Old Port (Montreal Harbour)

This walk will take us thru the Old Port or known in the past as Montreal Harbour.  Although the Old Port is part of Old Montreal, we will not go furthur inland than Rue de la Commune.  (We did a separate walk on Old Montreal at the end of 2021 that you can see on this website.)  The Old Port today is a major tourist area for the City of Montreal and integral to it’s economy.  There is rich history here and this walk will touch on some of that history, but, we will not go into details.  To write about the history of the Montreal Harbour would require great research and volumes of books.  We will take you to the “Sailor’s Church” and from its look-outs, see magnificent views of the Old Port. We will walk out to the Clock Tower Quay and take in the majestic St. Lawrence River.  We will walk along Rue de la Commune, admiring the old buildings and architecture before heading out to Windmill Point reflecting on ships of yesteryear making their voyage across the Atlantic. The walk ends at the John Young Monument and we will highlight some past events here.

In the below write-up of our walk, you will see old images mixed in with current photo’s so that we can enjoy todays “Old Port” and yet reflect on yesterdays “Montreal Harbour”.

We hope you enjoy the walk as much as we did. It is not a difficult walk, the terrain is flat, but you will be climbing stairs in the Bonsecours Chapel.   C & D did this walk on Saturday May 21, 2022 starting at 12 PM and ending at 2:30 PM, and it was a warm day, 32 C (89.6 F).  Below is the map we created to follow along as needed.

We started the walk right here at The Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel, built in 1771, upon the remains of an earlier church.  The remains of Marguerite Bourgeoys are in this chapel and it has a history of being known as the “Sailors Church”.

The Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel as seen in 1959 (credit Library and Archives Canada).

As you enter the church, look above you and you will see a painting titled ” Le Typhus”, (circa 1849) by Theophile Hamel commemorating the typhus fever and Irish immigrants of the 1840’s that came to Montreal.

The organ.

The altar.

Hanging from the vault are wooden replica’s of ships.

The tomb of Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys is to the left of the altar.

So we want to go thru a side door here and make our way to the two look-out’s.  There is a small admission, but, definitely worth it!

Follow along…

There is an antique staircase to climb…

…watch your step and don’t rush…

…almost there…

This is the first look-out.  Has a wooden railing.  Good views of the Old Port – lots of activites down there:  ferris wheel, zip line, pirate ship…

To the east you can see the Clock Tower.

To the west is a great view of the dome of Bonsecours Market.

The rooftops of Old Montreal.

Closeup of the dome of Bonsecours Market.

You can see how steep this is, right on the edge of the chapel’s roof.

Looking up at the spire west side.

Looking up at the spire east side.

On the balcony, you want to go thru a door that takes you to a beautiful room with an original bell and beautiful stained windows.  The sun’s rays coming into this room are magnificent!

Take the stairs to go the second look-out.

The second look-out is much smaller and has a metal railing enclosed in a mesh fence.

You are right up there now!

Views from second look-out.

Magnificent!

To come down from the second look-out is a metal stairwell on the east side.  Can be a little nerve racking if you don’t like heights.

You will go thru a door to another antique staircase…

…keep going down and watch your step…

You can see some original stone work as you descend.

When you exit the church, go down Rue Bonsecours towards the port.

If you look upwards, you will see how high you were on the look-outs !

The “Sailor’s Church”, overlooking the harbour.

In pop culture, Leonard Cohen’s song “Suzanne” reflects on this chapel.

Heading out on Clock Tower Quay, and looking back at Bonsecours Market and Bonsecours Chapel.

Crossing some railroad tracks.

The Montreal Clock Tower or Sailor’s Memorial Clock, built in 1922 it is 148 feet in height. It is a tribute to sailors during the First World War.  It is currently closed.

Looking down the St. Lawrence River, eastwards. you can see the Jacques Cartier Bridge (built 1925-1930).

An artificial beach, with sand and umbrella’s, has been made along the edge of Clock Tower Quay.

Along the edge of harbour is the old cold storage warehouse (built in 1922).  Now condominiums.  Molson Brewery can be seen as well.

The Montreal Clock Tower or Sailor’s Memorial Clock, built in 1922 it is 148 feet in height. It is a tribute to sailors during the First World War.  It is currently closed.

The Montreal Clock Tower or Sailor’s Memorial Clock, built in 1922 it is 148 feet in height. It is a tribute to sailors during the First World War.  It is currently closed.

The Montreal Clock Tower or Sailor’s Memorial Clock, built in 1922 it is 148 feet in height. It is a tribute to sailors during the First World War.  It is currently closed.

The St. Lawrence River.

Head back to the Chapel and start walking westward on Rue de la Commune.

Bonsecours Market (built 1844-1847).

Rue De La Commune, showing the Bonsecours Market, early 1900’s (credit Library and Archives Canada).

As you walk westward you will walk by Place Jacques Cartier, a public square created in 1847.

Below image is from 1959.  It shows Place Jacques Cartier with grain elevators all along the waterfront.  Victoria Bridge is seen across the St. Lawrence River (credit Library and Archives Canada).

Across the street is the entrance to the Jacques Cartier Pier.

Rue de la Commune, it follows the shore of the St. Lawrence River

Enjoy the walk, admire the old buildings.

Pirate ship, fun and games for the family.

Ghost signs evident on buildings echoing of commerce of yesteryear.

Remember, although you are in Old Montreal…we are not going furthur inland than Rue de la Commune.  We are staying on track just for the Old Port (Montreal Harbour).

Rue de la Commune.

Some terrace dining along here as well.

Across the street you will see the entrance to the King Edward Quay.

When you get to the corner of Rue de Callière, between 201 and 207 Rue de la Commune stood the original Joe Beef’s Tavern.

201 and 207 Rue de la Commune stood the original Joe Beef’s Tavern.

The old Joe Beef Tavern building in 1954 (credit Armour Landry BANQ).

Ghost signs of commerce from yesteryear can still be seen.

We are now going to cross De La Commune Street and enter the Old Port via the Grand Quai entrance.

We are going to walk west along the port.

The Grand Quai.

A cruise ship is in port.

Continue walking west and enjoy the atmosphere.

Railroad tracks.

You will come to the permanently moored “Daniel McAllister”, built in 1907. It is the oldest tug boat in Canada and the second oldest oceangoing tug in the world.

This is where the Lachine Canal begins, and furthur past the Daniel McAllister, you can walk along the Lachine Canal.  But on this walk we will not go there, we are going to turn around and cross over to Windmill Point.

On Windmill Point is Silo No. 5, built by The Grand Trunk Railway , starting in 1903 and then four stages thereafter.  There were several grain silo’s at the Montreal Harbour where grain was the main export and by 1928, the Montreal Harbour was the leading grain exporter in the world.

You can cross over the canal here to get to Windmill Point.

Postcard showing the grain elevator on Windmill Point (circa 1910’s).

Looking down the Lachine Canal.

We are now on Windmill Point with railroad tracks and Silo No. 5.

Stay on the dirt path to your left and do not go past the fence where the silo is.  You want to stay to your left, until you get to this little point where a metal sculpture that looks like a cross rises above.

Note of caution:  there is a steep drop on Windmill Point to the river below.  Watch out for rusty metal and broken glass on the ground.  Stay on the dirt path and do not go over or thru the fence surrounding the silo.

This is the tip of Windmill Point.  In the late 1840’s, fever ships making the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean from Ireland would arrive here.  About 6,000 Irish perished from typhoid as they landed in Montreal.  Not exactly sure who is responsible to maintain this land (Parks Canada ?), but it needs to have a fence around the edge for safety, proper lighting, a safe walkway to it and definitely some indication of it’s history.

The windmill on Windmill Point (credit BANQ).

We will head back the way we came and back onto the waterfront.

Exit the waterfront by the McGill street entrance.

We will walk back eastwards to the John Young Monument in front of 333 Rue De La Commune.

The Honourable John Young, first Commissioner of the Montreal Harbour in 1853.  He is noted for dredging a channel in the St. Lawrence River, widening the Lachine Canal, building modern docks at the harbour, brought railway into the harbour area and had the Victoria Bridge built to connect Montreal with the south shore.

The John Young Monument (created in 1908) with Neptune (symbolizing the St. Lawrence River) at his feet.

Neptune – symbolizing the St. Lawrence River.

Rue de la Commune in 1947.  You can see the John Young Monument, but, right now we are interested in the sign on the right, “Neptune Tavern”.  If we could only hear the conversations that went on in there ! (credit Library and Archives Canada).

Montreal suffered many springtime floods in it’s history.  Ice jams from the St. Lawrence would push up onto the land, backing up river water and flooding the city.  These were called ice shoves.  In the spring of 1886, a bad flood indeed occurred, the water going all the way to Square Victoria and flooding the streets all around.  There is a marker on the building showing the height of the water then.

And these were the common Ice Shoves that occurred in the springtime causing massive flooding.

While we are on the topic of water, ships, sailors, harbours, etc…it was the RMS Virginian steamship that picked up the RMS Titanic’s initial distress signal that evening in April 1912.  The Virginian relayed the signal to it’s Montreal office of the Allan Line, where it then hit the press.  Below is the Allan building on the west side of 333 Rue De La Commune.

So this concludes the Old Port (or Montreal Harbour) walk.  We hope you enjoyed it and the history as well.  The St. Lawrence River, the harbour, the bridges and the railroad, this is what connects it all and brings it together.  Whether you plan to visit Montreal one day or if you are a local resident, the best thing you can do is get out for a walk, get some exercise, breath some air and reflect on the surroundings. The Old Port is a great place to do that.  C & D will leave you with a few images more….

Image looking east showing the Jacques Cartier Bridge, the Cold Storage Warehouse and the Clock Tower that we saw (taken from Bonsecours Chapel look-out in May, 2022).

This image shows the harbour itself in 1928, with it’s quay’s and grain storage facilities.  Also take note of St. Laurent Boulevard (direct centre) that starts at the waterfront and heads directly north.  You can’t help but thinking of ships arriving with immigrant families who then headed straight up that street in the late 19th C. and early 20th C.  (credit Library and Archives Canada).

And this one is a winter photo (since Montreal is a winter city), showing  Rue de la Commune following the waterfront.  You can see the Victoria Bridge spanning the St. Lawrence River (taken from the Aldred Building in  January, 2020).

 

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