Tall Buildings of Montreal

jeeff: 27th Apr 2006 - 04:47 GMT

i like the stretched perspective you got in photo #2. anyone know what the building in #3 is?

EvilGentleman: 27th Apr 2006 - 06:34 GMT

The first pic is on Rene Levesque Boulevard (Dorchester to true Montrealers) looking west past Place Ville Marie.

Second pic is Place Ville Marie, which was the tallest building in Montreal for 25 years starting in 1961.

Not so sure what the building is in pic #3, but then again, I never really pay attention to the scenery when I am so used to it, and besides, I always have to keep my eyes open looking for a damn parking spot. At first, I thought it might have been part of the Concordia complex, but the hotel in the background, I think is on Sherbrooke close to the business core and McGill, so maybe the building is an art gallery, we have a lot around there.

Fourth pic, I think is an apartment block on either the south side of Dorchester or the north side of de Maisonneuve. Either way, it is close to Guy-Concordia Metro station.

I have no clue what the tallest building in Montreal is anymore. I was gone too long up in the Arctic, and it kept changing, so I lost track. This is one of those new buildings that had the title, but I am not sure if it the most recent one or not.

The Concordia building in pic #6 is the Concordia Fine Arts Pavillion on the corner of Guy and Sainte-Catherine. It was only recently built. Even on Google Earth, it shows a parking lot there. I remember the cops used to hide in that parking lot all the time, then dash out and catch speeders or drivers who run red lights.

The last pic is a nice shot of the townhouses common to the downtown core uphill of the skyscrapers.

A pretty good job, Chris. Only a person from out of town would be able to see these things clearly. I have pics of many of these buildings, but I am so used to them , I just see them as bland scenery, so I take pics of other things most of the time.

Chris Erb: 27th Apr 2006 - 14:30 GMT

Thanks EG.

I checked on Emporis and pic #5 is indeed the tallest building in Montreal. it's called Le 1250 Boulevard René-Lévesque (why can't they give these buildings actual names?) and at 226 metres tall it's one of the tallest buildings in Canada.

Here are some other Concordia buildings to show how utterly ugly they are:

I know these buildings were built in the '60's but I'm sure there MUST have been a couple good architects back then.

Un fortunalty I didn't get any pictures of the Library building (you can see a little bit of it in the background of pic 2 of this post). it's a more modern building but it's a very nice looking building. The inside is just as bad, it's confusing to get around and there are no benches anywhere so there's a huge amount of wasted space in the lobby because nobody can lounge around in there. It also took me 15 fucking minutes to find a washroom.

Chris Erb: 27th Apr 2006 - 14:33 GMT

I also didn't get the fine arts building which one would assume would be a nice and interesting building but it's actually a bland four story box. It reminds me more if a distribution centre in New Jersey than a building where a lot of creative juices should be flowing.

EvilGentleman: 27th Apr 2006 - 15:08 GMT

Actually, you did get the new fine arts, or EVA (I have no idea what the acronym stands for) building. It is the one with the "hat" and the obtuse-angled facade on it's upper stories, which you can see in the last pic in your comment, behind the bus and Double Pizza. The old fine arts building (where the photography offices are located) on Rene Levesque is indeed a box (by the way, did you get any shots of the graffiti on the back of the building? I forgot to do that).

And as far as the shot of the Henry F. Hall building in the first pic in your comment goes, it is indeed an austere building, but there is a Tim Horton's on the first floor, a bar and a computer store on the second floor, and cafeterias on the 4th and 7th floors. What more do you need? Why pay extra tuition fees to cover the costs of fancy architecture that you will stop noticing after the first two weeks, anyways? I just wish the damned escalators worked more often. Nothing worse than dashing into a 9th floor class a few minutes late, out of breath, and sweaty as hell, and then trying to find an empty seat while everone stares at you. Most of my classes are in the Hall building, but Concordia has been expanding so rapidly, they now have classes above the Jean Coutu drugtore, in the old theater at Le Faubourg, even above one of the gyms in the area. With 4 major universities and a few colleges located around the bottom of Mount Royal, it is starting to get pretty cramped when finding your classrooms. Between the universities and the CEGEP's (community colleges), as well as vocational centres such as Lasalle College, I think there are over 200 thousand students who attend classes within 3 km of Concordia.

To answer nature's call in the Library building, just go behind the stairs on the right side, and the washrooms are along the wall. No clue where the washrooms are in the actual library portion of the building, never needed the washroom the few times I was there.

From the sounds of it, you have applied to Concordia. If so, maybe we will wind up sharing a class or two. For good cheap food, I recommend Altaib, an Arab restaurant across the street from the Hall building on the NW corner of de Maisonneuve and Mackay. Ask for a zaatar, they are cheap, yet tasty. If that is not to your tastes, just go a block south and there is a McDonald's on Sainte-Catherine. And of course, there is almost every type of food imaginable within a few blocks, even donairs! (Although there are no Pizza Delight franchises in the Montreal area). And if you get real homesick for the Maritimes, the best I can offer you is to go for a cruise around the east end of the city. Sooner or later, you will pass a few Irving gas stations. And remember, no matter what the signs may say, if you are really a Maritimer, then the seafood in Montreal is not fresh!

Chris Erb: 27th Apr 2006 - 16:14 GMT

I didn't realize that the "box" is no longer in use as the actual arts building. I didn't notice the graffiti but I'll check for it next time I'm in the city (should be around May).

You make a good point about keeping tuition rates low by not having to pay for fancy architecture. I have to pay enough since i'm not a resident of Quebec (I'll correct that next year as I plan on only going part-time in order to get my residency). I did notice that Concordia has classrooms scattered all around downtown. They seem to pop up everywhere you go.

I eventually found that washwoom in the LB. It took quite some time as there are no signs anywhere and they're quite hidden. Come to think of it, I don't know why I didn't just stop someone to ask.

What is your major? It would be quite neat if we did indeed end up sharing some classes. I'm really looking forward to going to Concordia. there's a lot more offered for classes that I'm interested in Montreal than here in Fredericton.

I was thinking of going to Altaib but I was afraid it might have been expensive and I was on a pretty tight budget. I mostly ate bagels from Mile End and 99 cent pizza at the various pizza joints scattered around the city.

I didn't see any Irving stations when I was in the city and would be quite happy to never see them again. Who knows though, I might get a little homesick after I move and they might be good as comfort (only maritimers could gain comfort from a gas station haha).

elaine: 27th Apr 2006 - 16:47 GMT

the pink building looks like barbie might live there

EvilGentleman: 27th Apr 2006 - 17:42 GMT

elaine, the pink Scotiabank building is not home to Barbie, but I think that Squirrel that hangs out with Spongebob Squarepants might frequent the place fairly often.

Chris, I am a political science major who is hoping to switch to photography in mid-2007. Due to my mature student status, I have to take a bunch of other credits that are not restricted in any way, so I may take just about anything in the BA programs.

Do not be afraid to ask for things at Concordia. Despite their history of periodic rioting, Concordia students are about as friendly as people can be, so long as you use your head. The staff usually encourage open-mindedness and small-L liberal idealism. If you can keep your mind open to other cultures and accept the fact that almost everything you learned about the rest of the world in school in New Brunswick (or anywhere else in North America) is wrong, then you will be ok.

And I can have a good meal at Altaib for less than 5 bucks, including a can of pop. (to all you Brooklynites and Kahnawakeronon out there, pop is that carbonated beverage stuff that you guys call soda, like Coke, Pepsi, 7up, Jolt, etc.)

And I have no idea if you can speak French at all or not, but if you don't, it is ok. I have lived for decades around Montreal not really being able to speak French, and I have survived so far. One little trick that works quite well, is to "try" to speak French, but be sure to pronounce eveything really terribly, like calling a waiter "gar-kon" or saying poutine as "pow-tyne", stuff like that. Do not attempt this in the pure-laine, 100% French areas of the city, as I am unsure how many of them are armed. But in the downtown core, "trying" to speak French terribly usually hurts their ears so much, they will automatically switch to English, even the hard-core separatists who usually claim they cannot understand English. The Preston Manning variation of French is a very effective tool. But while you are at, try to learn for real, if you do not already know. I now have many conversations in mixed "Franglais", where I speak what little French I know, they speak what little English they know, and somehow, we communicate.

A final thought: Be careful making passes at the thousands of gorgeous Asian girls around Concordia, as they seem to attract really jealous boyfriends most the time.

Chris Erb: 27th Apr 2006 - 23:14 GMT

Political science to photography is quite a jump! I'm going to be doing a double major in Sociology and urban studies then hopefully to to grad school to do city planning. One of the things that attracted me to Concordia was the fact they do have a very politically active student body. It seems like a very exciting place to be where lots of change is actually being made.

I can speak french to a certain degree. I did French immersion for 6 years but haven't spoken a word of French for 2 years. After I graduated, I moved to Fredericton where there is very little French spoken. I was trying to practice it as much as possible at the place I was staying at and just the little time I was there I could feel it getting stronger. I was staying in the Plateau which is pretty Francophone so I hade lots of oppertunities to use it. I found a lot of people would switch to english half way through a conversation when they would hear my accent. Hopefully it'll get good enough eventually that I won't have to use your little scheme haha.

I will make sure to remember your advice about the jealous boyfriends. I'm a pretty skinny guy so I don't have much in the ways of defence if someone comes after me.

peace: 18th May 2006 - 19:51 GMT

i did like the first few fotos, very well captured through perspective. someone saying that there must have been better architects around when those buildings were build must remember, styles change.and with the amazingly rapid gentrification and urban growth of montreal over the last few decades, there is no way in which those buildings could have rivaled with the increasingly newer perspectives of the futre, portrayed by the buildings.

EvilGentleman: 17th Jun 2007 - 21:34 GMT

I knew a Phyllis teen. But not as well as I had wanted to.

EvilGentleman: 17th Jun 2007 - 21:43 GMT

And nt, maybe the building would seem a little nicer if it had working escalators. Whenever I look at it, I can't help but think about the damn escalators inside. And don't tell me, lemme guess, you always view it from the entrance to Reggie's, right? It may be a sight for your eyes, but it is not a sight for sober eyes. I was proud to attend classes in the Hall Building, but I would consider the Library to be the defining element of the university. But hey, who cares what the buildings look like? It's the people and the education that matters, not the architecture.

mjb: 27th Aug 2007 - 14:37 GMT

These are great pictures. My roots are in Montreal. I've wanted to check it out. Parts of it remind me of NY and Boston.

Ken: 15th Apr 2008 - 21:48 GMT

The building in the 4th pic down is The 1250 Rene Levesque Ouest formerly it was the Tour IBM? if I'm not mistaken, it opened sometime in the early '90s?
Another interesting skyscraper downtown is the 1000 La Guachetiere, it's the one with the a-shaped top with a flashing light.

jen: 29th Jul 2008 - 16:19 GMT

hotel de la montangue is a high building that you can go look off and you can have a drink while you are there!