Industrial

Sunday’s walk was intended to be mostly in the old city near the Vieux Port. I was thinking of focusing a bit on the oldest architecture in the city.

On the way, I passed a lot of new construction on Boulevard René-Lévesque. There are a lot of new condominium towers going in. My path took me by Viger Square, where there’s a nice view of Gare Viger. This château-like building was at one time a Canadian Pacific rail station and hotel (built in 1898) and is now an event space and offices.

I was drawing close to old town when I realized my plan was not very well conceived. The tourist center of town on a sunny Sunday afternoon in August!? It was packed wall-to-historical-wall with people! I ended up continuing beyond it and cutting towards the river, emerging near the end of the Lachine Canal.

Dominating the view in this part of Lachine Canal is the complex known as Silo 5. This massive set of structures were built a century ago and expanded several times, most recently in 1958. They were, at one time, one of the largest grain storage facilities in North America. The complex is mind-bogglingly huge. Some 200 silos are there, and the towering superstructure is a cross between a the spa building from Spirited Away and some vast steam-punk fantasy.

The markets shifted in the 1980s, and the facility is largely abandoned except for thrill-seeking urban explorers and vandals. Most of the windows are broken, and there’s rust and graffiti everywhere.

Crossing the Lachine Canal at the old locks, you can get quite close to the Silo complex. Signs warn of danger and falling objects, and, while I was there some hooligans in one of the higher towers let some debris fall pinging down among the hoppers.

It’s not clear what will happen with Silo #5. There have been many plans to convert it into other things: a High Line-style park, hotels, condos, or even data centers. As this article points out, similar large structures like Silo #2 were demolished to improve the views of the river. In the case of Silo #5, maybe they’ll wait until the vandals knock it down.

Continuing south, I passed the still active grain silos operated by Archer Daniels Midland company. Atop this building is the famous “Five Roses Farina” neon sign with its fifteen foot tall letters. ADM sold the Five Roses brand to Smucker’s in the 1990s, but the sign has been preserved as a monument.

I continued along the canal. You can see a curious blend of a modern “human-focused” city with its parks and bike paths and waterways for boating along with the history of heavy industry. Further along the canal, as you get into the Little Burgundy area, there are signs along the bike path giving the history and showing old photos of some of the big industrial buildings.

Like all of Montréal, there’s a lot of construction going on. Especially in areas with river and canal views, condo towers are being built left and right.

Even with all this new building and old heavy industry, there’s still some wildlife, as can be seen in this picture of a crane and a crane.