The construction of so many tall buildings that the view of Mount Royal is obscured by cityscape is a concern mentioned in this Le Devoir piece by Jeanne Corriveau, who only mentions in passing that Denis Coderre is in favour of abolishing the old rule against buildings higher than Mount Royal. She also considers the damage that architectural façade-ism is doing to heritage buildings, which can end up as merely a thin decorative frontage tacked onto a glass box.
Updates from May, 2021 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Kate
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Kate
The driving situation in the Far West is now a “calvaire” but the Quebec government promises the Île-aux-Tourtes bridge will start to open again by May 31.
Update: The ferry between Hudson and Oka is overwhelmed at rush hour now.
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Kate
Guy A. Lepage has sent a mise en demeure to the Journal because the photo they used on the print version of the story about the disgrace of producer Luc Wiseman was a photo of Lepage himself. The famous show host says the juxtaposition implies he’s the one in trouble: anyone looking at it cursorily might get that impression.
Speaking of photos, I actually LOLed at the photo attached to this TVA story under that headline.
Blork
The photo of Julie Blackburn in the TVA article is so bad I almost feel bad for her. (Almost.)
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Kate
CultMTL lists 25 restaurant terrasses set to reopen Friday as pandemic measures allow.
j2
I wonder if these are just the ones willing to pay for the “exposure”?
Ephraim
I don’t see a clear statement from CultMtl on that, but generally paid exposure is supposed to be disclosed. One of the companies using the titles of “Supported Content”, “Custom Content” and “Advertiser Content”.
Influencers in Canada are also required to publicly disclose. So with no indicator, we have to assume that either it’s on the up & up and they know the laws on disclosure (because they want to avoid the fine).
After looking at the list and the restaurants that I have been to, from the list. I can certainly recommend Manitoba, la Prunelle, Maison Boulud, Damas, Maison Publique, Joe Beef and Liverpool house, though most of these places are on my once a year list because they are expensive. Except for la Prunelle, most of these places are quite outstanding and if I was rich… would visit more often. But alas, I’m not.
DeWolf
I can highly recommend Alma. They make the best grilled fish I’ve ever had in my life and some really delicious small dishes made with seasonal Quebec vegetables. Their terrasse is also fantastic and unusual, being right in the midst of a residential part of Outremont. And they’re one of the lucky restaurants that did well enough during the pandemic that they actually expanded next door, which means their terrasse is even bigger than it used to be.
For the most part, though, I’m most looking forward to the simple pleasures of being able to linger over a coffee or a beer at one of my favourite places. I’ve overheard my neighbours talking about how much they’re looking forward to sitting outside on the Social Club terrasse…
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Kate
Cops stopped a guy taking a whiz on the sidewalk on 24th Avenue (presumably in the east end). Man gave a fake ID and deked away, and in the ensuing chase by police he fell and took a serious head injury. More great work by our men in blue.
Blork
To be fair, people don’t give cops a false ID just randomly. It usually means they have something to hide and it should be investigated. The alternative history of this event is that the cops just let him go, and in a month’s time we find out he was a serial killer on the run and the cops just let him slip between their fingers because they didn’t want to start a fight. Then we’d be complaining about how lame the cops are because they didn’t get him.
As for the head injury, none of us can fairly criticize cops taking down a fleeing and suspect unless we’ve been in that position of having a potentially violent, potentially armed person flailing at us. It’s all fine and good to say “they’re trained for that,” but shit turns sideways in a millisecond; this isn’t like training under Marquess of Queensberry boxing rules where everyone’s a gentleman and there’s a referee. Shit gets weird and potentially deadly really quick, and the cops have to protect themselves and bystanders while trying to subdue the person whose level of threat is unclear. In this case the guy was on rollerblades, which makes it weirder, and there’s a good chance the injury was entirely due to him being a shitty inline skater.
And no, the above has nothing to do with kneeling on the neck of an already subdued suspect.
Kate
Seems to me an unreasonable escalation of response. But I take your point.
MarcG
His reason for giving a fake name might have been because he was caught urinating in public on his rollerblades. More likely to be a drunk than a serial killer if I were a betting man.
Blork
Sure, MarcG, but this isn’t a casino. Are you seriously suggesting that if the cops just let a guy go because he asked them to, and he later turns out to be a dangerous fugative (or serial killer) that you’d just be like “Oh well, lost that bet!” ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
MarcG
I didn’t say anything like that, no.
GC
The problem–for me–is that the police have eroded my trust in them with past lying. So, when I hear “he fell”, part of me wonders if he had help with that.
walkerp
Did he give them a fake ID? Or did they beat him down, find the fake ID and use as an excuse after the fact?
Why do any of you assume any of the police statement of what happened is the truth?Blork
In my case I don’t assume the police statement is the truth. But I also don’t assume it’s false. I assume nothing. My only issue is with automatically assuming the statement is false and/or that the head injury resulted from incompetence or unnecessary aggression on the part of the cops. (That doesn’t mean I automatically assume it WASN’T that. Short of direct evidence or witnesses, I remain neutral.)
John B
The article says the guy “donné une fausse identité” – so it sounds like he gave a fake name, not an actual ID document.
If he had given an actual ID document I believe that is a big red flag that should be investigated. If he just gave a fake name, (how would they know it’s fake, did he say his name was “I.P. Freely”?), then it feels more grey. However, I can’t imagine that the police, (or probably society in general), want a world where people being detained by the police can just bolt with no consequences.
Joey
This might be a bit of a cheap shot, but here goes. When a year+ into a pandemic, where the only place people can gather is outside, when all the usual public bathrooms are closed, people are gonna pee everywhere. When our friends, who live next to an alley a stone’s throw from Jeanne-Mance Park, complained to their city councillor that parkgoers had turned their alley into a ruelle jaune, so to speak, the councillor said ah yes the park has been rather full lately, what can you do about that, and hey if it happens again, please call the cops. He did not say, oh right, we were supposed to install toilets! Or, oh right, escalating minor discretions by calling the police can lead to terrible outcomes. Nope, the message was clear: you kids should hold it in and if you don’t, we have some bored cops looking for someone to harass. And this is the pogressive party in power!
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Kate
Is anyone else getting 503 errors on the blog website?
I’m seeing it intermittently this morning. Working with my hosting on getting it fixed.
John B
Got it just now. Had to refresh twice to get the site to load.
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Kate
The city has passed a new housing bylaw mandating social and family units in new projects. Of course developers hate it, and the CBC, in the name of balance, lets them sound off.
su
So in the end, the final version of the bylaw is only applicable in 3 parts of town. This is still unacceptable to our developer community.
Cadichon
@su, no, it is applicable city wide. It is only the part of the by-law mandating “affordable” (i.e. intermediate) housing that applies in certain parts.
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Kate
A Léger poll finds that Denis Coderre is ahead in intentions to vote this November.
DeWolf
An internet poll of 500 people. Not much of a sample. Plus, apparently Léger’s online polling system uses a pool of paid subscribers…
david752
This feels about right, especially the economic v. quality of life ratings (guess which one will win).
Bert 19:32 on 2021-05-25 Permalink
One of my most memorable views is coming in to the city, at night, over the (old) Champlain. Love seeing the mountain towering in the background. Please, no.
david752 11:33 on 2021-05-26 Permalink
The architect’s argument against facadism isn’t that it demolishes old buildings, it’s that it grafts old building facades onto modern buildings, instead of allowing the new to replace the old. She seems to be arguing a very incoherent point, that facadism is bad because it seems the old buildings demolished but the new buildings aren’t built in the same old style. Believe me, I’d love it if Montreal had greystone towers everywhere, but that’s not going to happen these days, and it’s just a crank’s position.
Robert H 18:24 on 2021-05-26 Permalink
Je soutien la mise en valeur de l’héritage bâti de Montréal et je suis d’accord que cet héritage est menacé par la frénésie de la construction que la ville connaît maintenant. Mais je pense que dans cet article, Jeanne Corriveau aurait pu choisi un meillieur exemple que le projet de La Baie qui comprendrait un tour de 120 metres. J’ai vu les rendus publiés par Menkes Shooner Dagenais Letouneux et ils semblent supérieur à ce que nous voyons normalement a Montreal. On pourrait se disputer avec le revêtement mur rideau vitré de la tour mais ce n’est pas un example du façadisme. L’immeuble patrimonial, Colonial House et les additions des années 1920 en grès rouge restera ainsi que La Baie, la derniere des grands magasins traditional sur la rue Sainte Catherine qui continuera d’occuper les premiers cinq étages au lieu de fermer comme à Winnipeg et Edmonton. Si on cherche une cible du façadisme, regarder pas loin le projet MAA Condominiums qui pousse maintenant à la rue Peel ou 1000 de la Montagne, un autre tour à condos en chantier. On ne vit pas dans un parc historique. Une ville vivant doit pouvoir évoluer mais il y a un moyen de préserver le patrimoine sans s’opposer par réflexe à tout ce qui est nouveau.
@Bert: la première fois que j’ai vu Montréal, c’était à partir d’un autobus qui traversait le pont Champlain. La ville fait une entrée spectaculaire. Dommage que le principal aéroport commercial se trouve à Dorval au lieu de Saint-Hubert. Bien sûr, Dorval, c’est plus practique, mais le trajet vers le centre-ville est moins…enchanteur.
David736 00:20 on 2021-05-27 Permalink
^ Great point, and I’d even add that when it comes to the Bay, there’s no patrimonial value to the space other than the facade. They’ve run that place through the ringer. When you talk Eaton, different story, but with the Bay, come on.
That said, the MAA project on Peel is one of great projects.
Robert H 10:13 on 2021-05-27 Permalink
@David736: HBC has certainly allowed the building to go to seed both inside and out, though as a part of the proposed project, it will receive a thorough renovation, according to the company’s media statement. It’s Montreal’s only remaining grand department store of the type one used to find in most larger North American and European cities. Perhaps, the designers will take some cues from the Holt Renfrew-Ogilvy project down the street: the renderings show clear, open windows and the removal of that hideous canopy over the ground floor displays.
Though the MAA condominium tower is an example of the façade-ism cited in the Le Devoir article, I agree that it is from a design-aesthetic standpoint another better than average project. Behind the propped-up wall, it preserves parts of the old building while essentially rebuilding the place from the inside out. The proposal is similar in that respect to what was done to the Ritz-Carlton a decade ago.