living rooms and old-fashioned street lamps. Another taxi stopped: "Vous êtes fous" — you're crazy — said the driver, as we smiled and walked on. Maybe it was nuts, but the intense cold of the starry night was exhilarating. And thankfully, it warmed up in the next few days to a relatively balmy 15 degrees. Ask Travel Seattle Times travel writer and editor Kristin Jackson answers your questions about Montreal and other Canadian destinations in a live Q&A at noon Tuesday on seattletimes.com. Off-season pleasures Winter visitors to Montreal, a city of 3.6 million that's the largest French-speaking city in the western world after Paris, do miss out on the bustling summer life of sidewalk cafes, music and heritage festivals, and the city's world-class film festival. Yet there are advantages to the off-season. It's much more peaceful, with none of the summertime hordes of tourists who cram the narrow, cobblestone streets of Vieux Montreal, the historic heart of the old city that was founded in 1642 by French settlers. Flights and hotels are much cheaper. I paid less than $100 a night for a somewhat ramshackle, but cozy, suite with a kitchenette at the small University Bed & Breakfast. Its location was unbeatable — a short walk to the heart of downtown or to the restaurants of the trendy Boulevard Saint-Laurent. And winter brings its own pleasures, including outdoor skating rinks in the heart of the city; sleigh rides and cross-country skiing in city parks; and an annual winter festival (La Fête des Neiges) with concerts and other cultural events plus snowy fun, including outdoor games of volleyball and soccer and dog-sled races. And there's indoor fun, from shopping and museums to music clubs and restaurants of every ethnicity. To warm up, we headed indoors to some of Montreal's excellent museums. The premier art museum, the Musée de Beaux-Arts (Museum of Fine Arts), was a stylish place to wander among paintings and sculpture, from European old masters, including Rembrandt, to Islamic art to moody 19th-century Canadian landscape painting. Day by day, Montrealers beat the cold in "Underground City" (called RÉSO in French), a 20-mile pedestrian network beneath the city center where it's always balmy. The brightly lit underground concourses are lined with hundreds of stores and eateries, and link the city's major sights, hotels, Metro and train stations. It felt like an endless shopping mall to me, and I soon coaxed my teen daughter away from the trendy shops to the streets above. When we got too chilled, we'd warm up at one of the many European-style bakeries, indulging in fruit tarts or handmade chocolates. I'd order in French; hearing my mangled grammar, the shopkeepers would immediately switch to English. While only about 18 percent of the city's residents are native English speakers, many Montrealers are bilingual. On the bus To see more of the city and stay warm, we hopped on a Gray Line sightseeing bus for a three-hour city tour, from the pastoral heights of Mont-Royal, a 343-hilly park that rises steeply above downtown, to the stately stone buildings of Vieux Montreal and the stadium of Olympic Park, where Montreal hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics. The bus driver cranked up the heat and his patter: "It's a nice shack, eh," he cackled as we passed the sprawling 19th-century mansions of Westmount, the traditional bastion of rich, native-English-speakers. Later, the bus lumbered past the modest row-houses of East Montreal, where exterior iron staircases, built outside to save space, spiral to the upper floors. The bus became so drowsily hot, it was a relief to get out at viewpoints and at some of Montreal's grand churches, evidence of the once-firm grip of the Catholic church on Montrealers and all of Quebec province. That changed with the "Quiet Revolution" of the 1960s as Quebec turned more affluent, secular and multicultural. The faithful (and tourists) still flock, however, to St. Joseph's Oratory, a massive hilltop church by Mont-Royal park. Started as a tiny shrine in 1904 by a devout monk, Brother Andre, it expanded through his relentless efforts into an imposing, ornate church with an almost 200-foot-tall dome. Outdoor stairways climb steeply to the church; pilgrims still struggle up them on their knees, imploring for the healing miracles for which Brother Andre was renowned. Always a fan of visiting churches, I led my daughter into Notre Dame basilica in Vieux Montreal, the historic heart of the city tucked between the broad (and icy) St. Lawrence River and the downtown highrises. We whispered as we entered the ornate Catholic church, with its soaring Gothic-style nave, stained-glass windows and a vaulted blue ceiling that shimmers with 24-karat gold stars. There was only a handful of tourists, dwarfed by the vastness of the church, which, while it looks almost medieval, was built in the 1820s. It was a place to sit quietly, to think of the religion and cultures intertwined with Montreal, where the Iroquoian natives roamed for thousands of years, where French explorers landed in the 1500s, followed by fur traders, settlers and eventually the British and now waves of immigrants from all over the world. Montreal Where to stay • Stay at a downtown hotel, where you can easily walk to major sites (even in winter, thanks to the "Underground City." Some top hotels and boutiques are on Rue Sherbrooke Ouest, including the landmark Ritz-Carlton Montreal. Other upscale lodgings include the Hotel Sofitel and InterContinental Hotel. • I stayed at the moderately priced University Bed & Breakfast (adjacent to the downtown McGill University, Montreal's premier English-language university). It won't suit everyone — furnishings are eclectic and services minimal — but for about $100 a night, I got a cozy suite in an old-fashioned, townhouse-style building, with a living room, bedroom and kitchenette (www.universitybedandbreakfast.ca or 514-842-6396). • Get hotel information and make reservations through the city's tourism office, www.tourisme-montreal.org/ or phone the Quebec Department of Tourism at 877-266-5687. Getting around You don't need a car in the city; its center is compact, and the downtown and adjacent Vieux Montreal are ideal to explore on foot. For outlying areas, the city has a good Metro system. Guided bus tours are offered through Gray Line Montreal (www.coachcanada.com/montrealsightseeing/), or take a ride in parks or Vieux Montreal on a "caleche," a horse drawn-carriage (or sometimes sleigh). Traveler's tip • You don't need to speak French to get by in Montreal; English is widely spoken (However, it's generally appreciated if visitors try to speak a bit of French.) • While winter can be the most economical and least crowded time in Montreal, late September/early October and May also can be good times to visit, with lower hotel rates and more moderate weather. More information • Montreal Tourism: www.tourisme-montreal.org/ or 877-266-5687. • La F&ering;te des Neiges (winter festival): www.fetedesneiges.com/en/ In a Notre Dame side chapel, Catholic schoolchildren finished their prayers. They filed out into the street, bare-legged and laughing in their gray and navy uniforms, skipping along the snowy sidewalk. They didn't give Montreal's winter cold a second thought.