Montreal's 'Ugly' Manholes Are About To Get A Lot Prettier (PHOTOS)

Bye, bye ugly hole covers!
Montreal Manholes Are Getting A Pretty Redesign (PHOTOS)
MTL Blog
Senior Editor

In a Facebook post Monday, Montreal city councilor and vice-president of the municipal executive committee Sylvain Ouellet shared the first images of the city's new manhole cover design.

The announcement came on the City of Montreal's 379th birthday.

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"Many cities around the world have customized this very utilitarian cast iron piece and made them symbols of pride for their city, often as a reminder of their coat of arms, landmark buildings or as a work of art in its own right," Ouellet wrote.

"However, in Montreal, we had probably the ugliest and most minimalist lids in the world."

According to Ouellet, the new design by artist Luc Melanson is a stylized version of the flag of Montreal and the city's "five founding peoples" (a lily, rose, thistle, clover, and white pine representing the French, English, Scottish, Irish and First Nations, respectively).

The councilor said that new covers have already started to appear in the city and will become more widespread as streets undergo construction and older covers need to be replaced.

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  • Thomas MacDonald
  • Thomas MacDonald

    Senior Editor

    Thomas MacDonald was the Senior Editor of MTL Blog. He received a B.A. with honours from McGill University in 2018 and worked as a Writer and Associate Editor before entering his current role. He is proud to lead the MTL Blog team and to provide its readers with the information they need to make the most of their city.

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