Montreal Sidewalk Stamps

Copyright Photo: Charles Duranceau Montreal Sidewalk Maple Leafs by Montreal Photo Daily, on Flickr
1979 Charles Duranceau Ltee Entrepreneurs

In the shape of a maple leaf, these metal plates are stamped with the date of construction of the sidewalk and the name of the contractor that built it. Unlike other cities in Canada, such as Vancouver and Toronto, where every sidewalk is stamped with the date of its construction and the name of the contractors that built it, sidewalk stamps are rare in Montreal. This particular "find" is in bronze and is about 6 inches across.

Does your city do this?



12 comments:

Birdman said...

No, but this is quite cool. More places should. So much better then handprints in the LA 'walk of fame'.

Leif Hagen said...

Curious Ken - I don't think they do that here in Eagan but I'll have to start looking a little closer where I walk...

Ah, Canadian Maple Syrup.....mmmmm

Kaori said...

No, we don't do that here. But that is a really cool tradition :D

Randy said...

Our's are not as nice as this. Excellent shot.

Judy said...

I have found some sidewalk stamps here but I think put there by business owners. The one you have here is lovely.

I wonder, do you speak mostly French or English in Montreal? I have only been to Alberta, BC, and Yukon where it is mostly English that we heard.

Unknown said...

Interesting! Thing you wouldn't found here... I hope it will be made here.

Greetings from Sumedang, West Java.

RedPat said...

That's wonderful! You are right - here in Toronto every new little section that is poured, even in a fill-in, is stamped with the date and the construction company name. I wonder why?

Montreal Photo Daily said...

@ Jarart: Most Montrealers speak both French and English. Of late, I've noticed an increase of Spanish, Russian, Romanian and Arab spoken on the streets in the downtown core. You can add these to the others that are already commomplace here, such as Italian, Greek, Chinese, Hebrew/Yiddish, Vietmnamese and more. My opinion? We're really international here... :) Imagine all the different cuisines available to us. It's a gourmand's paradise!
Hope this helps a little.

VioletSky said...

having grown up in Toronto, I thought this sort of thing was normal, and in my travels used to look for them to see the differences. Often I didn't find any and wondered why.
Ours aren't nearly as nice and interesting as this example, though I did find a Centennial one last week and was mightily impressed (that the sidewalk was really that old!)

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

We do not have them here. The maple leaf makes an exquisite shape for the designation.

A wonderful idea!

Bises,
Genie

magiceye said...

no and 1st time am seeing it! unique!

Arija said...

That is so nice embedded in the footpath.

My daughter has quite a collection of such treasures and the most wonderful man-hole covers from all around the world in her photo archives.

Thanks for your email, not to worry, misunderstandings, like something else one could mention, happen . . .