Reflections on a month in Montreal
In some ways is hard to believe that we have already spent one month in Montreal, until I think back on all the things we have seen and done. From the Georgia O'Keefe and Henry Moore exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, to catching up with old friends for brunch while they were in town, to a quick day trip back to Ottawa (with a pitstop at the Hawkesbury Service Ontario), to seeing Ministry play at the MTelus Center, all while logging well over 10,000 steps per day just wandering around and enjoying the city.
From all that walking, there are a few things that stand out. First is the murals. They are everywhere in this city, on the sides of buildings on busy commercial streets to the sides of garages in back alleys. They are woven into the fabric of the city and it's lovely. It's also a noticeable change from the City of Ottawa where not so long ago bylaw was summoned because a homeowner chose to paint a mural on the side of their house (yes, the Ottawa bylaw has changed since then, but being in Montreal has emphasized for me the positive impact street art can have on the experience of walking through a city)
Second, the plastic temporary winter garages are still as ubiquitous as I remember them being in Quebec. There are very large ones that cover the entrances to underground parking garages for apartment buildings, to streams of single vehicle-sized ones lining the streets of new infill housing in Griffintown.
Third is the density of the city. The houses are all attached, one to the other side-by-side, and stacked one above the other, with no front yards, and rarely a backyard.
It's very different from Ottawa where most houses have their own little parcel of front, back and side yards. We have also noticed is that on a sunny day, the parks and benches are filled with people: walking, running, biking, sitting on a bench reading a book, or just sitting there, eyes shut, enjoying the sun. It's hard to explain, but it just feels like people live more of their lives outside here, on the street, in the parks, and in the cafes. I don't know if it relates to the density of the houses and the lack of "personal" green space, but the urban spaces here are full of people, and therefore, life.
As I mentioned we went to see Ministry play at the MTelus Center.
It was quite a show, and it's an amazing space. I had been there during my university years when the venue was called Metropolis. Being up in the balcony gave us a great view of the space and the ceiling with its ornate mouldings. When I did some research after the show to learn more about the building's history I was surprised to discover that the building was originally built as a skating rink in 1884. It then became the Théâtre Français in 1893 and housed theatrical productions for the next 30 years. It was converted to a cinema in 1923, and then had a fire in the early 1930's. Thankfully, it was renovated after the fire and re-opened as a theatre, before being converted into an "Adult Cinema" in 1960 (I mean... it is on St. Catherine Street).The renovations after the fire included "decorations" by Emmanuel Briffa. He was a Maltese Canadian Theatre Decorator, who decorated approximately 100 theatres (60 of them in Canada) Three of the theatres he "decorated" have been designated for their national historic significance, two of which are in Montreal: the Rialto Theatre and the Outremont Cinema. Here's a photo of the ceiling of the Rialto Theatre:
The MTelus ceiling was much less ornate than the Rialto, but was still beautiful. Now, back to the building's origins as a theatre: I learned that Sarah Berndhardt performed many times in Quebec (1880, 1891-1905, 1911-1917). There is a very interesting paper written about her performances in relation to the burgeoning Quebec art and theatre scene and the tensions that it was causing with the Catholic Church. In 1905, she performed in many productions at the Théâtre Français, including Tosca.
From that paper, I learned that after various condemnations of her performances by Catholic critics, things culminated during her stop in Quebec City (right after her performance at Théâtre Français in Montreal). She was quoted as saying that French Canadians had progressed 25 years backwards because they were still under the yoke of the clergy. This resulted in her being pelted with eggs and tomatoes by University of Laval students as she made her way from the Chateau Frontenac to the train station in Quebec City.
I had no idea that going to see a Ministry concert was going to lead to learning about a Maltese Canadian Theatre Decorator and Sarah Bernhardt being targeted by the Catholic Church. Who knows what I will learn next! We are looking forward to the remainder of our stay in Montreal until we hit the road again in May. À bientôt.
