Hidden Treasures and public Street Art are unique ways of contributing to the attraction and charm of a city. I love finding some hidden places that captures the spirit, the heart, the kindness and the history of the city. Hidden treasures also include those unique treasures/facts not well known by the general public but that will stay in the history of the city. It can be a restaurant that hosted high public figures of interest, it can be a monument, a street art, a historic big stone building… I believe such places captures and immortalizes specific moments that will live on in memories through decades.
Here I was in Chicago, where I managed to have a look of this sculpture I heard about:The Vincentian Letter. The sculpture refers to the history of DePaul and the life of St. Vincent de Paul. It is a pair of bronze elements, which are actually an “envelope” and an “open letter” to be read by all who pass by. The letter side of the sculpture shows St. Vincent, and the envelope portion tells the history of DePaul through an artistic interpretation of archival documents, which include a heraldic cross and an image of the fleur-de-lis (the symbol of France), the university’s Tree of Wisdom logo and a profile image of a young person. And you can read “I will show you the way of wisdom” #Chicago #Sculpture #Wisdom
As part of Montreal’s 375th and Canada’s 150th anniversary, a ten-metre tall sculpture named ‘Source’ was erected at the end of the Bonaventure Expressway in Montreal. This work marks the entrance to the downtown area of Montreal in a majestic way and contributes to the image of our metropolis.
Sometime during vacation, I travel back to my home country, Cameroon, where I visit historic places. For example, here I was at the entrance of the Bandjoun traditional chiefdom, one of the largest chiefdoms in Cameroon, located in the West region. At the back, you can admire the charming traditional casa, “Nemo”, built in the 17th century. The case is 17m tall. This vernacular architecture was partially destroyed over time by criminal fires. You can watch how it was rebuilt after a fire here.
Do you love Murals ? Here is a Mural of Leonard Cohen watching us. Cohen was a musician, poet and painter born in Montreal. This Mural is a celebration of Cohen’s impact and influence on artists working in many genres. It was inaugurated in time for the one-year anniversary of Cohen’s death.
Apart from being the city of 1000 Steeples, Montreal is also considered as an artist’s paradise with murals and graffiti in every corner of the city. Read my post about incredible Murals in my city! Plus Montréal was the first Canadian city to integrate the Street Art Project, a collection of the Google Art Project.
So do you get it ? I love sharing those hidden treasures that will make you connect with the city or place you are visiting. Have you ever travelled somewhere to discover a place you heard of ? Or managed to visit a famous area of a city ? I remember while in Boston, I managed to go to the Union Oyster House, a restaurant in Boston, because it has the favorite booth of John Fitzgerald Kennedy when he dined there. By the way if you stop by Montreal, make sure you stop at Liverpool House, the restaurant where former U.S. president Barack Obama met Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for dinner in June 2017.
I love finding some hidden places like the greetings from Chicago Mural, or engraved relief carving portraying people. Or historic related place like the Stained glass of the McGill Metro station in Montreal, the second busiest in the network. There are five magnificent stained glass pieces about the history of Montréal. The walls of the subway station “Place-des-Arts” in downtown montreal, are covered by the names and history of all the 68 stations of Montreal Metro Network.
At the end of day we should never forget that Sharing is Caring… There is a Zulu philosophy called UBUNTU, meaning “humanity”, and often translated as “I am because we are.” So we should never forget that by contributing on Google Maps, we are helping those who want to know more about a place, just like we would have wanted or wished someone like us, local guides, existed to guide us.
I look forward to connecting with our global community of local guides.
Thank you, Merci !!!