Église St-Esprit (interior), Rosemont

Yesterday on my post about the Église St-Esprit, I promised to show you the interior of this gorgeous church.

The interior was designed by Toussait-Xénophon Renaud and some of the elements such as the flooring and the wall lights could be just as appropriate in a cinema. On the other hand the pews, seating on the main alter, the confessional boxes and the stained glass windows by Guido Nincheri do not belong anywhere but a church.

The pews at the front of the church are enclosed by these decorated Art Deco wooden panels.

Each of the panels and the door are stepped at the top. I can see floral or sunburst forms in the decoration and, of course, a cross on the door providing access to the seating. You can also see that elements of the seating are also decorated with similar Art Deco patterns.

Similar patterns have been used in the backs of these chairs and I think it looks more like a sunburst here.

Again we have a a representation of a cross on the large central chair which seems to employee more stepped forms than a chair can bear. Besides the stepped wooden slats below the seat, the armrest and the back supports are also stepped.

The confessionals are also decorated but not as richly as the other woodwork. The leadlight windows do make up for it though.

The ceiling is dominated by this cross. Again the stepped elements can be seen in this piece of decoration.

Suspended from the cross is a large round light fitting. Definitely could be found in a cinema or theatre foyer.

And if it wasn't for the cross below this wall light it could be in a cinema auditorium.

The flooring is no less spectacular. I suppose it is terazzo but I don't know. It could be part of a theatre foyer.

If you missed them on the way in, you can't miss the pair of lights on the way out. Perhaps about 2m tall standing each side of the door in the entrance foyer.

Reference:
Rosemont Tour Booklet, Tenth World Congress on Art Deco, Montreal, 2009

Église St-Esprit, Rosemont

This is the Église St-Esprit in Rosemont, Montreal. It was designed by architect Joseph-Églide-Césaire Daoust, constructed in 1932 and according to the Rosemont Tour Booklet from the Tenth World Congress on Art Deco in Montreal in 2009, it is the only pure Art Deco church in Canada.

I especially liked the stacking of geometric shapes on this part of the church buildings.

There are these angels on either side of the main doors.

The detailling is exquisite.

Finally there are three of these incredible lights in front of the church. Originally there were four of these bronze torchieres but one was stolen in 2003 and melted down after it had fallen over.

I haven't seen many churches in Canada I can well beleive that this is the most Art Deco of them.

But wait there's more. Tomorrow, I'll post some pictures of the interior.

Reference:
Rosemont Tour Booklet, Tenth World Congress on Art Deco, Montreal, 2009

Château Theatre, Rosemont

This is the Château Theatre in Montreal.

It was built in 1931 René Charbonneau as the main architect working with designers Emmanuel Briffa on the interior and Joseph Guardo on the exterior.

The central section of the facade features an arched form flanked by stone figures and including long-necked waterbirds, stylised floral decoration and a horizontal band with a wave motif.

There is minimal decoration on the side of the building but it does include reliefs of Comedy and Tragedy masks representative motifs of the performing arts.

Just about the only colour on the facade is in the form of two large stained-glass windows with a rising or setting sun. I like to think that even through Emmanuel Briffa worked on the interior of this theatre he may have brought some Egyptian inspiration from his work several years early on another Montreal cinema, the Empress Theatre, and influenced the design of these windows. The window on the left could show a rising sun against a seascape but the other window, to my mind, is a setting sun against the Giza pyramids. Egyptians considered the west, where the sun sets, as the realm of the dead and sited their pyramids and tombs accordingly.

Even if Briffa did not influence the design of the exterior of the Chateau Theatre, his work on the interior is glorious.

This is some of the detail from the foyer.

It is rich in decoration whereever you look. From the stylised sunburst to the stained glass built into the cornice and the central lamp fitting.

I'm not sure what the dark disk in the ceiling is, perhaps a vent of the remains of an earlier light fitting. Even so it has a quality look to it.

The detail above the exit of the main auditorium shows some more of the rich decoration in this theatre. Here you can see griffins an perhaps a winged horse alongside stylised floral forms.

I don't usually post photos with people in them but this one at the Château shows what we are like when we tour a building during a World Congress on Art Deco. And I had fun picking out some people. Our guides Jack & Jean-Yves. Colin from Montreal, Lynley from Melbourne, Peter from Sydney, Mick from Asheville, Rory from Los Angeles, Bob from Dublin, Robyn from Melbourne, Jo from London, Jan from Sydney and Mary from Dublin.

But forget about the people and have a look at the decoration on the wall and proscenium arch of this glorious theatre.

Reference:
Little Italy Tour Booklet, 10th World Congress on Art Deco, Montreal

École Louis-Hébert, Rosemont

The École Louis-Hébert is in the Rosemont area of Montreal. It was designed by Charles David and built in 1936.

The building is three storeys high with entrances and stairwells at each end sitting out from the rest of the façade. The upper floors are identified by bands of close-set windows while the ground floor has large windows with a large square pane in the centre with smaller panes arranged around the outside and separate, narrow windows on either side angled back into the wall. Raised bricks provide decoration at the outer edges of these windows.

The name of the school is spelt out in metal lettering across the façade above a relief of an open book.

The wings at either end of the building are decorated at the lower level by bold horizontal lines and each bears a relief above the windows.

The reliefs are by Alice Nolin and each is surrounded with a pattern consisting of raised bricks. One relief shows a man and a woman, labourers on the land, while the other shows a woman siting under a tree reading to two children.

Reference: Rosemont Tour Booklet, World Congress on Art Deco, Montreal, 2009