From Spacing Montreal:

A little bit of Montreal history, for those new to the city…

It’s a symbol that’s familiar to all Montrealers. It appears on street signs, official correspondence, libraries, city vehicles, and city councillors’ lapels, to name just a few. But where did it come from and what is its history?

Like many iconic symbols of modern Montreal, the city owes the famous rosette to Jean Drapeau. It was adopted by Montreal City Council in 1981, and like many of Drapeau’s projects it was surrounded by controversy.

Previously the city’s coat of arms, adopted in 1833, had been the main symbol of the municipality. Starting in the mid 1970s many cities accross Quebec began to replace their old coats of arms with stylized logos as their main visual indentification symbols. This was pushed by a number of practical concerns such as ease of reproduction and versatility. The trend was also influenced by modern communication strategies that called for easily recognizable, eye-catching images.

Source

Related posts:

1. About Games Montreal
2. New city logo fails to impress citizens
3. As high tech spending falls in the US, firms outsource to Montreal
4. Montreal: the city of creativity
5. Montreal’s Victoria Bridge marks 150 years

Tags: logo, montreal, symbol