The Farine Five Roses Sign Editorial Image

Arguably the most viewed historical landmark in Montreal, the Farine Five Roses sign has been greeting visitors to the city since 1948. If you’ve ever entered Montreal from the South-West by way of the Champlain Bridge, for example or just looked in that general direction, chances are you’ve seen it before. A bright red, blinking sign that reads “FARINE FIVE ROSES”─each letter being about fifteen feet tall and propped up by enormous steel scaffolding─it’s been a prominent feature of the city’s skyline for over half a century. Though it was originally intended to be a mere advertisement for the flour mill below it, the sign has gradually become a Montreal icon and a token of our city’s industrial past.