Fin de Siecle | A Sagittarian Seeker

June 10, 2018, Montreal-

The thieves gave me more than they took, actually. An extra day to enjoy the comfort of Auberge Bishop’s community and to spend twilight in downtown Montreal were unexpected delights.

Here are some scenes of Montreal’s old and new, around the Cathedral of Mary, Queen of the World and St. George’s Anglican Cathedral. Statues honour Sir Wilfrid Laurier and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as a row of figures atop the Roman Catholic Cathedral. Below is a scene of the cathedral’s cupola, with CIBC Tower to its right.

The great tower also watches this gate to the cathedral’s grounds.

The Cathedral’s own watchmen are also quite vigilant.

Here is a memorial to the city’s fallen, in World War I, World War II and the Korean War.

In addition to the excitement of Formula 1 Grand Prix, there is a dazzling amount of construction here.

This abstract piece graces the Garden of the Cathedral of St. George, an Anglican house of worship.

This statue honours Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Canada’s Prime Minister during the Fin de Siecle, the turn of the Twentieth Century. Sir Wilfrid promoted both the expansion of Canadian territory and a retreat from Federalism. He espoused increasing harmony between English and French Canadians.

The “Mounties” are honoured here.

This likeness of Robert Burns celebrates Canada’s debt to Scotland, as regards its settlement.

With the dark looming, I headed back to the hostel. There, as an offbeat round of Bingo was beginning, I took a seat at one of the “audience” tables. The “winners” of a call had to perform a silly act. One young man came up and meowed at me. A few calls later, a pert young woman was to ask an audience member to dance. So, I accepted her motion and let myself move to the beat. At that moment, I realized why this extra night in one of my favourite cities happened. Business as usual, with no break-in, would have had me on the road, charging full speed ahead, to New England, It was essential, in fact, for me to slow down and get off the treadmill. So many “daughters” have appeared these past few days, from Toronto to here, offering messages of support and encouragement, in big ways (the policewoman) and small (this pleasant dancer). I went to bed, two hours later, feeling safe among the young.

NEXT: A fine repair and Grandma’s roots.

Prescott’s Mount Vernon Avenue is an amalgam of much that makes the town a draw for those who seek a blend of nature and luxury. It starts with a series of Victorian Era homes, ranging from full-on elegance to well-built, lower middle class bungalows. The road goes uphill steadily, then leads to Senator Highway, with its many forest camps and the rustic beauty of the Hassayampa resort area.

Five of Mount Vernon Avenue’s homes made up the conclusion of my historic homes tour on May 3. Here are nineteen photos of this diverse street’s best offerings.

I went first to the Hedrick D. Aitken House, home to a storekeeper and his family. “Hed” was one of the early members of Hassayampa Country Club, and is said to have golfed 18 holes, each morning before work.

Here are two shots of the interior, a photograph of Mattie Tuttle Aitken’s aunt, and one of the current lady of the house, as “Mattie”.

I net visited the Ralph Roper House, a Victorian Cottage, which was home to Prescott’s first dentist.

The living room gives the lie to the name “cottage”.

The present owner was laid back, preferring to sit on the porch and trade snarky barbs with some of the visitors.

I moved on, to the Hesla House, whose owners were very engaged in showing the house, dividing the visitors into small groups, and themselves dressed in Fin de Siecle garb.

Here are some of the more interesting features of the Hesla. First, it has one of the larger gardens along Mount Vernon.

Wood-ringed bath tubs were rare then, as now.

A Victrola provided the evening entertainment, before the heyday of radio.

Dolls were serious works of art, as the Nineteenth Century drew to a close.

Ceramic eggs, which I remember from my aunt’s house as a child, were another item of late Victorian decor.

No Victorian home would have been complete without a chandelier.

This view of the Sanglier House, a Queen Anne Cottage, shows the vagaries of lighting a house naturally, at the edge of a hill.

Carved animal heads, over a door, were the mark of the owner’s spirit.

The last house on the tour was the Lodge-Hicks house, a bungalow.

The decor was more reflective of the Forties and Fifties.

The little jaunt was encapsulated by this bit of sage advice:

Each resident of these delightful homes has followed this maxim, in their own way.

	slmret on The First Steps Onward
	Sagittarian Seeker on Not Overlooked
	Anonymous on Not Overlooked
	Sagittarian Seeker on Reason Returns
	slmret on Reason Returns

A Sagittarian Seeker

Sharing a life of inner and outer journeys

Tag Archives: Fin de Siecle

Trailheads and Paths, Issue 19: Arizona’s Mount Vernon

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