MOUNT ROYAL

A Lovely Big Park

The day after an extremely long and strenuous day in Montreal, Canada I suggested, “Let’s walk up St. Catherine, (a major street) hail a cab, and hire him for a good part of the day so we can see Mount Royal.”

My friend was quite skeptical but I explained, “After looking at the map I don’t think we can get there without a car and things seem to be pretty well spread apart. There is no bus or subway that goes up there.”

The first cab that pulled around the corner off the busy street agreed to our plan and on our negotiated price. Mount Royal Park, established in 1876 and covering 500 acres, was designed by the same fellow who designed New York’s Central Park.

Our first stop was the imposing Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Italian Renaissance design. Arriving here definitely pointed out our need for wheels to get here. The carillon of the Oratory holds 56 bells, weighing 24,000 pounds, that were originally destined for the Eiffel Tower. Technical difficulties prevented them from ever getting there. In 1955 the bells were loaned to the Oratory for its Golden Jubilee. Later they were bought and gifted to the church. Church construction started in 1924 and inauguration took place in 1955. The exterior dome is 506 feet above the street and 263 feet above sea level and is the highest point in Montreal. This huge dome is the second highest in the world, behind St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The German organ with its 5811 pipes and five keyboards took two years to build and seven months to install.

As we entered the massive stately structure, we were surprised there was no admission fee. We picked up a booklet/guide in English making the $2 donation. Brother Andre, a humble doorkeeper, was born southeast of Montreal in the mid 1800s, and was orphaned by age twelve. He made his way to New England where he worked in textile mills, but at age 22 returned to Canada. In 1904 he built a small chapel which eventually became a basilica. He died at 91 in 1937.

Progressing through the church, we noted how modern the inside is. The 10,000 lit votive candles in one chapel give a warm glow to the large room. We thought crypt church a strange name until we read in the booklet, “The church is called Crypt Church because a vault is supported by flattened arches and because it is situated at the foot of the basilica.”  People were praying and occupying many of the 1000 seats. After noting the stain glass windows, we quietly walked thru the back of the church to the terrace for a view of the city below.

Escalators took us to upper rooms and another chapel. The church has seating capacity for 2200 and standing room for 10,000. The massive portico showcases 60-foot tall Corinthian columns. The portico offers an excellent view of the 283 steps leading down to street level. Fortunately our driver had left us at the entrance!

Next our driver stopped at the Smith House which is now a restaurant/museum.  From there we walked uphill over a hard-pack path and narrow roadway to the Chalet du Mont Royal where we had a spectacular view from the Belvedere Terrace before continuing on to the cross.

Leaving Mt Royal we rode through the Plateau that lies at the foot of Mount Royal. It is the home to a kaleidoscope of peoples and culture—rich and poor, English and French, young and old, gay and straight. This multi-ethnic area is the trendy spot for locals as well as tourists. Multi-colored houses with winding exterior staircases, ornate balconies, and French monsard roofs seem to be the norm in this area. We were glad we were not walking the hilly streets.

We asked to be dropped off downtown at Victoria Square. The square, named in honor of Queen Victoria in 1860, includes two sections (south and north) and was laid out in different stages beginning in 1811. The fine statue of the Queen adorning the square is the work of sculptor Marshall Wood, and was unveiled in 1872 by Lord Dufferin, the Governor General of Canada. At the time, Victoria Square was surrounded by a prestigious neighborhood.

The historic square changed a lot over the years with the construction of office towers around it. A major redevelopment project began in 2000. The stretch of McGill Street between Saint-Jacques and Viger streets has been shifted back to its original configuration, which in turn restored to the square its former presence. The new layout of the square reflects a contemporary design and now more emphatically links Old Montréal, the historic city center, with the modern downtown district to the north. The new fountain sports some modern sculpture. Flowering pots add bright perky spots of color.

It was a Saturday and most of down town was closed. My primary interest was to find the Paris Metro station entrance that was a gift to Montréal from the French for the 1967 Expo. As we studied the art nouveau cast iron rails, we each remembered our own trips to Paris.

We didn’t spend a lot of time down town and just as we were about to leave our driver suddenly appeared to run us back to the hotel. We had already paid him so it was a surprise to see him. It was above and beyond but it was the nice end to a fun day. He told us he’d enjoyed the day also and was then headed home to his family that included three teenage sons.