Peculiarities of American Cities

by Willard W. Glazier

No city of the same size in the United States has such splendid churches. The Roman Catholic Cathedral of Notre Dame, fronting on the Place d'Armes, is the largest on the continent. It is two hundred and forty-one feet in length, by one hundred and thirty-five feet in width, and is capable of seating more than ten thousand persons. It is a massive structure, built of stone, in the Gothic style with a tower at each corner, and one in the middle of each flank, numbering six in all. The towers on the main front are two hundred and twelve feet high, and furnish to visitors a magnificent view of the city. In one of these towers is a fine chime of bells, the largest of which, the "Gros Bourdon," weighs twenty-nine thousand four hundred pounds. But as large as is this cathedral, it will be surpassed in size by the Cathedral of St. Peter, now in process of erection at the corner of Dorchester and Cemetery streets, and built after the general plan of St. Peter's at Rome. This cathedral will be three hundred feet long by two hundred and twenty-five feet wide at the transepts, and will be surmounted by five domes, the largest of which will be two hundred and fifty feet in height, supported on four piers and thirty-two Corinthian columns. The vestibule alone will be two hundred feet long by thirty feet wide, and will be fronted by a portico, surmounted by colossal statues of the Apostles. It will, when completed, be by far the finest and largest church edifice in America. St Patrick's Church at the west end of Lagauchère street, is noticeable for its handsome Gothic windows of stained glass, and will seat five thousand persons. The Church of the Gesü, in Blewry street, has the finest interior in the city, the vast nave, seventy-five feet in height, being bordered by rich composite columns, and the walls and ceilings beautifully frescoed.

The Roman Catholic churches undoubtedly exceed in size and number those of the Protestants, though some of the latter are worthy of note. Christ Church Cathedral—Episcopal, in St. Catherine street, is the most perfect specimen of English Gothic architecture in America. It is built of rough Montreal stone, with Caen stone facings, cruciform, and surmounted by a spire two hundred and twenty-four feet high. St. Andrew's Church—Presbyterian, in Radegonde street, is a fine specimen of Gothic architecture, being an imitation, on a reduced scale, of Salisbury Cathedral. Zion Church—Independent, in Radegonde street, near Victoria Square, was the scene of the riot and loss of life on the occasion of Gavazzi's lecture in 1852.

Like Quebec, Montreal is famous for its nunneries. The Gray Nunnery, founded in 1692, for the care of lunatics and children, is situated in Dorchester street. This nunnery owns Nun's Island, in Lake St. Louis, above Montreal, once an Indian burial ground, but now in a high state of cultivation. In Notre Dame street, near the Place d'Armes, is the Black or Congregational Nunnery, which dates from 1659, and is devoted to the education of girls. At Hochelaga is the Convent of the Holy Name of Mary. The Hôtel Dieu, founded in 1644, for the cure of the sick, and St. Patrick's Hospital, are both under the charge of the Sisters of St. Joseph. The Christian Brothers have control of numerous schools, and render material aid to morality and religion. The Seminary of St. Sulspice is a large and stately building, devoted to the education of Catholic priests. Nuns and priests are familiar objects upon the streets, and not always a welcome sight to the Protestant eye; nevertheless, the good works in which they engage are numerous and not to be undervalued.

The number of hospitals, scientific institutions, libraries, reading-rooms, schools and universities of Montreal is remarkable. Many of them are under Catholic control, and all are worthy of a highly civilized and prosperous community. First among the educational institutions of the city is McGill College, founded by a bequest of the Hon. James McGill, in 1811, and erected into a university, by royal charter, in 1821. It is beautifully situated at the base of Mount Royal, and, besides a large corps of able professors, possesses one of the finest museums in the country.

Montreal is a beautiful city. Its public buildings are constructed of solid stone, in which a handsome limestone, found in the neighborhood, predominates. Its churches, banks, hospitals and colleges are all edifices of which to be proud. Its private dwellings are, a majority of them, substantially built, while many of the roofs, cupolas and spires are covered with metal, which, seen at a distance, glitters in the sun. The most elegant private residences are found upon the slope of Mont Rèal, surrounded by ample grounds containing fine lawns, trees and shrubbery. From these hillside residences the scenery is most lovely, looking over a panorama of city, river and country, with the blue tops of the mountain ranges of New York, Vermont and New Hampshire plainly perceptible on clear days.

St. Paul street is the chief commercial thoroughfare, and extends nearly parallel to the river, but a square or two back from it, the whole length of the city. Commissioner street faces the quays and monopolizes much of the wholesale trade. McGill, St. James and Notre Dame are also important business streets. Great St. James and Notre Dame streets are the fashionable promenades, while Catherine, Dorchester and Sherbrook streets contain the finest private residences. At the intersection of McGill and St. James streets, in a small public square, called Victoria Square, is a fountain and a bronze statue of Queen Victoria. A number of fine buildings surround this square, prominent among which are the Albert buildings and the beautiful Gothic structure of the Young Men's Christian Association.

Bontecour's Market, a spacious stone edifice in the Doric style, is one of the handsomest buildings in the city. It fronts the river at the corner of St. Paul and Water streets, is three stories high, surmounted by a dome, from which the view is exceptionally fine. The new City Hall, at the head of Jacques Cartier Square, containing the offices of the various civil and corporate functionaries, is an elegant structure, spacious and perfect in all its appointments. The Court House, in Notre Dame street, is three hundred feet long by one hundred and twenty-five feet wide, in the Doric style, and erected at a cost of over three hundred thousand dollars. It includes a law library of six thousand volumes. Back of it is the Champs de Mars, a fine military parade ground. The Custom House is between St. Paul street and the river, on the site of an old market-place, and is a massive structure with a fine tower. The Post Office is an elegant building near the Place d'Armes, in great St. James street. In the Place d'Armes, is the Bank of Montreal and the City Bank, Masonic Hall, the headquarters of the Masons of Canada, and several other of the principal banks of the city. Mechanics' Institute, in great St. James street, though plain externally, has an elaborately decorated lecture room. The principal hotels are the Windsor, in Dorchester street, one of the finest of its kind in America; the St. Lawrence, in Great St. James street; the Ottawa House, corner of St. James and Notre Dame streets; Montreal House, in Custom House Square; the Richelieu Hotel, and the Albion.

One of the principal points of attraction in both winter and summer is the Victoria Skating Rink, in Dominion Square. This extensive building is used during the milder months of the year for horticultural shows, concerts and miscellaneous gatherings. In the winter the doors of this place are thronged with a crowd of sleighs and sleigh drivers, while inside, skaters and spectators form a living, moving panorama, pleasant to look upon. The place is lighted by gas, and men and women, old and young, with a plentiful sprinkling of children, on skates, are practicing all sorts of gyrations. The ladies are prettily and appropriately dressed in skating costumes, and some of them are proficient in the art of skating. The spectators sit or stand on a raised ledge around the ice parallelogram, while the skaters dart off, singly or in pairs, executing quadrilles, waltzes, curves, straight lines, letters, labyrinths, and every conceivable figure. Now and then some one comes to grief in the surging, moving throng; but is quickly on his or her feet again, the ice and water shaken off, and the zigzag resumed. Children skate; boys and girls; ladies and gentlemen, and even dignified military officers. Some skate well, some medium, some shockingly ill; but all skate, or essay to do so. It is the grand Montrealese pastime, and though the ice is sloppy, and the air chill and heavy with moisture, everybody has a good time.

There is one other amusement of the public, and that is sleighing. The winter in the latitude of Montreal is long and cold, and sometimes the snow falls to a depth of several feet, lying upon the ground for months. When winter settles down upon the city, the river freezes over, leaving the island an island no longer, but making it part and parcel of the surrounding continent. Then the people wrap themselves in furs and betake themselves to their sleighs, and glide swiftly along the well-beaten roads, between the white drifts. Vehicles of every description, from the most elegant appointed sleigh down to the rough box sled, are seen upon the road, and the jingle of bells is everywhere heard, as the sledges follow, pass and repass one another on the snowy track. Ladies closely wrapped in furs and veils, and their cavaliers in fur caps with flaps brought closely around ears and chin, alike bid defiance to the temperature, which is not infrequently in the neighborhood of zero; and the blood seems to course more quickly for the keenness of the atmosphere.

During its long history, Montreal has had disasters as well as successes. Something over a hundred years after its founding as a French colony it was nearly destroyed by fire, and a little later it became a favorite point of attack during the two American wars. But to-day it is the most thriving city of the British provinces. It has pushed its railway communications with great energy, and so long as peace is maintained between Canada and the United States it will continue to prosper. In the event of war, the city lies in an exposed position, and during the winter its only outlet, by rail to Portland, would be cut off.