Clearly, not the best quality photo, but a fascinating perspective on one of the city’s most famous public spaces. I’m going to see if I can dig up some pictures of this space between the 1940s and 1990s, before its major redevelopment. It’s actually amazing to see just how ugly this space became for a while. While its current incarnation leaves relatively few suggestions of its former self or scale, I can’t help but feel as though Square Victoria is still an emblematic space, despite the radical alterations of the cityscape in this sector. Guess that’s the cost of progress, though the integration of the Bank of Nova Scotia building and the Canada Steamship Co’s head office into the Montréal World Trade Centre will guarantee at least part of the square retains a 19th century architectural heritage.

I can’t count the number of times I sat in this very square, watching the world go by. Against the strong azure of a Summer evening’s sky, the Tour de la Bourse stands with a refined elegance. It was here back in the early Fall of 2006 where I watched, with much delight, army helicopters conducting special-ops maneuvers. Should’ve brought pop-corn actually. I could look at this building for hours, mesmerized by its subtle strengths and grace.