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Just as the City of Montreal celebrates Mount Royal Park’s 150th anniversary, with activities scheduled through May 2027, the cross atop will go dark.
This is so that much-needed repairs to the steel structure and electrical system can be made, according to a motion adopted on Wednesday at Montreal’s executive committee meeting, which awarded a $3.7-million contract to ConCreate Constructions Ltd.
The company, based in the borough of Saint-Laurent, was the only bidder.
Alan DeSousa, the committee member responsible for infrastructure, read the motion before its unanimous approval.
He said renovations will begin later this summer. The cross will be relit in the fall of 2027 and the work completed in 2028. He said a portion of the funding comes from the Quebec government.
“It is a much-needed intervention, essential to preserve the strong Montreal symbolism for the benefit of current generations and the generations to come,” said DeSousa, who is also mayor of the Saint-Laurent borough.
The imposing metal structure, installed just over 100 years ago on the summit of Mount Royal, is not the first to have been erected there. The original cross actually dates back to 1642, the year Montreal was founded.
WATCH | Celebrating Mount Royal’s birthday:
How Montreal is celebrating Mount Royal’s 150th anniversary
The City of Montreal is celebrating Mount Royal’s 150th birthday by launching over 70 activities at the park as part of its year-long programming from June 1 to May 23, 2027. For further information about events and activities, Montrealers can visit 150montroyal.ca.
In an interview with Radio-Canada in 2024, historian and museologist Jean-François Leclerc said the current cross was financed by the sale of stamps by elementary and high school students in Montreal. Sold for five cents each, these stamps raised approximately $15,000, which was a fortune at the time, he said.
The City of Montreal provided land to the builders, and the metal cross was erected in 1924.
At the time, 240 50-watt bulbs illuminated the structure, though it likely wasn’t very bright, according to Louise Pothier, curator and chief archaeologist at the Pointe-à-Callière Museum. A technician had to climb the structure every time a bulb burned out in order to replace it.
“It’s still an extremely important event because it changed the landscape of Mount Royal forever,” Porthier told Radio-Canada in 2024.
The lighting system was modernized in 1992 with a fibre-optic power supply and LED lights.