Oratory is suffering from no tourism
Without tourists, St Joseph’s Oratory has very little revenue. Granted a building like that must have a sizable heating and maintenance bill – what else are they paying for? And what are they getting revenue from, since they don’t charge admission? (Or do they? I know Notre-Dame does now. I haven’t been up to the Oratory in quite awhile.)
Also, the Oratory has been promising on and off for years to open an observatory on top of the dome, and then not doing so.
DeWolf 17:14 on 2020-08-09 Permalink
Maybe revenue from the gift shop and cafeteria? Incidentally, maybe they should consider moving the café out from the bowels of the building into the nicely lit space next to the belvedere, it would be a wonderful place to get a coffee.
Kate 17:16 on 2020-08-09 Permalink
It’s funny, I almost feel like I remember that there’s a café-terrasse on the terrace facing north over Côte-des-Neiges, but there isn’t. It would be great, though.
Mark Côté 18:35 on 2020-08-09 Permalink
I’m assuming like any church (since they normally do mass) they get donations from the congregation, no? Though I’m sure whatever they get from donations is probably dwarfed by maintenance costs alone…
MarcG 18:58 on 2020-08-09 Permalink
There is (was?) a building here that had a cafeteria with a view https://goo.gl/maps/cPKF3HupWCBoZaHS9 the last time I was there around 12 years ago.
CE 21:14 on 2020-08-09 Permalink
They sell a lot of Saint Joseph oil.
MtlWeb 08:02 on 2020-08-10 Permalink
Was just there on Thursday. Front lawn is completely dug up as part of their major reno plans which takes away photo-ops from their balcony. Coffee/lunch resto was closed. Gift shop was quiet but maybe par for a Thursday morning. Plenty of signs/sanitizer access all over; clean washrooms. Agree that setting up a coffee/snacks trolley could be a decent source of revenue and would be appreciated by visitors; on nice days, bring it out to balcony area; rainy days inside. Not sure why they don’t charge, even $5 for admission. The place is beautiful and represents Montreal.
Kate 14:04 on 2020-08-10 Permalink
MtlWeb, thanks for the update. I imagine the lack of an admission charge is partly due to the size of the place. IIRC there are several entrances and exits at different levels, so either you’d have to lock them all except one – which might not be considered safe – and funnel all visitors through one door, or you’d have to collect admission in several locations.
Jonathan 10:48 on 2020-08-11 Permalink
Well hopefully the fact that they have never paid any municipal taxes helps