It was interesting for me to read the article in the last edition of Le Vieux-Montréal which talked of the development of the waterside park we know today as the Old Port. It made me think back to what this area was like when I first came to the city in 1970.
At that time, vast walls of concrete stretched along the south side of Rue de la Commune along with sheds and high metal conveyor belts. The vast walls of concrete were grain elevators and three mighty examples presented their "backsides" to us in Old Montréal. The river was nowhere to be seen - in fact people could have been forgiven for doubting whether there actually was a river!
 Why were they there?
As the 19th century progressed, more and more land came under cultivation in the Canadian West producing millions of bushels of grain. Transported by train across the continent, this was loaded onto ships in our port en route for markets in Europe. So much grain arrived that new methods of storing it were required. Enter the Grain Elevator, a resolutely modern piece of construction. The first grain elevator in the port went up in 1849. Belonging to the Montréal Warehouse Company, a subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway, it was constructed entirely of wood and was rather modest in dimension. In 1885, the Canadian Pacific Railway also built wooden elevators but, by the 20th century, something much more colossal was required.
Grain elevator 1 (demolished 1983)
Grain Elevator No. 1 was originally built between 1902 and 1904 although it was considerably enlarged later between 1912 and 1915. Its massive metal silos rose high above what is now Pointe-à- Callière, as well as Place Royale and right across the southern end of Rue Saint- Sulpice. The Buffalo company, Steel Storage Elevator, was responsible for its construction under Chicago engineer John S. Metcalf. In 1983, when it was finally demolished, the view south down Rue Saint- S u l p i c e was revolutionized. Suddenly the sky was visible along with, occasionally, a ship! Photo 1 shows this elevator in its heyday along with Elevator No. 5 which is still standing.
 Grain elevator 2 (demolished 1978)
Demand for grain was so great that a second huge elevator was constructed between 1910 and 1912. The work of engineer John S. Metcalf once again, it was built entirely of concrete, the first in the world. A massive 240 metres long, it extended from the Marché Bonsecours along the south end of Place Jacques- Cartier. In addition, it rose a total of 60 metres in height - that's twice the height of the Marché Bonsecours (see photo 2). Although originally conceived to hold a total of 2 million bushels of grain (double the capacity of Grain Elevator 1), it was extended while it was actually under construction to a capacity of more than 2.6 million.
In its day, it inspired admiration. For example, in 1923, visiting architects Le Corbusier and Gropius were in awe before this magnificent example of functionalism... In fact Grain Elevator 2 was so well constructed that, for nearly a week in 1978, it resisted all efforts to demolish it. I well remember standing on Place Jacques-Cartier and watching the demolition team at work. It was an amazing site.
Why were they demolished
Although at one time, Montréal was the biggest grain-handling port on the continent, by 1970, this business was fast diminishing. Markets for Canadian grain had shifted to the Pacific, and rail shipments to western ports gradually replaced the trains coming east. By the middle of the decade, there was no need for so many huge elevators. Instead, the port developed as a container-handling terminal leaving the once mighty grain elevators empty and abandoned - until their demolition for the creation of the Old Port.
Postscript
It is interesting to note that Grain Elevator 5 still stands at the base of McGill Street though it has been out of use for more than 10 years. I will refrain from commenting on what I think should be done with this elevator - except that something ought to be done! And for those of you wondering about the missing numbers, I will mention that Grain Elevator 3 (located just west of Pie IX) has been converted to handle cement while Grain Elevator 4 (located east of Viau) still handles grain - the sole survivor!
Note : Fiona Malins arrived in the port of Montréal in 1970 by ship. Her first view of her future home was the wall of Grain Elevator 1.
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