There was an interesting obituary in the Montreal Gazette today. Vincent Ponte was the urban planner who 50 years ago developed the concept of Montreal’s underground city. Ponte was working for the internationally renowned architect, I.M. Pei, when Pei’s firm became involved in the design for Place Ville Marie. Ponte was asked to do the master plan for the project’s developer, William Zeckendorf. Ponte envisioned a new environment for Montreal, which he called “the multi-level, interconnected city”.

Ponte was so attracted to Montreal that he moved here in 1964. He felt that Montreal was one of only three North American cities with a distinct personality, the others being New York and San Francisco. He continued his transformation of downtown with his plan for the site for Place Bonaventure. You can read more about him in a Time Magazine profile in 1970 calling him the Multilevel Man (this is a summary - free subscription required to read the full article).

He was involved in other major projects such as the area in Paris known as La Défense and the Bank of Canada development in Ottawa. All in all, someone who left his mark on the world and particularly on Montreal: we Montrealers should be truly grateful to him.

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