This is a map of Montreal, Canada that is
specific to abandoned places that a good friend of mine likes to explore
for his photography. Of all of these places, I have visited
the Turcot Yards (5.) and found it to be absolutely out of this planet.
Anyone who has seen the movie "Brazil" might be able to imagine
the environment, with crazy giant ducts exploding from the
ceilings...
Below are notes on the fascinating forgotten places in
the Montreal area. Words and Photographs are by my talented and
curious friend Sebastian, except for 5b, the photos on the link are by
me and from my experience there. More urban decay
photos by this artist are online at this SITE
as well!
1. Downtown, Montreal Skyline
2 . Dow Brewery
3 . CN Warehouse
4 . Jenkins Valves
5a.Turcot Yards
5b.Turcot Yards (a second excursion, pictures
taken by me)
6 . Smith Falls Hospital
7 . Mt. Sinai Sanitorium
---Dow Brewery...this is the sickest and biggest
abandoned building in Montreal. Abandoned since the middle of the 90's...
the beer label went bankrupt so they closed the brewery. Big, rotten and
tall and 8 floors high located 5 minutes from downtown, you can't miss
it unless you're blind. But even blind you would smell the rotten malt
floating is the air. I've been inside 3 times, and I even didn't
explore half of the building. It's an incredibly large building and you
really have to be careful to not get lost. Once inside, you can find lots
of interesting things, like old 80's computers, malt tanks, desks, gloves,
boots, lockers, control panels and even a board with beer ingredients!!
The first time I went there, we were only 2 people and we were shooting
in the second floor... then we heard a footstep noises and weird metal
"click" noises down there... After a few minutes the noises
faded out. We were pretty much scrared and left, not inspired anymore!!
A few days later, I was talking with some Montreal urban explorers and
they said that there is a a freak wearing a blue jacket living there,
named Richard. He knows all the basement tunnels and the rooms of the
place... If you explore the brewery long enough, theirs a good chance
that you'll meet him!! They said he's a cool dude, not dangerous at all,
just strange and weird... The brewery will be heavily modified/renovated
in 2004-2005. Too bad, that place was a treasure for urban exploration
and hardcore decay...
---CN Warehouse...a medium sized 2 floor warehouse located very
near the main Montreal railway in the south west near the downtown. They
used to put merchandise in the warehouse, before shipping them into the
city by trucks. After a fire on the second floor, the warehouse has been
deserted. The best time to take pictures of the place is definitely at
the end of the day, cause the sun is low and the lighting is beautiful
and warm, with crazy long shadows. When you visit the warehouse, you still
can find some vestiges of the past activities, like chairs, boxes, etc.
It's a place that you have to be quiet and careful cause it's near an
active railway and there are some active warehouses with workers. The
main entrance and main windows are boarded up, but there is another entrace
hidden somewhere.... deep in the shadows.
---Jenkins Valves...the worst place in Montreal. Post-apocalyptic industrial style, the place is old, dirty, contaminated, trashed and dangerous. Located in a lost part of the west industrial area, the grounds are heavily contaminated and each time I went there, I had a headache after my photo session!! It's still a beautiful place to explore. Tons of old materials, and abandoned cars in the middle of the factory. They were making valves for all kind of purposes, like locomotives and vehicles, domestic pipes, etc. The factory was also the major supplier for the US during World War 2, making valves for the submarines. Now the place is totaly deserted since the end of 80's. Many, many buildings and rooms to explore, from the administration buildings to the heart of the factory... They are actually demolishing the factory, and the city is supposed to build condos and lofts, once the grounds are decontaminated...
---Turcot Yards... The Turcot Yards is the biggest
and largest vacant area in north america!!! With 6 buildings and a control
tower, it takes a minimum 40 minutes to walk from the east to the west
of the yard. A former railyard with warehouses and administration buildings,
they stored the merchandise before sending it to the Montreal port for
further international transportations. The railways are still visible
in the middle of the yard. Lots of stuff can still be found, like desks,
phones, papers, etc. Located under the futuristic highways, the yard is
a great and interesting place with tons of rooms, buildings & space
to explore. The Turcot Yards was heavily guarded by security a few months
ago, but currently it's all open and easy to access. I even had an encounter
with cops there 2 times... The first time, the cop told me it was a restristed
area, and asked me to leave, otherwise I would get a $150 ticket, so I
left after only 15-20 minutes of exploration... Then a few days later
I decided to go back. AH, after only a few minutes, I got caught again...
by the same cop!!! After talking with him and being nice, he saw I wasn't
there to make troubles so he decided to let me go and explore! The city
of Montreal is planning demolish it in 2005 to build a large hospital
complex.
---Smith Falls Hospital... this is a random place I discovered,
located 2 hours from Montreal in a very small town. All the villagers
were looking at us very suspiciously. We didn't feel welcome at all, so
we had to be very carefull to not be seen around the hospital. Small town
yes, but the hospital itself is pretty big, 4 floors, with many wings.
Main entrance: opened!! Welcome and enter the hospital... Empty corridors,
empty cafeteria, empty patient rooms... They carefully removed most of
the medical material when they moved. Another strange place to see. I
spent only a hour in the place, and I had to leave for a very good reason...
Alarms!! When I was exploring and taking pictures on the second floor,
I heard some "bip bip" sounds. Alerted, carefully I decided
to go check where the sounds came from... I turned and entered a patient
room, and there was an alarm system installed in the corner on the room,
a lil' red light clicking... We were 4 explorers that day, and I was the
only one who wanted to stay, the others didn't want to take a chance to
we decided to leave the hospital. Thanks doctor!!
---Mont Sinai Sanatorium...My favorite place of all the abandoned
areas I visited!! Located 2 hours outside the island of Montreal, the
sanatorium is difficult to find, located in the woods on a mountain, away
from any towns. Patients heavily sick from the tuberculosis were going
there to finish their days... As soon as you find the hospital, you can
see wheelchairs outside, medical equipment laying on the grounds, etc.
Very strange place. Lots of stuff still there... The sanatorium complex
included 4 small buildings with one major one: the main hospital, a large
4 floor building. The first floor is where the kitchen, cafeteria, auditorium,
and doctor's offices were. This floor is total pitch black, the windows
all well boarded up... Spooky area, with X-ray machines...The second floor,
not dark with all the natural lighting coming from the broken windows,
was the MEN patients wing, walls painted in blue & green... It's crazy
to see how they left all the equipments there, beds, chairs, hydrotherapeutic
baths, etc. The third floor is the WOMEN patients wing, walls painted
in salmon orange & pink... the perfect colors to be sick. The fourth
floor was a very strange floor, with a dentist room, some other wierd
empty small patients rooms, maybe "special" rooms for the very
sick patients. It's easy to not feel good after a day of exploration into
that place... Each time I went there, after 5-6 hours of shooting and
exploring, I wanted to leave and go back into the civilisation, to see
people and lights...The sanatorium is abandoned since 1995, the town decided
to relocate the hospital to a more populated area. There is no project
planned for demolition...