The architecture of Montreal, Quebec, Canada is characterized by the juxtaposition of the old and the new and a wide variety of architectural styles, the legacy of two successive colonizations by the French, the British, and the close presence of the architecture of the United States to the south. Much like Quebec City, the city of Montreal had fortifications, but they were destroyed between 1804 and 1817.
For over a century and a half, Montreal was the industrial and financial centre of Canada. The variety of buildings included factories, elevators, warehouses, mills, and refineries which today provide a legacy of historic and architectural interest, especially in the downtown area and in Old Montreal. Many historical buildings in Old Montreal still in their original form, notably the impressive 19th century headquarters of all major Canadian banks on Saint Jacques Street (formerly known as Saint James Street).
From the Art Deco period, Montreal offers a handful of notable examples. Ernest Cormier's Université de Montréal main building located on the northern side of Mount Royal and the Aldred Building at Place d'Armes, an historic square in Old Montreal.
In fact, Place d'Armes, shown in panorama above, is surrounded by buildings representing several major periods in Montreal architecture: the Gothic Revival Notre-Dame Basilica; New York Life Building, Montreal's first high-rise; the Pantheon-like Bank of Montreal head office, Canada's first bank; the aforementioned Aldred Building. (1931) and the International style 500 Place D'Armes.
Read more about Architecture Of Montreal: Church Architecture, Skyscrapers, Expo 67, Montreal Metro, Other Notable Structures, Heritage Conservation
Famous quotes containing the words architecture of and/or architecture:
“Polarized light showed the secret architecture of bodies; and when the second-sight of the mind is opened, now one color or form or gesture, and now another, has a pungency, as if a more interior ray had been emitted, disclosing its deep holdings in the frame of things.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The two elements the traveler first captures in the big city are extrahuman architecture and furious rhythm. Geometry and anguish. At first glance, the rhythm may be confused with gaiety, but when you look more closely at the mechanism of social life and the painful slavery of both men and machines, you see that it is nothing but a kind of typical, empty anguish that makes even crime and gangs forgivable means of escape.”
—Federico García Lorca (1898–1936)