The first of the three conflagrations occurred on Jan. 16, 1986 when Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church was heavily damaged by a blaze of equally dubious origins. The tattered shell of what was originally the old Sherbrooke Street Methodist Church stood for many years afterwards before eventually being torn down and replaced with yet another non-descript modern hotel. The demolition took place despite the fact that the City of Montreal initially insisted that, because of its architectural value, the 1865 place of worship be restored to its original state.
A little over a year later, in 1987, the Church of the Messiah, also situated on Sherbrooke Street, was the victim of an arsonist in a spectacular conflagration which took with it not only a remarkable ecclesiastic building but also, tragically, the lives of two firemen. Little remained to suggest the possibility of a restoration and so the site now accommodates a fashionable new condominium complex while the Unitarians have moved to a new location in Notre Dame de Grace.
Perhaps to prevent the shambles of a burnt-out religious edifice from scarring the urban landscape for yet another unknown period of time, the fire department proceeded immediately after the Feb. 6 blaze to demolish what remained of the outer walls of the old Franciscan Chapel. When the destruction is total, there is nothing left to contemplate in terms of a refurbishment.
So, whether Protestant, Roman Catholic, or Greek Orthodox, that is three century-old religious temples — buildings in which our civic ancestors once worshipped — that were lost in relatively rapid succession to this city’s spiritual heritage.
Yet a fourth church, a pre-Confederation edifice near Viger Square, is scheduled to be torn down in the not-too-distant future. Built also in 1865 as Trinity Anglican Church, the early English Gothic structure has the misfortune to be positioned where the new French-language superhospital is soon to be constructed. It is currently abandoned and barricaded — just as the doomed Franciscan Chapel was. Surely a purpose can be found for it within the framework of the massive CHUM blueprint.
While nothing could have been done in 1987 to save the Church of the Messiah from the hands of a deranged firebug, both Trinity Greek Orthodox and the Franciscan Chapel could have been saved if authorities, both public and private, had moved more quickly.
Yet deserted structures situated on valuable downtown real estate don’t have a very good track record in this city. They either remain derelict for incredibly long periods of time, ultimately necessitating sudden and dramatic demolition work (as was the case with the Queen’s Hotel on Peel Street in 1988), or they become mysteriously engulfed in flames in the middle of some well-chosen night.
On the other hand, when officials move swiftly and imaginatively historic buildings can be restored and, if necessary, recycled into different callings. That was certainly the case a few years ago when ownership of the American and Erskine Church on Sherbrooke Street was quickly transferred to the Museum of Fine Arts. By so doing, a magnificent heritage edifice, whose cornerstone was laid ironically the same year as that of the now-destroyed Franciscan Chapel, may still be appreciated by generations of Montrealers to come.
Century-old buildings are, as a general rule, solid and well-constructed. With a little vision and determination, new purposes can be found for them. One has only to consider the former Church of the Ascension on Park Avenue that was converted some time ago into a neighbourhood branch of the old City of Montreal Library. The once Hautes Etudes Commerciales edifice on Viger Square — now the Quebec Archives — also comes to mind.
When in September of 1907, Father Denis Schuler, the General of the Order of St. Francis, visited the Franciscan Chapel on the then tree-lined Dorchester Street, the church was described in local newspapers as “strikingly beautiful” and of “an impressive simplicity.” A century later, with the required resolve, it could have been spared such an unfortunate demise and allowed to carry on, in one way or another, as part of Montreal’s magnificent and diverse architectural legacy.
Leaving it abandoned was just playing with fire.
• Robert N. Wilkins is a researcher and writer with the Quebec Family History Society, an anglophone genealogical association based in Pointe Claire. He can be reached at montreal_1900@hotmail.com and his “BLOG” is found at www.forgoodmeasure.tk
