Montreal - Points of View, a permanent exhibition at the McCord Museum, gives the visitor an overview of Montreal's history. It takes 10 different facets of the story, presenting the historic districts and people through objects, video interviews, and texts.

There was a lot of history to process, especially for someone (like me) who isn't yet very familiar with Montreal's past. To help me make sense of what I was learning, I decided to boil the major moments down to Tweet-length summaries.

This exercise helped me digest what I was learning in a fun way, similar to when I wrote haiku about Dutch Golden Age art in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

And now presenting: the History of Montreal in 8 Tweets (as learned in @MuseeMcCord's Montreal Points of View exhibition)
— Marina Gross-Hoy (@imaginibus) May 16, 2016

Early Occupation

Archeo evidence dates back 5k yrs. Many nations called it home, eg St Lawrence Iroquoians. J Cartier visits MTL (aka Hochelaga) in 1530s.
— Marina Gross-Hoy (@imaginibus) May 16, 2016

A Town Under Threat

MTL: founded in 1642 on faith + fur trade. Threats from 1st Nations (treaty in 1701) + Brits. Built stone wall around town (now=Old MTL).
— Marina Gross-Hoy (@imaginibus) May 16, 2016

Canada's Financial Hub

1760: English (not French) rule. 19th c. economic boom thanks to import/export, transportation, industry, finance. MTL=Canada's finance hub.
— Marina Gross-Hoy (@imaginibus) May 16, 2016

Cradle of Industrialization

Hub of trade + commerce (canals, port, railway). Great progress but sharp social disparities. End 19th c, MTL= 1 of world's richest cities.
— Marina Gross-Hoy (@imaginibus) May 16, 2016

A City by Design

1870s: inner suburbs grew. In 1901= pop. 325,000. City planning (sewers, H2O, transit, parks...) was expensive, so outer towns merged w/MTL.
— Marina Gross-Hoy (@imaginibus) May 16, 2016

Mount Royal - A Defining Feature of Montreal

1876: Mount Royal Park opens on the wooded area on the top of MTL's mountain. Designed by F.L. Olmsted (NYC's Central Park).
— Marina Gross-Hoy (@imaginibus) May 16, 2016

Shops, Shows, and Streetcars

1890s/1920s: Rue Sainte Catherine becomes shopping district. At dusk: jazz night clubs (popular w/ US prohibition) + red light district.
— Marina Gross-Hoy (@imaginibus) May 16, 2016

Modern Infrastructure

After WWII, economic prosperity. Modern identity formed @ 1967 World’s Fair. Infrastructure projects (metro, highways...) + skyscrapers.
— Marina Gross-Hoy (@imaginibus) May 16, 2016

Montreal - Points of View at the McCord Museum

Address: 690 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montréal ∣ Métro: Station McGill (Green Line) ∣ Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm, open until 9pm on Wednesday