In Old Port Montreal where all the tourists tend to hang out, there is a prominent factory in the background which has been shut down for a number of years. Its called silo #5 and it used to be some sort of grain storage and elevator system, involved in the malted barley (beer) industry. A dirt road provides access to the nearby Bota Bota Spa... its a spa on a boat with attached restaurant, and the road loops around silo #5 to a small outcrop of land. On location there were big, sweeping views of the st. Lawrence river and distant Jacques Cartier bridge. Looking west gave this neat view of the rear grain elevator system, and a giant chunk of twited metal and gears in the foreground, covered in graffiti.
Silo #5 grain elevators, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, November 2025
Looking from the front angle, there was a small bridge connecting two of the massive structures. To malt barley, the seeds have to germinate, then get dried out when the sugar content is maximum. Part of this factory was probably for germination, while the silos were for storage of the finished grain. Then, it would go off to the brewery to become beer. Historically, this malting industry in Montreal supplied most of North America. Cheers!
Silo #5 cross bridge, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, November 2025
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