Phillip's Square across from The Bay, March 26, 2011

Just announced: The Hudson's Bay Company is going out of business, closing all but six stores.

30 December 2011, downtown Montreal

 

Restaurant Julien

The Bay in the distance

At The Bay

At The Bay

Phillip's Square and The Bay on the left 

Phillip's Square seen from The Bay, 26 February 2011

Photographs of Phillip's Square taken from The Bay on Ste. Catherine Street on 26 February 2011.

"The square features a bronze monument of King Edward VII, who ruled from 1901 to 1910. He visited Montreal in 1860, while he was still the Prince of Wales, and opened the Victoria Bridge. The statue was designed by Louis-Philippe Hébert and was erected in 1914. The four allegorical figures at the base of the monument represent Peace, the Four Founding Nations, Abundance, and Liberty." From Wikipedia.

St. James United Church in downtown Montreal

Just a few blocks east of Phillip's Square, adjacent to Ste. Catherine Street, where Morgan's Department Store (now The Bay) was located, you will find the prestigious Saint James United Church, pictured below. For many years the front of the church was lost to view when buildings for stores were constructed here; however, a few years ago these buildings were demolished so that the original front of the church was restored to view. And what a view it is! It is a magnificent building in downtown Montreal.

Interior

Historical photographs of St. James United Church

In this photograph you can see how the front of the church 
was lost to view when buildings housing stores were constructed;
these buildings have all now been demolished.

St. James Church was hidden behind these stores; they brought
in needed revenue but they were also an eye sore.

Morgan's Department Store

Here we are back in the 1940s. A full service department store like this is a thing of the past; the other day I saw an Amazon truck make two deliveries within five minutes on the same street, everyday I see Amazon trucks cruising our streets making deliveries, and how many deliveries does The Bay (formerly Morgan's) make on the same streets? None. Even The Bay trucks, or Eaton's trucks, are a thing of the past. 

Now we get in the Time Machine of photography and find ourselves in a different world, downtown Montreal, decade of the 1940s, pre- or post-World War Two. 

Photo taken between 1930 and 1940; this is Morgan's Department Store
before they added an extension to the rear of the store; this original 
building was called Colonial House

A winter day in the 1940s, Morgan's seen from
the entrance area of Birk's jewelry store

Furniture department display

Cosmetic department

A fashion show

Looks like the basement; now the basement leads to the Metro

Fashion department

Santa's visit

Morgan's, 1940s

A fabulous Christmas display on the store's exterior,
seen from Philips Square