Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry, King’s engineer newly arrived in the colony, is charged with the building of Montréal’s initial fortifications, which are erected in the “Vauban” style between 1717 and 1744. The fire of 1721, which destroys practically half the town, leads to an ordinance stipulating that all buildings erected inside the fortifications be made of masonry. As only the more prosperous can afford this, many citizens have no choice but to build their homes outside the walls. As such, this ordinance leads to the creation of Montréal’s first faubourgs.

In 1731, the road network is still underdeveloped beyond the fortifications. To the west, faubourg des Récollets (or faubourg Saint-Joseph) is nestled at the confluence of the Saint-Martin (on the site of present-day Saint-Antoine Street) and Saint-Pierre rivers (between present-day Saint-Paul and William streets). It is comprised of only two main roads, one of which forms an extension of Notre-Dame Street and Roy Road. Beyond its bordering waterways, two major roads service the faubourg and links it to the island’s villages: the De la Montagne and Bas de Lachine roads, which will eventually become Wellington Street.

In 1731, faubourg des Récollets is comprised of about 20 wooden houses, which are mainly built along present-day Notre-Dame and Saint-Henri streets. South of the Saint-Pierre River, the Nazareth fief, essentially farmland, is made up of lowlands that are regularly overtaken by river ice and flooded in spring. The Charron Brothers’ hospice (1693) and a few windmills are notable sites. The town’s fortifications, which act as a barrier, are surrounded by an area used as a military reserve, where building is forbidden.

At the dawn of the 19th century, two-thirds of Montréal’s population (6,000 people) is living in the faubourgs when the order to demolish the fortifications is issued. The project, which sought to clear out the town and facilitate the circulation of goods and passengers, will last from 1801 to 1817. Demolition work is followed by the implementation of the Commissioners’ Plan, a development plan for the large areas freed up by removal of the walls, which aimed to repair the scars left by the fortifications, beautify the town, clean up surrounding streams and complete specific infrastructure and canalization projects to prevent flooding. The town now opened to its faubourgs, these are gradually merged to the downtown core and undergo significant expansion along a few main thoroughfares: Saint-Laurent Road towards the north, Roy Road (Notre-Dame Street) heading east and west, as well as along the Bas de Lachine Road, along the riverbanks. At the time, as the lumber and wheat business overtake the fur trade, the Lachine Canal becomes a key waterway for Montréal’s British merchants, whose ambition is to make their city the main gateway to the continent’s interior. Construction of this first canal lasts from 1821 to 1825. It opens the way for trade and transhipment activities, as a few of the city’s first large-scale manufacturing plants spring up along its banks. Most of the 500-odd labourers working on the site are newly arrived Irish immigrants. This represents the first massive wave of immigration in the city’s history. The Irish newcomers settle in Griffintown, faubourg des Récollets and the new district of St. Anne, immediately to its west, forming working-class ethnic ghettos. Lastly, with the creation of the Montréal Harbour Commission in 1830, the sector enters a new stage of development. Throughout the following decades, several projects considerably alter the look of the harbour, as the muddy beach at the feet of Commissioners Street (present-day De la Commune Street) is replaced by a series of piers and jetties that extend to the mouth of the Lachine Canal.

With the removal of the fortifications, McGill Street is constructed to the west (Rue Saint-Augustin on the plan). However, the canal designed to link the Saint-Pierre and Saint-Martin rivers, and must run up the middle of the new street, is never built. To the north, we see the layout of Craig Street (present-day Saint-Antoine Street). At the dawn of the 19th century, the Nazareth fief is divided into lots south of the Saint-Pierre River. Mary Griffin gives the task to surveyor Louis Charland, already involved in the Commissioners’ Plan. The whole area is baptized “Griffintown”, and its streets are named after members of the British aristocracy (east-west streets) and their titles (north-south streets). As Montréal’s first planned subdivision, it does not feature any alleys, a concept that will have to wait until 1880. The Lachine Canal is dug just south of this district, between 1821 and 1825.

During this period, the Sulpicians build the Petit Séminaire (1806) north of the Saint-Pierre River, on a swamp that has been filled in with debris from the fortifications. During the first half of the 19th century, except for the founding of the Dow Brewery on Chaboillez Square (1843) and the creation of a vast hay market at the faubourg’s northwest border (present-day Square Victoria), this sector remains mostly residential.

In the mid-19th century, the British government’s dismantling of its colonial trade system and protectionist trade policy leads Canada to look toward the American market to develop its economy. Montréal’s middle class quickly takes advantage of the railroads, which, contrary to waterways, enables year-round transportation of both passengers and goods. The first line, owned by Grand Trunk Railway (GTR), links Sarnia to Rivière-du-Loup and Portland, a U.S. port free of ice throughout the year. This project includes the installation of rail workshops in Pointe-Saint-Charles (1854) and the construction of the Victoria Bridge (1854-1859). As for port installations, the latter half of the 19th century features the construction of the Windmill Point (or Pointe-du-Moulin) pier and basin (1863), as well as the running of railway lines onto harbour property (1871). As of 1860, Montréal’s intertwining rail and water transportation system ensures that the city will remain Canada’s metropolis for over 100 years.

Between 1843 and 1848, the Lachine Canal is widened to accommodate bigger ships and produce sufficient current to harness hydraulic energy for industrial purposes. This waterway becomes the first part in a chain of canals linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. Its hydraulic energy potential, combined with its exceptional transportation facilities, attract several plants to its banks, thereby quickly transforming Montréal’s southwest district into Canada’s largest industrial hub until 1945.

Between 1873 and 1884, the canal is widened a second time and a large pool named the Peel basin is created at the canal’s main bend, between locks 2 and 3 (Saint-Gabriel). West of the Peel basin, the Wellington basin, the canal’s biggest, is constructed. In 1879, in order to ensure access to rail transportation, Canadian National (CN) builds the Harbour Bridge, which transforms the sector by creating both a physical and psychological barrier along the Peel Basin’s west bank.

During the 19th century, spring floods due to melting ice jams are a common occurrence in the lower city. In order to remedy the situation, De la Commune Street is elevated and two pump stations are erected (Craig Station, at the foot of present-day Jacques-Cartier Bridge, and Riverside Station, near Mill Street, 1887). However, the main solution to this problem is the Guard Pier (Mackay Pier, 1891-1896), which the Harbour Commissioners had demanded since 1833. This 1.6-kilometre protective dyke will finally make it possible to clear out river that regularly blocks the harbour.

By the mid-19th century, a significant portion of the renovations detailed in the Commissioners’ Plan has been completed. Most notably, the Saint-Pierre (under today’s Place d'Youville) and Saint-Martin (under Saint-Antoine Street) rivers have been canalized first aboveground, then underground. Furthermore, the faubourg’s road network is complete. While the respective layouts of faubourg des Récollets and Griffintown differ, the district essentially forms a mixed north-south axis. The main streets (Wellington, William, Saint-Paul, Notre-Dame, etc.) reflect the importance of east-west links between the old town, the faubourgs and the Lachine Canal’s constituent elements (basins and locks).

In 1845, the old faubourg des Récollets, the grounds of the Petit Séminaire, as well as the Nazareth fief (Griffintown), are merged into the new Sainte-Anne borough, which also includes part of Pointe-Saint-Charles. Located along both banks of the Lachine Canal and adjacent to harbour facilities, the borough’s development is closely tied to industrialization, the major work sites and the creation of a transcontinental rail network. Furthermore, following the adoption of the Commissioners’ Plan, land that was expropriated many years ago to build the fortifications are returned to the original owners’ descendants and heirs, which enables the consolidation of the area built on both sides of McGill Street.

During the second half of the 19th century, and especially after 1880, when the Lachine Canal was widened a second time, Montréal becomes an industrial city, thanks to booming development among its harbour and railway facilities.

At this time, the harbour skyline is significantly altered by the construction of a series of piers, grain elevators and tall warehouses. In 1885, Canadian Pacific builds the first wooden silos, which are soon replaced by steel elevators supported by concrete pillars. Grain Elevator No. 1, built in 1904 opposite Place Royale (and demolished in 1982), as well as the central section of Grain Elevator No. 5, built for the Grand Trunk Railway in 1906, are of this type. In 1912, another revolution takes place with the construction of the world’s first grain elevator made entirely of concrete, opposite the Bonsecours Market, which is reproduced in Le Corbusier’s book: “Vers une architecture” (Grain Elevator No. 2, demolished in 1978). Thanks to these structures, the Port of Montréal will become, by the end of the First World War, North America’s largest grain port.

The old faubourgs, Montréal’s main industrial and worker hubs, undergo major changes in the latter half of the 19th century. Indeed, Griffintown and faubourg des Récollets become the chosen sites for a wide variety of industries, including major metalworks, such the Ives and Allen Company (1864-1872) and the Darling Foundry (1909). Business interests expand in faubourg des Récollets’ northern section, which becomes a key hub for wholesalers and merchants by the turn of the 20th century. The difficult living conditions in the old faubourgs, exacerbated by the presence of nearby plants, quickly lead residents to move out of the area for healthier boroughs, which is made easier with the arrival of the electric streetcar in 1892. Working-class families are forced to move farther out, specifically to the communities of Sainte-Anne, Saint-Gabriel, Sainte-Cunégonde and Saint-Henri-des-Tanneries.

Throughout the 19th century, public health conditions in Montréal are among the worst of any industrialized nation. The situation for working-class families is deplorable. Garbage removal is inefficient, drinking water is hard to obtain, and in 1895 most of the dwellings south of Saint-Antoine Street are still not equipped with a bathroom. In Griffintown, one of Montréal’s industrial hubs, warehouses, manufacturing plants, metalworks and railroads are spread out among residences. Unsanitary dwellings, smoke spewing from plants, bad odours, flooding and epidemics (cholera, typhus, smallpox) plague the borough. At this time, cleaning up the faubourgs becomes a major concern among the City’s advisory board.

The industrial era leads to an increased railway presence along the harbour and near the Lachine Canal (see plan on opposite page). Several railway tracks now run along De la Commune Street and service the new piers. In the southern section of Griffintown, the blocks between Ann and Prince streets are now bisected by Brennan Street, which becomes the railway link between the Montréal Harbour and Victoria Bridge as of 1871. To the north, between Notre-Dame and Saint-Antoine streets, the layout is reconfigured to build Bonaventure Station in 1888. On March 1, 1916, a fire ravages the station. The port and the Lachine Canal are at their operational peak and their development transforms the landscape. It is also at this time that the Peel basin undergoes its final configuration and the Wellington basin is dug. Lastly, the gigantic Windmill Pier is built south of De la Commune Street.

At the turn of the 20th century, the concentration of labour districts changes the old faubourgs’ vocation. Indeed, residential areas become increasingly rare, making way for vast industrial complexes that spread across entire city blocks. Among these intensive developments, a few public areas are spared. North of William Street, on land where the Petit Séminaire was located, is the hay market (shown in yellow on the plan), and Square Victoria is constructed on Craig Street (shown in green). Along Notre-Dame Street, west of De l'Inspecteur Street, Square Chaboillez services Bonaventure station (shown in orange).

The stock market crash of 1929, which will result in a ten-year economic and social depression, will have a considerable impact the sector, as on the rest of the Western world. Port authorities are faced with a number of decisions regarding the distribution among America’s starving population of the huge food reserves stored in the Harbourfront’s warehouses. These same authorities have to address the fate of the thousands of people fleeing Hitler’s Europe and seeking refuge in Canada and the United States. These are decisions of national importance. In an effort to create work for the thousands of Montrealers left unemployed by the Depression, the mayor, Camillien Houde, embarked on a number of municipal projects that have a lasting impact on the city (e.g. the Botanical Gardens, several public baths and markets).

Canadian National (CN), created in 1923 through the consolidation of several rail companies, has big plans for Montréal. At the end of the 1920s, the company begins work on the construction of a railway overpass designed to link Victoria Bridge and the old Grand Trunk marshalling yard in Pointe-Saint-Charles to a huge Art Deco complex in the downtown core, similar to New York’s Rockefeller Centre. The project features a hotel and several high-rise office buildings, which are located at the junction point of the overpass and tunnel access beneath Mount Royal.

However, the Depression grinds the project to a halt, and only the overpass and train station from the original plan are built (1938-1943). Construction work calls for the demolition of all buildings between de Nazareth and Dalhousie streets. As a consequence, the raised railway access ramp divides Griffintown and the old faubourg des Récollets, without completely breaking up the urban layout’s continuity, as shown on the period photos displayed opposite.

Between the 1930s and 1950s, the most significant physical change within the sector is, without a doubt, the construction of the CN rail overpass at the heart of the faubourgs. South of Griffintown, Wellington Street is moved northward between McCord and de Nazareth streets, on the site of old Smith Street (see the 1907 plan). The layout remains unchanged between Wellington and William streets, as the rail project is erected in the middle of existing city blocks, between Dalhousie and de Nazareth streets. Lastly, north of William Street, the impact in terms of layout subdivision is more significant due to the east-west orientation of faubourg des Récollets’ blocks (see opposite page).

Construction of the rail overpass calls for the demolition of entire blocks in Griffintown south of William Street. To the north, in faubourg des Récollets, it bisects the hay market block, weaving through the market area and the new public bath on Duke Street. Between Saint-Paul and Saint-Maurice streets, construction work leads to extensive demolition, but narrowly spares two churches along De l'Inspecteur Street. However, due to the project’s major impact on the area’s built environment, the fact that it crosses the existing layout, as well as its inhabited sub-structure, some urban continuity is maintained along the east-west axis. Furthermore, another notable presence are the railways leased by Montreal Southern Counties Railway (M&SC) and located on Wellington Street’s previous location and along Brennan Street. A CN subsidiary as of 1923, M&SC (1910-1956) offers a suburban train service between Montréal and the South Shore (Saint-Lambert, Longueuil, Greenfield Park, etc.), as well as a regional connection to Granby. Trains crossed Victoria Bridge and ended their itinerary at the Montréal terminal, on McGill Street.

Jean Drapeau’s terms as mayor (1954-1957 and 1960-1986) shook up the city, which has remained somewhat impervious to change since 1930. The period’s greatest achievement is without question the holding of the 1967 World Fair, a major international event that attracts over 50 million visitors between April 28 and October 27, 1967.

Considerable pressure to provide the industrial Midwest with better access to the Atlantic Ocean results in the creation of the mammoth St. Lawrence Seaway (1954-1959), whose construction is financed jointly by the United States and Canada. Faced with increasingly bigger ships, the Lachine Canal becomes an obsolete waterway. In 1970, it is closed completely and some of its locks and basins are filled in. Meanwhile, work begun in preparation for the upcoming Expo 67 (expressway, access ramps, metro, etc.) leads to the demolition of 200 buildings in Griffintown and faubourg des Récollets. Furthermore, the construction of the Bonaventure Expressway heightens the divisive effect initially created by the CN overpass, thereby making urban continuity considerably more difficult. At this point, the designated area known as faubourg des Récollets consists in the sector west of the Bonaventure Expressway, between Saint-Jacques Street to the north, McGill Street to the east, and De la Commune Street to the south. As of 1975, most harbour operations are relocated east of Old Montreal, which opens a window on the river. In 1992, as part of the festivities of Montréal’s 350th anniversary, the new Old Port facilities are inaugurated, consisting in a riverbank urban park dedicated to casual strolls and relaxation. The Lachine Canal is integrated into the network of national heritage sites managed by Parks Canada in the mid-1970s. A bicycle path is constructed along its banks and the first two locks are partially excavated (1984).

In 1997, the federal government and its partners launch an ambitious project to revitalize the canal, of which the first phase consists in excavating the Peel basin (2001), restoring of the remaining locks and reopening access to pleasure crafts in spring 2002. During the 1990s, the revitalization of Old Montréal and the Lachine Canal, the transfer of harbour activities to the east, as well as the redevelopment of the Old Port spur the faubourgs. First off, real estate and economic incentives from both the City of Montréal and the Québec government lead to the creation of the Cité du Multimédia, a project that redefines a significant portion of faubourg des Récollets. Contrary to the many master plans previously tabled for this sector, this project focuses on the preservation of current street layouts and buildings. This revitalization process features several high-end residential development projects, such as Quai de la Commune, Nouvel Europa, McGill West, M9, etc. North of faubourg des Récollets, the construction of World Trade Centre Montréal and the relocation of the head offices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, a UN agency) and the Association internationale des transporteurs aériens (ATAF) mark the onset of the Quartier international de Montréal (QIM) project. Furthermore, investments made in this sector, specifically in the construction of public spaces, fostered the development of several residential projects in that area, including Unity 2 and Mosaïque Southam.

Lastly, the Griffintown district, bordered to the east by the Bonaventure Expressway, to the west by De la Montagne Street, to the north by the Ville-Marie Expressway and to the south by the Lachine Canal, is also being redefined. While still peppered with parking lots, the sector has benefited, throughout the last decade, with the construction of the École de technologie supérieure (ETS) and student housing, as well as a 1,500-unit residential project in its northern section (Les Cours Chaboillez, Terrasse Windsor and Lowney's lofts). Furthermore, it enjoys a new link between the business district, the Peel Basin and the Old Port, thanks to the recent reconnection of Peel and De la Commune streets. Griffintown is currently being considered by a promoter seeking to develop a vast real estate complex comprised of residential units and commercial lots ($1.3 billion).

In 1967, the Bonaventure Expressway is the main access road for the World Fair and a major gateway into the downtown core for drivers coming from the west (through Highway 20, completed in 1967), the north (through the Décarie Expressway, 1959-1967) or the South Shore (through Champlain Bridge, 1957-1962). With the opening of the Ville-Marie Expressway during the 1970s, its role becomes less critical, but it is still a favoured approach to the Champlain Bridge and an important access road to the downtown core.

Heightened by the availability of big budgets, the modernist fever that afflicts most municipal governments across North America during the post-war era inexorably leads to the demolition of entire city blocks for the sake of modernization. Urban expressways, both elevated and in trenches, represent the main heritage of this progressive period. Created to free up downtown cores and develop new suburbs, these concrete infrastructures are erected without any thought given to the human factor, and often lead to the unravelling of the urban fabric and isolation of waterfront districts. Furthermore, instead of solving traffic jam issues in the core districts, these expressways probably made them worse by facilitating the urban spread that lead to the presence of more vehicles.

Most of these expressways were built in the 1960s and are now in bad shape, after having borne the weight of millions of cars and been covered by tonnes of abrasive products. Faced with the decision as to whether or not proceed with costly renovation projects, many cities now choose to move these expressways, dismantle them and transform them into boulevards, or cover them and rebuild the freed-up blocks. By eliminating the scars left by expressways, reweaving the urban fabric and reconnecting cities to their waterways, municipal governments have shown that the human impact is now among their top priorities. A remnant of an era that has run its course, the Bonaventure Expressway is one of North America’s last elevated highways.

The plan of the district’s current layout underscores the divide created by the presence of the Bonaventure Expressway. It also reflects depatterning caused by the overlap of access roads to the Ville-Marie Expressway, northeast of Griffintown. South of Notre-Dame Street, on either side of the expressway, the layout remains relatively unchanged, save for the addition of two minor north-south segments in the northern part of faubourg des Récollets. Overall, the layout of the old faubourgs, now split in two, is easily recognizable. It bears mentioning that in the Quartier international, to the north, public space beautification work and road network restructuring completed in the 2000s enabled Square Victoria to regain its original layout (see 1907 plan).

The built environment’s overview (2005) gives us a look at the depatterned zones marring Griffintown and the northern part of faubourg des Récollets since the various industries uprooted. South of the faubourg, the development of Cité du Multimédia recently helped consolidate part of this sector. Furthermore, the representation of habitable areas under the rail overpass shows a certain continuity of the built environment along the east-west axis, despite the split. Lastly, in the southeast section of faubourg des Récollets, the facilities of the now defunct Montreal Southern Counties Railway (station and railways) made way for a real estate complex along McGill Street (Nouvel Europa).