Mastodo to return to Viger Square
The Charles Daudelin sculpture Mastodo is to return to Viger Square next fall, but not as a fountain. The heavy bronze form was meant to fill with water, then tilt and empty the water into a basin, but it stopped working fairly soon after it was first installed. It was taken away when the square was redesigned and has been sitting in a city warehouse ever since.
shawn 14:30 on 2023-01-27 Permalink
Don’t want to hijack this thread but place Émilie-Gamelin just north has been dealt a blow:
https://www.lapresse.ca/affaires/entreprises/2023-01-27/le-magasin-archambault-de-la-rue-berri-fermera-en-juin.php
Joey 15:06 on 2023-01-27 Permalink
That Archambault article… blaming everything under the sun except the fact that nobody buys media anymore…
carswell 15:26 on 2023-01-27 Permalink
@Joey That’s true for other Archambault and Renaud-Bray (same company) outlets too, and the ones I frequent (JTM’s A and CDN’s R-B) seem to be making a go of it. They started transitioning to gift items, toys, kitchenware, etc., years ago. And the big Archambault stores also sell musical instruments and scores, another non-media profit centre. The CDN R-B axed its extensive video and CD/LP sections years ago and the JTM’s counterparts have been smaller each time I’ve gone in; they’re adapting their business model to the new reality.
I find the reduced traffic explanation for the Berri store perfectly plausible. Actually, the company may have hastened the Berri store’s demise by opening well-stocked outlets in many neighbourhoods around town (the JTM and Place-des-Arts stores, for example). Why schlepp to the corner of Berri and Ste-Catherine when I can drop by the CDN Renaud-Bray or JTM Archambault whenever I do my grocery shopping?
Kate 15:37 on 2023-01-27 Permalink
I hope they can save the sign, which has been at risk of being scrapped before. Is there space on the Jean‑Talon building?
dhomas 07:37 on 2023-01-28 Permalink
I think the only location the could accommodate the sign would be the Jean-Talon one. This would be the most likely spot:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/22cYdSiQA2wsN8rQ8
All their other stores are in pretty short, one-story buildings or part of shopping centres.
Though this location has less history as an Archambault store, it does have history in the Montreal music scene. It was the site of Italmelodie for almost 50 years before turning into Archambault in about 2016, if memory serves.
shawn 11:42 on 2023-01-28 Permalink
That’s great a point about other locations. The underground PdA location is just so convenient. It may not have the cachet but maybe the best location for a music store in the city.
EmilyG 12:43 on 2023-01-28 Permalink
I’m a musician and I’ve gotten a lot of things from Archambault. Sheet music and musical instruments. I’ll miss the big Archambault store.