Mar 3/10: Barn

Mar 3/10: Barn, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Daily Shoot: Weathered objects have a lot of character: cracked, rusted, bleached, etc. Give us your best weathered shot today.

This barn (in the middle of Montreal) stands beside the Hurtubise House, built in 1739 on land granted to the Hurtubise family by Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve, the founder of Montreal, around 1650. I wrote about it once before. I love to see these vestiges of our city's past. This one, at least, has been saved for the future. It is now owned by Heritage Canada. So much has been torn down with whole areas being razed for new projects. It is nice to find these jewels that still grace our city streets.
House in spring
House in winter

Day 128: Hurtubise House

Day 128: Hurtubise House, originally uploaded by susanvg.

This house has stood here for 270 years (built in 1739). Once a farm house, built by the affluent Hurtubise family, it now sits in the middle of a residential section of Montreal. No longer surrounded by fields and orchards, its barn sits behind, an anachronism in an urban landscape. With the division of the original farm happening over time, houses from different vintages sprang up around it. This, to me, is one of the charms of my city - with architecture representing different time periods and different uses, from the homes built for the affluent to the homes built for the many people who worked on the infrastructure of our city, from building bridges to working on the railroad.

Unfortunately we have lost much of our older architectural heritage through city expansion, decay and lack of vision. This house, now owned by Heritage Canada, will be here to attest to a time when farms covered much of our island.

Learn more about the house here.