Find out how this rule of thumb helped shape Montreal's skyline
In the early days of development in the city, buildings weren't allowed to be taller than Mount Royal.
In the early days of development in the city, buildings weren't allowed to be taller than the mountain
In Montreal, before the development boom which saw skyscrapers and residential towers sprout up in the downtown core, the tallest buildings were churches.
For a long time, Notre-Dame Basilica was the tallest point on the horizon — the tallest man-made structure at least.
As McGill professor of architecture Avi Friedman explains, the old rule used to be that no building could be taller than the height of Mount Royal.
