World Art Utopia

Arbre au boulet

A round iron ball lodged in the roots at the foot of a big elm trunk on a street corner on rue Saint-Louis in Old Quebec, Canada, with a stone house and a white wooden door behind
Artwork FileQuébec City, Canada

Arbre au boulet

Gone2021

Former tree and iron sphere · Québec City, Canada

Photo: Jeangagnon / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0), cropped; resized from the SAU archive.

An American elm grew around an iron sphere on Rue Saint-Louis. Québec City identifies the object as an incendiary bomb reused as a wheel guard. The elm was felled in 2021. Source Reported

Elm felled in 2021. Evidence date: 2021. Source Reported

💡 4 things to know

  1. Probably not a cannonballLe Journal de Québec reports that the hollow sphere more closely matches an incendiary bomb. Source Reported
  2. Older than the treeAn early-1900s photograph showed the iron object in place before the elm. Source Reported
  3. A practical reuseThe likely explanation is that it was fixed beside the wall as a wheel guard for horse-drawn traffic. Source Reported
  4. Remembered in public artParyse Martin’s 2024 memorial preserves the projectile and tree fragments. The city lists its temporary site at Place d’Armes on Rue Sainte-Anne. Source Reported

📍 Where it is

Rue Saint-Louis at Rue du Corps-de-Garde · Québec City, Canada Source Reported

Open in Maps

Former location. Map pin is approximate; use the named site or address to locate the subject.

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 201418 Jul

    Elm and iron sphere photographed

  2. 20154 Jun

    Historical explanation published

  3. 2021

    Elm felled

  4. 2024

    Paryse Martin memorial created; original elm remains gone

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.

✅ The facts

Tree
American elm Source Checked
Iron object
Incendiary bomb, according to the city’s account Source Checked
Later use
Reused as a wheel guard, according to the city Source Checked
Location
Rue Saint-Louis and Rue du Corps-de-Garde Source Checked
Memorial artist
Paryse Martin Source Checked

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Photo: Jeangagnon / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0), cropped; resized from the SAU archive.

Last checked: 26 October 2026 · How we verify art