Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal
Gothic Revival basilica in Old Montreal, known for its blue-lit vaulted interior and twin towers.
Notre-Dame Basilica stands on Place d'Armes in Old Montreal, facing the square across from the Bank of Montreal head office. It was built between 1824 and 1829 to a Gothic Revival design by James O'Donnell, an Irish-born architect working in New York, and was for a time the largest church in North America. The twin west towers, named Temperance and Perseverance, were completed in the 1840s; the eastern tower carries a bourdon bell known as Le Gros Bourdon.
The interior was remodelled from 1872 under Victor Bourgeau, who replaced O'Donnell's plainer scheme with polychrome vaults in deep blue studded with gold stars, carved and gilded woodwork and a reredos of biblical scenes. The Casavant Freres organ of 1891, with four manuals and about 7,000 pipes, sits in the west gallery. The Sacred Heart Chapel behind the sanctuary was rebuilt after a fire in 1978 and holds a large bronze altarpiece by Charles Daudelin. The building is a National Historic Site of Canada.
Highlights
- Deep blue vaulted nave with gilded carving by Victor Bourgeau
- Casavant Freres organ of 1891 with around 7,000 pipes
- Sacred Heart Chapel with Charles Daudelin's bronze altarpiece
- AURA multimedia projection show staged in the nave each evening
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