“I have walked myself into my best thoughts and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it.”
― Søren Kierkegaard
It’s true, walking will distract you while creating a new engagement, and something changes, even if it is very temporary, and walking is momentum, a kind of doing that requires very little preparation beyond remembering to bring water or a snack. Somehow, you are better for it.
It was raining the whole trip which started at the Charlevoix Metro.
Headed down Centre street to d’Argenson.
That’s a pretty big second floor balcony.
Locked.
Part of that ground level development around the old Sherwin Williams complex I mentioned in Walk # 14.
Parc Madeline Parent under construction along the canal.
Heading up Augustin Cantin.
“It’s not a house, it’s a home” – Dylan.
The parking lot at Magnan’s still packs up despite the tavern being closed since the end of 2014.
Evolution evoked.
Another view through a parking lot to Saint Patrick street.
There is a third floor is set back from the street. This is becoming common around the city as local bylaws regarding height and facades and street views get subverted.
Old timey lumber yard.
Everywhere.
Boilermaker park.
Sign.
Senior’s housing, I believe.
4 floors.
There is a lot of social housing in The Point but I have no idea how it stacks up against the rest of the city.
Surprising variety, this doesn’t look like The Point.
Longish Bixi stand, I wonder how they decide how many bikes to put – combination of area and available space? Is there a limit?
You can pretty much go straight in over the threshold.
That is a lot of facade.
Spotted these things in the wall of a building, wondering what the practical reason is as the one seems away from the doorway (though that could be a newer section of wall).
Looking east along Saint Patrick.
View along Shearer.
Close up of entrance at “The Northern.”
Somehow diverse within itself while maintaining uniformity.
Art with Trash, hmmmm.
Corner of Centre, Northern Credit Union and Fiesta bar were right there, probably not a coincidence 🙂
Holy Spirit Church. Perhaps it is not widely known that The Point had a significant Ukranian community? For a good summary of all the churches in The Point, check out this page.
Unusual staircase.
Grafitti on Sullivan, a little street, more like a lane, tucked in between Shearer and Jardin.
The thing on the left has a strong sense of self importance. Somehow, it looks functional.
Side view of the church.
Public gardens, verrry public gardens.
I like the dormer windows (one of the problems of doing this type of a walk on a rainy day is moisture on the lens).
It’s an ordinary street but there is an energy in The Point that seems to give life to everything.
Last block on Shearer.
There used to be a tunnel here that went under the railroad tracks but it has been closed off. Guess there isn’t much foot traffic on this block anymore.
Who gets the balcony?
And ivy next door.
Detail.
Ecole Charles Lemoyne.
Just when you think you have seen every style and variation.
The space between two buildings.
Repeat.
Bixi stand and Carre Hibernia coming up.
Looking back at the recreational centre, includes indoor rink.
Former fire station now a library.
Looking through park to housing on Mullins.
As I have pointed out in some previous walks, my goal is usually to cover the city and not spend a lot of time in specific places such as parks, and while I have stuck pretty much by and large to that guideline, I have nonetheless noticed about 6 or 7 of these wading pools along the way and lamented that for whatever reason the city no longer seems interested in making them functional for the summer. Not in this case! Staff assure me that this pool gets freshly filled every morning and that the pool is not just currently filled with rainwater as I originally suspected. I do stand corrected. Gotta love The Point!!
Two, for being so cool.
Sorry for the poor picture but this is Saint Columba House, legendary community centre that will be celebrating it’s 100th year of community service in 2017. Now THIS is the party the city should be celebrating next year instead of spending untold millions on completely unnecessary projects like granite stumps on Mount Royal and lights for the Jacques Cartier bridge.
Easy to picture something like a coffee shop in that spot, but I guess they went under for a reason.
Apartment for rent.
Nice corner building.
A co op for houses, project built in the early 1980’s.
Those balconies are just not practical but it might be nice to have the doors that can be opened in summer instead of small windows anyway.
Coming to the end of Grand Trunk.
Train going by d’Argenson park.
Closer look from under the bridge.
I have walked this street many times this year but this was the first time I really stopped to notice this pole was right in the middle of the sidewalk.
Would prefer it be something like this by Emily Carr.
And there is that building with the odd balconies again, doesn’t look like it would be much more fun in the rain (last time through I commented that it would not be a fun place to be on a hot sunny summer day).
Makes me wonder how that came to be, surely it was not designed that way originally?
This is the building beside the Charlevoix Metro seen from the other side on Chateauguay.
Hard lines.
No one makes anything ornate like this anymore, perhaps a lot of skills are being/have been lost?
Must have been a pretty big tree.
Strange hybrid getting a new driveway.
1885 Maison Productive House 2009. Condo.
Larger view.
Steep double staircase.
I was curious about the space in the back so I strolled through a porte cochere and got this view. May not be typical in The Point but they have plenty of space back there along this street (between Chateauguay and Grand Trunk).
You just do not see many outside staircases going to the third floor.
Been raining steadily all along. I have some waterproof shoes and a small umbrella. Only need one hand free to take pictures with the point and shoot camera. I get a bit wet here and there but not anywhere wet enough to get discouraged.
Eglise la maison du potier.
It’s a large church, this is the back of it going along Island street.
There used to be a little coffee shop here just a couple of years ago. No idea when they closed.
Former industrial age building and/or the aesthetics of decay suspended.
Saint Patrick street.
It really imposes itself on a neighborhood but it wouldn’t be so bad if it was only for a week or two, but they seem to typically take a few months and I think we all sense there is something wrong with that.
Emploi Quebec office on Saint Patrick a little harder to get to now, though still accessible to pedestrians without too much suffering.
Saw this curious looking “structure” near the wall.
Closer up it looks like someone could be living in there. But it does also appear to be a shrine of some kind.
Funeral parlour.
More over the threshold and ins.
Yea, I tried it, this gate really does swivel.
Former school?
Liked all the green. Green seems to be the one colour that really responds well to being wet (wink).
Graffiti between two buildings (non judgemental statement 🙂 ).
And you don’t often see a ramp going into the basement of a building – just to go under and to the back!
I once wrote a poem that ended with something like
in the
cool stump void
that was once
a weeping willow
tree.
Anyway, this reminded me of that.
Move.
Mosquee Khadijah.
Web developers. And there are three companies in there, I know because I walked in and asked them if they were hiring, apparently not LOL.
Ropery street view of Teo Taxi.
Small local hardware store still happening.
Bakery at Centre and Charlevoix.
And the Charlevoix Metro says it time to pack this one up!
Nice! First long walk in the rain and I really enjoyed it. Key seems to be keeping your feet dry, the rest doesn’t really matter particularly during the warm months. And I am really enjoying getting to know Point Saint Charles like this. If anyone has any stories, images, or links about any of the places pictured, please send them to me and I will see if I can add it in somehow to these blog posts which I am sure are going to form a small archive of some kind. Until the next time, be good!
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