“Ever wonder what this old tower is doing here?” That’s what I often hear when people first see the Quai des Convoyeurs. It looks like something from another century. But it was actually built in 1956-1957. This pier was one of the last major maritime projects. It happened before the port transformed into a recreational area.
The Quai des Convoyeurs was built to unload grain from ships. On the left side of the King Edward Basin were articulated arms. Each tower had one. Endless belts with containers attached to them were used to remove cargo from ships. These towers moved on rails. They could unload one large boat or two smaller ones. The grain then went to grain silo number 1. It stood at the end of the Quai des Convoyeurs. Sadly, it is now destroyed.
Back in the 1950s, Montreal was exporting a lot of grain. Almost 200 million bushels passed through its elevators. This meant improvements were needed. The Quai des Convoyeurs made it easier to move grain. It went between ships and silo number 1.
Originally, there were two towers here on the Quai des Convoyeurs. They moved along the pier on railway tracks. Together, they efficiently emptied ships. Or they worked separately on different ships. These towers were part of a system. It used aerial conveyors. They connected several marine towers. These towers unloaded lake freighters. The conveyors led to grain elevators 1, 2, and 5. These elevators could hold 15662000 bushels. That included the new Elevator B-1 added in 1958-1959.
But times changed. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Old Port of Montreal changed its purpose. The area was in poor condition. A revitalization project began. Many buildings were torn down. This included silo number 1. Warehouses on the Quai de l’Horloge also disappeared. In 1983 Elevator 1 was demolished. The two marine towers on the Quai des Convoyeurs were abandoned. One was torn down. The other was kept for historical reasons.
Today, the Old Port of Montreal is a popular spot. The recreational side of the port exists alongside its port activities. The Quai des Convoyeurs is now the smallest of the Old Port’s five quays.
The Quai des Convoyeurs has even been used for filming. The final scenes of the movie Bon Cop Bad Cop were shot here. The TV series Fortier was filmed here as well.