Abandoned buildings + parking lots near the BELL Center

A couple of abandoned buildings and still-active parking lots near the BELL Center will soon disappear for a huge expansion of the complex. The main abandoned building, in the middle of nowhere and difficult to access with the VM expressway exit just next to it, is quite a solid structure. I once applied for a job as security guard there. It used to be a shelter for homeless men. I didn't get the job but I did get to see the inside of the building. It's been derelict for so many years now that I can't even remember the last time it was open for business. The building on its left will also be demolished. The parking lots in between those buildings will also go.

The big parking lot (as seen in the last photo), where the Queen's Hotel used to be, will also be used for the next massive project.

 

The red sections are where the abandoned buildings and parking lots of this post are located. There are some additional buildings next to them, where the Hotel du Nouveau Forum is situated, and I don't know their fate but some of them also look abandoned. The area in purple is where the CN Bonaventure building used to be. It's still an empty space up to this day. In yellow is the Overdale area, where the Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine house is situated and has been recently sold, after 25 years in limbo, to developers.

Readers' input: mid-century modern house in Westmount

Earlier this year two readers of Vanishing Montreal gave me tips about two houses set to be demolished. One in Westmount and the other, the Montreal Trend House in Beaconsfield. Oddly enough, both houses are mid-century modern designs.

 

This mid-century modern house in Westmount, on Surrey Gardens between Gordon Crescent and Summit Crescent, is set to be demolished or is already demolished. The screen shot is from Google Maps streetview.

 If I ever get to Westmount soon, I'll try to see what's the status of the house.

Readers' input: Montreal Trend House

I got an email back in February saying the Montreal Trend House in Beaconsfield is set to be demolished. Sorry about the delay but there's so much real estate action/changes going on these days that it's hard to keep up. Beaconsfield is sorta out of my way, so if anyone has any photos to share before, during or after its demolition please just email them to me.

There's a great website dedicated to the MTH and its pending demolition. Pretty interesting info there. It's a shame it has to be demolished.

Even the CBC covered the story.

The photos below are from Google Maps

 

 

Provigo closed - Verdun - Update

The Provigo on Verdun ave in Verdun is now history. No more sign and it's empty. The second floor above it is also empty. There used to be a "billard" hall there. From looking at it now, I'm thinking new condo complex. It's a big piece of real estate and I doubt any business will open up there again.

Previous post here

Hopital Ste-Therese - Lasalle

 

The Ste Therese Hospital in Lasalle has been gone for a couple of years now but I captured its demolition  while  bicycling. I don't have a photo on how it looked like before these photos were taken and I couldn't find any on them internets. I always thought the building was a retirement home but its name would indicate otherwise. A huge condo complex stands in its place. GM still indicates the area as Hopital Ste-Therese. The photos were taken in the summer of 2006.

 

image: google maps

Industrial Plant on Newman - Lasalle

 

A composite of two image shows a plant being demolished in Lasalle on Blvd Newman a couple of years ago. The plant's exterior was red and one couldn't miss it. I don't know what the plant was or what they manufactured or for how long it was abandoned but I took these two photos when I was passing by when it was being demolished. The bird's eye view of the area from Google Maps in the image below still shows the plant and the general area being demolished.

 

Today, the lot is still empty, as seen here with Google Maps. It probably needs to be decontaminated.

St James United Church - Store fronts

 

For decades, the St. James United church was  surrounded by stores/shops/business built around and in front of the church's entrance. I don't know when it was built but the demolition of the ugly front was completed in 2006 and the glory of the church's spectacular facade can now be seen by everyone (see the following post). One of the few cases when the "vanishing" was actually a good thing.

Photos from the St. James United Church's website.

St James United church - Photography

This is not about the vanishing St James United church. I'm glad to say it's staying put (for now). No, I'm just sharing some photos I took while documenting a dozen or so sites.

With photography timing is everything and this a good example. I took these photos yesterday and, well, I arrived just at the right moment.

Pavilion Roland Bock

This building, Pavilion Roland Bock, adjacent to Hopital St-Luc, is set to be demolished. The DELSAN AIM signs are hanging all round it and its surrounded by signs saying "zone de demolition", which means certain death. I like the entrance. This will probably be my last post about the entire CHUM/Trinity church area.

Google Maps

The blue arrow is where the Pavilion Roland Bock is right now. The red sections shows what has already been demolished. The red arrow shows a building on Saint-Antoine that was demolished years ago. I can't find any photo or info on that building. Below is how the new CHUM buildings will look like.

Square Viger - still standing!

While the Trinity Anglican church, the beautiful Hotel/Apartments next to it and the Videotron building are all gone we can count our blessings that,  just a stone's throw away, the oddity known as the Square Viger (the world's only concrete park?) was spared and it's still with us. Arf. I took the photo above today. This photo actually makes the ugly square look pretty nifty.

VIDEOTRON Building

The Videotron building, just across the street from the Trinity Anglican church, was demolished in preparation for the expansion of Hopital Saint-Luc, also known as CHUM. Few noticed its disappearance but it's been standing for at least 20 years. Here's the "before and after" photos for comparison. The top image was taken from Google Maps.

 

 

Here's a sideways look of the Videotron building from Google Maps.

Trinity Anglican Church - UPDATE

 

I went back to the Trinity Anglican church site and nothing is left. Compare it with the image below from Google Maps from the same angle.

The two photos below are from the angle of the parking lot  that surrounded the church, the vicarage and the hotel that were destroyed.

 

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Franciscan Church - UPDATE

 

The top photo was taken in February 2010  after the fire that destroyed the 117 year old Franciscan church on Rene Levesque.  The photo below was taken today. Nothing is left of the Franciscan church and adjoining red brick building. I'm surprise they destroyed the one on the far left as it wasn't damaged at all and it was a solid building (the three photos at the bottom). I love the thin windows design on it. I've just added a main page on the 117 church to see all the postings on VM. The original posts are here and here. Not even the cross (3rd photo) is there. They should have kept the cross, as a remembrance of the church. 

The church and red building still exist on Google maps.

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Victoria School on de Maisonneuve

Abandoned for many years, the old Victoria School on de Maisonneuve, established in 1887, is being renovated. Hopefully they will restore it to its former glory. Love this building.

Link

Google Maps

Old Movie filmed in Montreal circa 1967

 

I came across these photo from an old European-produced movie starring Brad Harris (left) and Tony Kendall (center).  It's called "Kommissar X - Drei blaue Panther" and was shot in 1967 in Montreal as it was released in March 1968 in Italy. The photos are amazing. In the top photo the Montreal skyline is so different. I can spot Place Ville Marie, the Chateau Champlain Hotel (now a Marriott hotel) and of course the Sun Life building, which looks somehow different. 

There are a few other building I know but there are a couple of them that I don't recognize. The building indicated with number 1 is totally unknown to me. It looks old and looks like it's supposed to be were the CIBC building is now. And then there's the building on the right, indicated with the number 2. Looks like an apartment building. I don't recognize it as well. It's beyond my time I guess. If anyone has any info on them, just write to me.

The photos below show how different the Montreal skyline looks different from a distance.