Thursday Doors is a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. Feel free to join in on the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing it, between Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time), by using the blue link-up button below.
St. Thomas’ Anglican Church, Notre-Dame-de-Grace – Montréal
We recently decided to check out an area in the western part of Montréal that I don’t get to visit very often. Notre-Dame-de-Grace, or NDG for short, is one of the larger city boroughs west of downtown.
Along with it’s neighbor Westmount, this is the part of Montréal with the highest percentage of residents who call English their mother tongue.
This middle to upper middle class neighborhood of close to 67,000 is filled with wide, quiet, tree-lined residential streets, and though real-estate here is much sought-after by families and young professionals, it still has some of the most affordable residential housing in the city.
We were actually curious enough to check online for some of the listings we saw while walking around. A typical detached 3-bedroom home was listing for a little under $500,000 which is an absolute bargain when you consider that these days similar properties in either Toronto or Vancouver would sell for 2 to 3 times that price.
But we were there on a doorscursion – not house shopping. So while walking around on one of the quiet streets in this neighborhood we came across this lovely old stone church.
St. Thomas’ has been serving the Anglican community in NDG since it was built in 1842.
As I often do when I come across an unexpected gem like this, I try to walk around the entire building, because going around to the side and back can lead to some wonderful door discoveries.
Especially when the building sits on a corner lot and has entrances from several sides.
And little treasures like this hidden garden shed door.
Or this side door.
This one doesn’t seem to get much use.
I finished up as best I could with the late day light fading fast.
Conclusion, I have to get out and explore neighborhoods like NDG more often 🙂
As always, thanks so much for visiting 🙂
Want to join in on the fun and share your own Thursday Doors post with other door lovers? Click on the blue button below to add the link to your Thursday Doors post to our link-up list.
Don’t forget that if you share your blog posts on Twitter and Instagram, use the #ThursdayDoors hashtag to help others find you, and please do take a few minutes to visit some of the Thursday Door posts shared by others.
I really liked the well kept wooden doors (except one with S on it.) The shed door was a sweet one and the stone work shows tones of blues, grays and rose colors. Pretty arches really set each door off, Norm. Smiles, Robin I am happy you are going on vacation and enjoy! We often wish friends, “Safe travel mercies, Norm.” 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad you walked all the way around! You found some beautiful gems. I love the arched doors and the wood looks like it’s aged beautifully. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a lovely shot of the tree-lined street, Norm, and those arched doors are gorgeous.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A gem, indeed!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, I love all the hiding ones! Especially the one half-covered by the leaves, and the one that seems to be in a garden wall. Oh, but that one with the cat-slide roof over it! What a wonderful find, Norm!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A beautiful church..I’m also glad you walked around the entire building
LikeLiked by 1 person
Me too – thank you 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great door finds, Norm. Normally curiosity kills the cat but in your door searches you seem to let the cat out of the bag with really nice door photos.
We can all lament the housing prices if we were fortunate to buy a home more than 18 years ago; prices are outrageous for homes in the San Francisco Bay Area as they are in your country.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks – this one was a wonderful discovery being that it’s not a neighborhood I know very well.
Toronto and Vancouver have imposed heavy taxes on foreign buyers to help curb the escalating prices and it seems to be working. I think more cities may have to go that route if they want to keep housing affordable enough for the people who actually live there.
LikeLike
Love the doors. The first one with bushes on either side looks like a fairy door. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. Yes it does look a bit magical 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely church and doors. My favorites are the doors framed by the Ivy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love older neighbourhoods with their towering trees. Great doors, complemented by a little summer greenery 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. Yes older neighbourhoods have lots of charm 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
such wonderful doors!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLike
Beautiful aged doors!
Can’t see too well how old or big the houses were in that street where the residences go for 2-3 times 500. When we were living in LA, a 1500 square feet, 3 bedroom house with a small front and back yard that was about 50 years old for (one time) went for that price (if it was in a middle class neighborhood).
LikeLiked by 1 person
1300-1500 square feet sounds about right in this neighborhood too. Age-wise, I’m guessing most of these places would be 80-100 years old
LikeLike
Was asking because I wondered if California and Canada were comparable in house prices. Have a great weekend!
LikeLike
I imagine those lovely wooden doors take a lot of maintenance! A place called Woodmount one would expect to find a concentration of English speaking folks ; )
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, we Anglos are spread out all over this place. Try as they might, they can’t get rid of us 😉
LikeLike
Gorgeous photos, Norm. I love the little-used one the best. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Linda 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love your pictures, especially the 3rd one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you – glad you enjoyed them 🙂
LikeLike
My old stomping grounds!
LikeLiked by 2 people
It’s a lovely part of town that I’m still discovering 🙂
LikeLike
Another great find, Norm. While I liked all the arched wooden doors, I was particularly attracted to the overhanging lights on 2 of the doors. Did you notice the small detail of crosses on the lights? I loved discovering little details like that! Someone put thought into it 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. I only noticed the crosses on the lights when I was processing the images in preparation for this post. They’re pretty cool eh?
LikeLike
Definitely a cool detail 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the doors with swooping greenery. The arched doors and the shed, especially 🙂 That sort of house (detached 3 bedroom) averages about $100k USD here in Indy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Joey. I have a feeling the swooping greenery is worse this year because of all the rain we’ve gotten. Our own front yard is looking like a tropical rain forest these days.
Only 100K for a 3 bdrm within the city limits? Wow, that is very do-able for someone with a steady decent paying job. It’s getting close to being out of reach for many here 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s unfortunate, the housing costs. I have friends in Vancouver who have expressed that as well.
My own yard gets overrun with vines this time of year, too, and I don’t often spend time in the heat undoing it. The vines will still be there in September when temps drop!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I saw this early, Norm but I was on my phone. I knew I had to wait until I had something with a bigger screen. I love the wooden arched doors! This church looks to have been lovingly maintained for all those years. The photo of the door (near the top) with the lamp in the transom arch could speak for the whole series. The woodwork, the details, the way the stone steps back in stages. I really like that door! I also like the last door, simple, straight, but more than enough detail to fit in well with the rest of the building.
Under $500,000 you say? It’s a little scary to read that and realize that you are talking about a relative bargain 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
Interesting, Dan, how our reactions were so different about the typical house price. While you were shocked at how high it was, I was wondering how I could convince Gilles to sell our place in Toronto and upgrade substantially to Montreal!! Home prices are stupidly insane here.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Wow – has Toronto always been that way? I was there last, about 15 years ago. I didn’t see much beyond downtown area but it didn’t strike me as super expensive.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’ve lived here for about 35 years and seen a couple of bubbles, but nothing like this current one.
We bought our first house during one of those bubbles in 1986. It was an old semi-detached, 900 sq ft and cost $109,000 … a horrific price at the time.
Today I saw a listing for a similar house a few doors down from our former home and the asking price is $1.2 million. 900 sq feet … no driveway
I feel so badly for people trying to move to Toronto and young couples wanting to buy their first home.
My sister lives in a tiny community 90 minutes north of Toronto. They’ve seen the value of homes in their village triple because of the upper pressure caused by Toronto’s housing market.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Wow! I don’t know how young people manage. $1.2 million ???
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s the problem – they don’t/can’t.
Here on an average salary it is still do-able but it’s getting tight. A few more years of market increases and home ownership will be out of reach for many.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s so sad. Eventually, it will swing the other way, but that may not end well for these neighborhoods.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t get it either. Mortgages have to be crippling. If we start to see much upward pressure on interest rates, I predict it’s going to get really ugly for a lot of people.
LikeLiked by 2 people
1.2 mil. would get you an amazing place on a fairly large lot in NDG.
Better hurry though all the foreign buyers who drive up the prices are coming here next 😉
LikeLike
Like Vancouver, Toronto has also started to impose a foreign buyer’s tax on real estate if the property won’t be the primary residence of the buyer.
Based on the latest numbers released yesterday, home sales have cooled off substantially, but I’m not aware if prices have started to come down yet.
I think you’re right though. With Vancouver and Toronto putting up barriers against speculators, Montreal may very well be the next target location.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Handsome doors, and I love the hardware especially the round pulls. Salaries in your neck of the woods must be quite competitive to be able to afford real estate that high. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Judy. That’s the problem – though it’s not as bad as Toronto or Vancouver which are insane, housing here is becoming less and less affordable for many 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would particularly like to know what is behind the door with the “S” on it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Me too. Especially since it seems somewhat neglected 😉
LikeLike
Solid was the first word which came to my mind, too. Typical Anglican architecture, solid stone and wood. Great pictures.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Ian 🙂
LikeLike
Good, solid, well kept doors in a peaceful green setting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. It is a very peaceful setting. We enjoyed our walk around this neighborhood 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person