Archivist
Senior Member
Interesting article about a Mies Gas Station in Montreal.
The Ritz of gas stations looks for a new life
LES PERREAUX
From the Globe and Mail
January 27, 2009 at 4:00 AM EST
MONTREAL — As architectural landmarks go, the gas station on Île-des-Soeurs was barely visible, with its clear plate-glass walls, subdued colours and narrow steel skeleton.
But this wasn't just any gas station. The Esso on Berlioz Street was designed by world-famous architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1968, one year before he died. It was one of the final projects for the pioneering modernist designer of modern skyscrapers such as the TD Centre in Toronto and New York's Seagram Building.
The Mies gas station is no more. In December, Esso quietly removed the pumps and put plywood over the glass and the company sign out front. Now, Montreal's Verdun borough is left to sort out what to do with a rare piece of architecture not easily adaptable.
"The thing really is beautiful; it's so unassuming, like a lot of great artworks," said Phyllis Lambert, whose family, the Bronfmans, commissioned the Seagram Building.
"It's not pretentious, not glitzy. The major problem is, what to do with it now."
The gas station was part of a neighbourhood that Mies's Chicago firm designed in the 1960s, after a bridge connected ÃŽle-des-Soeurs to the rest of Montreal and the island was developed.
The filling station was a departure from the garish corporate colours, neon signs and blinding flood lighting of most modern service stations.
As with many of the architect's great works, it was designed for simplicity and transparency, allowing light and the surrounding scenery to show through. In its early days, a ground-level Esso sign was installed out front to help drivers spot the station.
"It's of a great simplicity, and it's a building that was really thought out. It's not overstated, it's very modest, very functional, and very well designed," said Dinu Bumbaru, the director of Heritage Montreal, who has described it as the "Ritz" of gas stations.
Ms. Lambert and Mr. Bumbaru are monitoring proposals for the site, owned by island developer Proment Corp.
Company president Samuel Gewurz says the city will ultimately decide what happens to the lot, assessed in 2005 at a value of $681,000.
The city will hold a public meeting this week to discuss new uses, including its own proposal to build a seniors and youth facility.
"We're waiting for the city to play its cards. We've given them the right to see what they can do," Mr. Gewurz said. "We didn't want to get into the whole issue of what to preserve, how to preserve. The city will work on how to convert what is there in a meaningful way."
Mr. Bumbaru is skeptical that a construction project would protect the architectural value of the site, which the city is slated to give protected status.
"There's a very fine balance between the building and the open spaces around it, underneath the roof," he said. "If you start rocking everything, you might turn what is currently a very delicate piece of transparent architecture into a block."
Mr. Bumbaru suggested a cyclists pit stop might work.
Ms. Lambert favours a flower market that could make use of the big canopy and move into the garage in the winter.
While experts agree the site has great architectural merit, it had limitations as a gas station.
Mike Terzian, the Esso's operator for nine years, said a second gas station on the island is closer to the highway with a modern car wash, a nearby Tim Hortons and other amenities not available in his residential corner.
"Between that one and ours, it was day and night," he said. "It's not Esso's fault. The volume we had was just not big enough."
But he still has a soft spot for the Mies Esso.
"Hey, I like the building, and if they gave me a permit tomorrow, I'd go back tomorrow, no matter how much it cost. But listen: The place is famous, but there's a lot of work to be done."
The Ritz of gas stations looks for a new life
LES PERREAUX
From the Globe and Mail
January 27, 2009 at 4:00 AM EST
MONTREAL — As architectural landmarks go, the gas station on Île-des-Soeurs was barely visible, with its clear plate-glass walls, subdued colours and narrow steel skeleton.
But this wasn't just any gas station. The Esso on Berlioz Street was designed by world-famous architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1968, one year before he died. It was one of the final projects for the pioneering modernist designer of modern skyscrapers such as the TD Centre in Toronto and New York's Seagram Building.
The Mies gas station is no more. In December, Esso quietly removed the pumps and put plywood over the glass and the company sign out front. Now, Montreal's Verdun borough is left to sort out what to do with a rare piece of architecture not easily adaptable.
"The thing really is beautiful; it's so unassuming, like a lot of great artworks," said Phyllis Lambert, whose family, the Bronfmans, commissioned the Seagram Building.
"It's not pretentious, not glitzy. The major problem is, what to do with it now."
The gas station was part of a neighbourhood that Mies's Chicago firm designed in the 1960s, after a bridge connected ÃŽle-des-Soeurs to the rest of Montreal and the island was developed.
The filling station was a departure from the garish corporate colours, neon signs and blinding flood lighting of most modern service stations.
As with many of the architect's great works, it was designed for simplicity and transparency, allowing light and the surrounding scenery to show through. In its early days, a ground-level Esso sign was installed out front to help drivers spot the station.
"It's of a great simplicity, and it's a building that was really thought out. It's not overstated, it's very modest, very functional, and very well designed," said Dinu Bumbaru, the director of Heritage Montreal, who has described it as the "Ritz" of gas stations.
Ms. Lambert and Mr. Bumbaru are monitoring proposals for the site, owned by island developer Proment Corp.
Company president Samuel Gewurz says the city will ultimately decide what happens to the lot, assessed in 2005 at a value of $681,000.
The city will hold a public meeting this week to discuss new uses, including its own proposal to build a seniors and youth facility.
"We're waiting for the city to play its cards. We've given them the right to see what they can do," Mr. Gewurz said. "We didn't want to get into the whole issue of what to preserve, how to preserve. The city will work on how to convert what is there in a meaningful way."
Mr. Bumbaru is skeptical that a construction project would protect the architectural value of the site, which the city is slated to give protected status.
"There's a very fine balance between the building and the open spaces around it, underneath the roof," he said. "If you start rocking everything, you might turn what is currently a very delicate piece of transparent architecture into a block."
Mr. Bumbaru suggested a cyclists pit stop might work.
Ms. Lambert favours a flower market that could make use of the big canopy and move into the garage in the winter.
While experts agree the site has great architectural merit, it had limitations as a gas station.
Mike Terzian, the Esso's operator for nine years, said a second gas station on the island is closer to the highway with a modern car wash, a nearby Tim Hortons and other amenities not available in his residential corner.
"Between that one and ours, it was day and night," he said. "It's not Esso's fault. The volume we had was just not big enough."
But he still has a soft spot for the Mies Esso.
"Hey, I like the building, and if they gave me a permit tomorrow, I'd go back tomorrow, no matter how much it cost. But listen: The place is famous, but there's a lot of work to be done."
