American Streamlined Design at MMFA

It's time to go downtown on bike.

Destination: The Fine Arts Museum.

Why? It's a great museum, and it's free.

Speaking of free, the bicycle is the best way to get to and from downtown. Remember to always lock your bike securely! Once downtown, walking is a good choice, it's a very compact downtown core.

I took the obscure but impressively direct shortcut through Parc Mont Royal (chemin Olmstead between avenue Mont Royal and upper back parking lot of Royal Vic) and behind the Royal Vic hospital to get downtown.


Unlocked bike. Name: Rusty. Age: 22


Without trying I found some public art.




Michel Goulet "Les Moments Magiques" (details)

For more Michel Goulet take a walk on the Plateau from Theatre d'Aujourdhui on St Denis along rue Roy to Parc Lafontaine. Three Goulets, assorted versions of The Chairs. At Parc Lafontaine and Roy is an impressive cast bronze map of the parc Lafontaine.


Things on poles at the Vic (a similar parc is at Berri and Viger)

I did a high traverse of the mountain and came beside Maison Cormier, one of Montreal's Art Deco masterpieces. Earnest Cormier designed Université de Montreal, and this was his one-of-a-kind house. It was later bought by our prime minister Pierre Eliot Trudeau.


Art Deco shrine: Maison Cormier

Speaking of Art Deco, I also came across a Sherbrooke Street church with Deco themes.


Northern Deco

Exploring downtown Montreal...


Wasn't there a building here last time?

The mission was to check out some used bookstores on Stanley and MacKay streets, tourist a bit, and end up at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.


The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

I visited the Monet to Picasso room and the American Streamlined Design exhibition. Streamlined was a subset of Art Deco, and as this exhibition shows, brought style to utilitarian devices. All kinds of utilitarian devices.


Airstream trailer, circa 1948. (oval windows)

Outside the museum are some sculptures and here are some of the interesting things you'd see if you were here.


Claudia by Joe Fafard


Popular spot on Valentine's day.

Across from the Museum is this church. It has some of the very few gargoyles in Montreal.


Rare Montreal Gargoyle sighting

We ate supper at Hungarian Resto Cafe Rococco, where I learned that they put cabbage rolls on ice until September.

Heading home I passed this curving building. Curved, but not streamlined!


The curves of the McGill Medical Monstrosity