Montreal's Time Square

[mont royal]

16 hours ago, Mondo_Grosso said:

Like I mentioned, I'm not looking to debate it, but rather "if we had to do it, where and how would we do it?" I agree for the most part with your opinion, but I think that an idea can be imitative and visionary at the same time. You can take a proven concept and put your own twist on it and end up with a good result.

There are other "big city" fads that have been copied in Montreal in recent years that have done just that. Examples include the giant Ferris wheel, bridge illumination and urban greenways (promenade Fleuve-Montagne). No one says that these are embarrassing imitations or second-rate efforts (well else than Luc Ferrandez ). Maybe because Time Square is so iconic, it gets a much stronger "copy cat" reaction.

In my view you have generated a constructive discussion; not a debate. This is an idea which is interesting and needs further reflection., tweaking, etc. There are generic ideas which travel well; and these include ferris wheels and  longitudinal parks,  I think that you are striving for something that is iconic; something as unique as Mount Royal Park; something that distinguishes Montreal from other cities. That will never happen if we begin the process by describing it as our version of another city's iconic symbol.

The response which seems to be going in the right direction for me is the reference to our global leadership in high tech video, maybe even AI. If we could take this out of the studios and/or university labs and apply it at the street level, perhaps have it interactive, then maybe we can come up with something that is unique and reflects the dynamic creativity that is Montreal. 

[Enalung]

I rather like the idea. I am most definitely quite fascinated by Japanese cities which do have quite a lot of large billboards and advertising on buildings. I think you've hit on something that could be really interesting.

With that said, there is a major difference between what you are proposing and time square. Theses aren't walls facing the street directly. Theses are sidewalls. The effect would be very different.

I would mention that in Sherbrooke, where I live, we have one such blindwall which was painted. It's really nice and it can be done at a very reasonable cost, even for a city like Sherbrooke. I'm sure that a city with the budget that Montreal has could do something similar.

Modifié 3 mars 2018 par Enalung

[jesseps]

I think the best spot for a Montreal style Time Square / Dundas Square would be on McGill College between PVM and Sherbrooke Street.

I just don't know how the city could do it right, without making it look cheap.

One thing is for sure Valerie Plante would never do something like this, but it would have been more Coderre.

[mont royal]

Guaranteed to look cheap and ruin an impressive blvd. Dundas is an embarrassing copycat. Why copy another copy and a bad one at that?

[Ousb]

il y a 12 minutes, mont royal a dit :

Guaranteed to look cheap and ruin an impressive blvd. Dundas is an embarrassing copycat. Why copy another copy and a bad one at that?

En tout cas pour l’instant sur Mcgill ya rien ??‍♂️

[Tom]

I often walk this path to get food late at night and I have to admit I've thought about this before too. There's already one bright sign at the end of the corridor and the pedestrian area is well suited for what you describe. Great idea!

[raph_niquette]

J'avais déjà pensé à un projet de ce style, un peu comme Times Square à NYC avec des commerces, restos et bars ouverts 24h/24 7jours/7 mais j'avais plutôt imaginé sur le coin de St-Laurent et d'une autre rue que je n'avais pas encore trouvé. Finalement, je trouve que le Square Concordia est mieux situé et très pratique pour y installé des panneaux et stationner des food trucks!

[mont royal]

On ‎3‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 10:59 PM, Tom said:

I often walk this path to get food late at night and I have to admit I've thought about this before too. There's already one bright sign at the end of the corridor and the pedestrian area is well suited for what you describe. Great idea!

What McGill College currently offers is a clean line of lights from Place Ville Marie, right down the Blvd, through the Roddick Gates and up to the Cross. That was put together and financed , I believe, by those offices on the Blvd itself. They deserve a lot of credit. True, it is most impressive around the Xmas season when all of the trees are lit up, but could be worked on and improved for the rest of the year. It is a unique sightline and to cheapen it with some tawdry Times Square replica would be a sin.

[vincenzo]

I think having a Montreal Times Square is not a bad idea. And, even though Concordia Square seems to have the right configuration for it, I think it should be at Ste. Catherine and the Main:

Imagine: Create a square by clearing all buildings in the quadrilateral Ste Catherine/St Laurent/deMaisonneuve/Clark; and  accommodate  all types of electronic bill boards - to the west on the giant blank wall next to the skating rink; to the east on the east side of Ste Catherine above the Belle Pro building; to the north on the basillaire of the  Myriade building; and to the south on the basillaire of the new building being built.

Et voila!

[job]

A few thoughts ...

1. A while ago I had heard that someone wanted to turn Phillips Square into a sort of Times Square but they could not get permits ... nevertheless, this was 15 years ago and things have changed ... the east wall of PS would be a good candidate for screens;

2. Also a good idea would be the Rogers building on McGill college .. it has a solid column down the center that could be screens;

3. Lastly, the building to be built on the Domtar Park space ... a perfect place where Maisonneuve and President Kennedy split ... would integrate nicely into place des festivals.

I think some screens are overdue and they add a certain dynamism when properly thought out.