Montreal - A Mix of Old and New

I was born on Groundhog Day in 1977. 40 years later and my Dad is taking me on a tour of Montreal. We came in yesterday and have a hotel near the Bell Centre. The plan is to go to two Montreal Canadiens Games on Saturday and Sunday which meant we had Friday free for some sightseeing. We started with a short cab ride to the Notre Dame Basilica. It was originally constructed between 1824 and 1829 though it has gone through many additions, renovations and repairs since that time.

Dad and I spent much of our time admiring the craftsmanship that was required to build it. I stopped for a speaking tour and a young kid asked how much it would cost to build. I already knew the answer was 'we don't really know'. So much labour went into the original work that it would be impossible to price it in today's dollars. The most intriguing thing to me was the fact that the floor sloped towards the alter yet the way they built things you can hardly tell. It's only when you compare a person standing at the front to one at the back that you clearly see the difference. All before computer aided design.

After we finished admiring the church we went on a walking tour of Old Montreal. Living in BC you're only exposed to architecture back until the late 1800's. Montreal takes us back a few more centuries. The buildings are a mixture of ages and some look like they've been heavily modified over the years. One of the buildings appeared to originally be all rough stone work before adding a new fascade and brick work to add on additional stories. Most buildings also had to be heavily supported as the walls started to bow outwards. Fun to see what construction looked like hundreds of years ago.

Also in old Montreal was the present day city hall. Built in the late 1800's we were able to go inside and see where they hold council meetings. We also took some time to check out the court house. The front door was about 25 feet tall and made of steel. With very few windows and thick stone walls I feel it was actually built to handle the zombie apocalypse or some other event where high ranking officials need a safe place to go.

Our final destination was the old Montreal Forum. Unfortunately neither me nor my Dad ever got to see a game played here. It was closed in 1996 and turned into a movie theater and shopping mall. I don't think it's coincidence that Montreal hasn't won a cup since. They've destroyed a sacred hockey location. They did try to keep some things in place. There is an atrium area with a museum to the Habs and you can see the original roof beams as well as the approximate location of centre ice. Maybe this will be the year the Habs christen the Bell Centre with a cup.