The past, the present and the future.
The past: Very little can be said about the history of the building once home to the Geo Klein Boat Co., because very little information can be found (at least by this anglophone). I can say that the building was constructed at some point in the late 1800s or early 1900s in Griffintown, in the centre of Montreal's Irish community, and that an unknown number of different businesses utilized the space between then and now. But that is pretty much all that I can tell you. Sometimes the past remains a mystery.
The present: After exploring the Canada Malting Co. Ltd. plant in mid February 2013, Nel58, Ninja IX and myself turned our attention to the former Geo Klein Boat Co. building. This was the first time that I ever utilized snow as a functional tool to gain entry to a location, and after climbing down into the building, I quickly realized that the snow would continue to be of interest. Massive piles of the white powder pressed up against the rooftop windows, due to the slanting of the roof. It trickled down into small mountains and dremlins on the factory floor below, and melted into meandering streams and a central puddle. Furthermore, very recently, a graffiti artist had cleverly incorporated the snow piles into his artwork.
The building encompasses an entire city block, but is essentially one massive open space with small two storey offices on each end. With not a whole lot to photograph or explore, I focused my attention primarily on the windows, the angles, and the reflections.
Outside in
Dexter Morgan
Factory floored
Go trespassing
Snowman reinvented
ReflectinggnitcelfeR
NOSER
Never say never say never
Split personality
Hooked on a feeling
Play the angles
What was that noise?
Scraggly kitty, cold kitty, little ball of piss. Angry kitty, scared kitty, hiss hiss hiss.
Starchild
Crapitalism
Is there anybody out there?
Couch surfing
Take it apart and play with the parts
Replay the angles
The future: While the past remains a mystery, and the present just passed us by, the future of the building is not such a mystery, and can be summed up in one word. A word that summarizes the present and future of this neighbourhood, and many historic neighbourhoods throughout Canada. A word despised by some, but embraced by eager capitalists and trendy latte sipping hipsters and pocket lining city councillors and mafia controlled construction firms. A word that is, whether we like it or not, the future.
The word: Gentrification.
The plan: Se7t. Condominiums. The following images are from the Se7t website.
Special thanks again to our friend and tour guide Nel58.
The next morning, we explored Incinérateur Dickson.
See you again soon Montreal. See you this weekend Toronto.
1 comment:
I love that you try to include history of the sites. Most pages are just a bunch of pictures. Keep up the good work. Found your blog by accident and have been glued to every post.
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