In December of 1881 upon returning from a trip to Montréal, Mark Twain was famously quoted in the New York Times for saying, “This is the first time I was ever in a city where you couldn’t throw a brick without breaking a church window.”
Yes with our predominantly French Roman Catholic heritage we have LOTS of churches here, and places of worship usually include impressive architecture that also involves attention-getting entryways.
So as much as I try to resist overdoing it with church doors, the fact remains: this part of the world naturally provides excellent fodder for #ThursdayDoors through its many impressive places of worship.
A few months ago while running some errands we drove past Église St-Arsène on Bélanger Street East in the North-Central part of the city.
Since this is in my old neighborhood, I figure I must have driven past this place dozens of times over the years without ever really noticing it. This time however, Honey was driving and I had the luxury of riding shotgun while looking out for interesting things to photograph, so of course as I looked up the stairs I noticed the wrought-iron-over-glass doors right away.
Unfortunately we didn’t have time to stop that day and the light wasn’t right anyway, but I did take a mental note to come back to capture these doors at a later date.
We finally got to do that this past weekend. It was a little late in the afternoon so the light was still not ideal, but this time I decided to get out and try shooting it anyway.
Here are the results:
As you may have noticed in some of my previous door posts, I like that skewed perspective that comes from using a wide angle lens while looking up at the foot of a tall object.
Feel free to join in on the fun by creating and sharing your own Thursday Doors post anytime between Thursday and Saturday morning for entry into that week’s selection.
Click on this blue button to post your links here:
If you share your posts on Twitter and Instagram don’t forget to use the #ThursdayDoors hashtag.
And please do take a few minutes to visit the Thursday Door posts shared by others.
Thanks for looking 🙂
Pingback: Thursday Doors | Realistic Cooking Ideas
Gorgeous church! And love the Twain quote – he has the best quotes! What a witty man he was.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Interesting doors, Norm. Do you know why there are two entrances. Was it originally to separate the men from the women? Or just to thin out the crowds rushing out after Mass. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Jean – judging by the size/capacity of the place I’d guess the latter. To help thin out the crowds quicker 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re probably right. In the past, in Ireland, men and women were segregated in church, so I wondered if that might be the reason. Thinning a crowd would be a good idea in case of injury during the ‘mass’ exodus. Couldn’t resist that one, sorry.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a glorious day it was today in this beautiful city! I’ll take it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
We’ll all take it, especially after the wonky up and down temperatures and rain of the past week 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great capture!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLike
I’m not a church person, but who can deny churches have some of the best doors, if not architecture? Great find, thanks for sharing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks – we’re definitely on the same page on this one 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Villa Maritza in Oostende | Foto Challenge
Beautiful and stately doors Norm!
My contribution this week:
http://bclphoto.net/2015/06/04/thursday-doors-guell-palace/
I hope you like it.
Thanks!
LikeLike
Thank you!
LikeLike
Pingback: Thursday Doors: Güell Palace | bCL Photography
That church and its doors and steps are awesome.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Cee, glad you like it 🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: Thursday Doors Shade Tobacco | No Facilities
You can’t overdo church doors. These are beautiful Norm.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Dan 🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: Thursday doors | NewEnglandGardenAndThread
I too like the imposing look of an old church up close like this. This one is definitely a beautiful one.
I’m curious about the stairs though. The 2 sides don’t look the same. Are they built differently?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I believe that the left side of the stairs is still covered with that black anti-slip rubber that many places use in the winter. The right side is on the bare stone.
LikeLike
oh – that makes sense. Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: 168/365 – Would you go in? | jhoudephotography
Beautiful doors. The stone and iron work is beautiful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Judy ☺
LikeLike