The Former Augustin Cantin Shipyard

Submitted by Giles Hawkins, Montreal resident

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On the north side of the Lachine Canal, somewhere between Charlevoix and des Seigneurs and just behind the Robin Hood silos on Notre-Dame, there is a large area behind chain link fence that was once a series of slipways and dry docks comprising the Augustin Cantin Shipyard. The site has long been abandoned and the slips filled in.
 

THEN: This is how the site appeared in 1875

NOW: View of the same site today from the south side of the Canal

Notice the curved concrete embankment here. This was once the entrance
to the dry dock and is now filled with rubble:

Camp site.  Do not disturb!

The site was more easily accessed a few years ago and at all seasons of the year I regularly walked through the site with my dog from Charlevoix to des Seigneurs, but last year the fences were rebuilt and improved. Combined with the nearby rush to gentrify, condo-ize and art-gallery-ize the area, access has now become now more difficult. This is not to say, however, that the site cannot be accessed. On a recent visit I found a neatly cut hole in the fencing on the west side near the Canal.

Enter at your own risk!

Hole cut in fence

The site is partially open, partially wooded with chokecherry, sycamore and poplar. The nearby presence of grain silos and the rail line that supplies them means there is a ready food supply of spilled grain for the abundant bird life here, including the barn swallow (hirundo rustica) which one rarely sees in the city.

Chokecherries

The site has been home to various encampments of itinerants over the years and there remains one neat little encampment tucked away under the chokecherry trees near the centre of the site.

It’s a delightful and quiet spot where one can be alone and quietly enjoy the passing scene.