I have my copy of Rue Frontenac’s Vol. 1 No. 1 here, and was going to talk about it, but Fagstein has blogscooped me with a detailed description which there’s no point in my repeating.
I did wonder for a moment whether “ruefrontenbac.com” wasn’t some obscure joke about putting them into a recycling bac when done.
Today at the corner of Fairmount and Park, the old and the new. The cop minding the traffic flow confirmed what I guessed, which was that the old one had been somewhat squashed in the process of removing it, but nonetheless that, my friends, is a water main that has had its day.
What I’d really like to know about all those cops controlling the lights by hand along Parc is why none of them ever cite anyone for the dozens of traffic infractions per minute that occur with the congestion (running lights, bikes on the sidewalk, bikes going the wrong way down the street, gridlock, jaywalking etc) … it’s actually kind of comical . I’m assuming a “pas ma job” scenario.
@Ian – I’ve seen them go after people occasionally. I guess they’re just picking their battles, and in any case are mainly there to ensure that the “frustrés au volant” don’t ignore the street closure.
Montreal Flickr user DubyDub 2009 is putting together a growing set of shoebox house photos from different parts of town.
Is it true that some of those houses were turned into duplexes (or maybe even triplexes) by adding floors?
It wouldn’t surprise me, but these days they usually just demolish them and start from scratch.
This one (my photo from 2006) was replaced by this architectural doozie you can see in Google Streetview (mind you, it could technically have been rebuilt on the remains of the shoebox), and Spacing had a 2007 piece about a pair of adjacent shoebox houses in Villeray torn down to make room for condo buildings.
There’s quite a few of these in Place-Saint-Henri and a few left in Little Burgundy, too.
Also in Rosemont and Petit-Patrie and there’s a few in Ville Émard….I’ve heard about the ‘duplexification’ idea too…
I’ve seen a few of them get extra storeys over the last couple years. The Montreal vernacular of exterior staircases going to the second floor makes the conversion super easy. This one in Villeray was recently turned into a triplex and was done really well.
Advertising companies are gearing up to fight the Plateau’s anti-billboard law.
Okay, when does this begin to cost the borough more money that it’s worth?
…
Right about now.
I doubt this move was ever a high priority of the citizens of the Plateau. Project Montréal could’ve simply said ‘no new signs’ and saved thousands (millions?) of dollars by avoiding a legal battle. This from the party with a tree for a logo; they could’ve just planted huge trees directly in front of the offending signage. Since, as far as I can tell, they’ve failed to plant a single tree otherwise…
Yep, really not a priority. I voted for them, and still vote for them but this is kind of silly. Of all the things that need to be done. It happens a lot, people with great intentions kind of get lost at one point and loose focus.
I do agree that if the fight threatens to become expensive, it should probably be dropped. But on the other hand, why should we be pressured into keeping a market open simply because these big companies can bring a lot of money and lawyers to bear?
@ walkerp:
Because the borough is on a limited budget and those big companies are not? I agree with you in principle, but we shouldn’t ride our nice philosophy on the back of this micromunicipality. Otherwise, every time a water main breaks we’ll have to tell ourselves: “I’m sure glad that billboard issue has been caught-up in court for lo these six years – so that this won’t be repaired today.”
The Centre d’histoire de Montréal has been interviewing people from vanished neighbourhoods including Goose Village for an exhibition to open next spring.
Marc 18:12 on 2010/10/28 Permalink
A hard copy of a newspaper entered your house today? Kate, I’m impressed. :)
admin 19:46 on 2010/10/28 Permalink
:)