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The Historian · Marguerite · Montréal

Bonsecours Chapel and the river shoreline

Old Montreal · Faith and waterfront history · Free

Here's a hidden layer: the waterfront you see is not the original. Rue de la Commune and the Old Port stand on land filled in over centuries; the original shoreline ran much closer to Rue Saint-Paul. The Bonsecours Chapel was built facing the river to bless departing sailors. Read how the city pushed its edge into the St. Lawrence, and how faith and commerce both clustered at the original water's edge.

The waterfront edge where the founding faith and the river trade met — the chapel oriented to the harbour, marking the old shoreline now buried under fill.

— Marguerite, The Historian
The move — Marguerite's insider tip for Bonsecours Chapel and the river shoreline — is in the app.
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