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 ROSESâ€â”€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.