Walking Tour: Main Page

Shaughnessy Village is located in downtown Montreal, roughly bounded by the streets Guy & Atwater and Sherbrooke and Réne Lévesque. This area is a hive of street art, some of it displayed by home owners, others sponsored by the city directly, or through Eco-quartier Peter McGill (Arrondissement Ville-Marie)… and some just appear magically overnight.

I have put together a trail that you can follow to enjoy this art; it takes about an hour and starts at the Guy street entrance of the Guy Metro station, meanders through Shaughnessy Village, and finishes near the St-Mathieu entrance to the Guy station.

Below are the various stops on the tour, click on each link to see more art in that area and details about the pieces.

Place Norman-Bethune

Across de Maisonneuve street from the Guy metro entrance is Place Norman-Bethune. Here a larger than life statue of Norman Bethune graces the small square.

Pierce Street

We next cross back on de Maisonneuve and then walk one small block west (same direction as the traffic) to quaint Pierce Street to see some more interesting murals.

St-Catherine and St-Mathieu

Follow St-Catherine Street west to St-Mathieu, then turn left, down St-Mathieu, to the first alley (beside 1270 St-Mathieu).

St-Catherine and St-Marc North

Continue west on St-Catherine to St-Marc, then go north on St-Marc (same direction as traffic) and you will see two colourful murals.

St-Catherine and Towers

One block further west on St-Catherine is Towers Street where you can see an angelic apparition floating on the apartment building wall.

St-Catherine and St-Marc South

We now need to backtrack to St-Marc Street and then go south, (opposite direction as traffic), to see a couple of sculptures on the east side of the street.

Ernest Cormier Esplanade

At the end of St-Marc, we go to the Ernest Cormier Esplanade, which is the park just across Réne Lévesque Street, opposite the Canadian Centre for Architecture.

Seymour Avenue

Our next stop is Seymour Avenue. To get there we need to cross Réne Lévesque at Fort Street and then go west for one block. Half-way up the street, at 1189, we will see some more elegant sculptures.

Hope Avenue

Continuing west on Réne Lévesque for one block we get to Hope Avenue and Place Hector-Toe-Blake; passing through the park you will see a couple of monuments to South American liberation heroes, and a beautiful mural on the street beyond.

The Old Montreal Children’s Hospital

Across Lambert Closse Street, you can see the site of the old Children’s Hospital. It is scheduled for demolition so these mural and wall reliefs on Tupper Street will probably be soon gone.

Cabot Square

Across Tupper Street is Cabot Square containing the monument to John Cabot (or Giovanni Caboto as he is known in Italian), who in 1497 discovered the coast of North America under a commission from Henry VII of England.

St-Catherine and Chomedy

We next walk east ( same direction as traffic) on St-Catherine to 2162; here is a wonderful example of modern commercial art.

Chomedy Street

We now cross St-Catherine Street and go up Chomedy to 1425; it’s on the right side, at the first alley. Here we have a mural made up of many panels; in fact it wraps around the building onto the back wall.

Lincoln Street

Carrying on up Chomedy, we cross de Maisonneuve and then turn left on Lincoln Street, where wonderful architectural reliefs adorn the back of Haddon Hall.

Sherbrooke and St-Marc

Continue along Chomedy, then turn right at Sherbrooke Street (for 2 blocks) until you reach St-Marc and the Masonic Temple. There is a treasure trove of interesting architectural sculptures here.

Emily Carr et ses Amis

Next to the Masonic Temple are the offices of Heffel, auctioneers and evaluators, where you can find the sculpture “Emily Carr et ses Amis”.

Sherbrooke and St-Mathieu

We next continue along Sherbrooke to St-Mathieu, where  we can see the Château Versailles lions, lounging across the street.

Victoria School

Turn right on St-Mathieu and continue for 2 blocks down to de Maisonneuve. Cross de Maisonneuve street and follow it west till you reach number 1922, the Victoria School. This piece of art is hidden in the school’s court yard.

Royal Montreal Curling Club

Next door to the school is the Royal Montreal Curling Club, founded in 1807. It has a must see mural.

End of the Tour

That pretty much covers the “State of the Art” in Shaughnessy Village as of September 2017. I have added descriptions for a couple of new pieces in 2019, and unfortunately a few pieces have been removed or painted over in the intervening years.

I expect there will be more art being created over the next few years and I will update this web page when that happens. I will leave the pictures of art that has disappeared, since this will be one of the few places you will be able to see it.

I hope you have enjoyed the tour.

Ted