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i n s t i t u t e   o f  a r t  &   d e s i g n

MEMORY LANES

 
 

	1871	This plan is a simple lot drawing and it is one of the earliest detailed plans I managed to locate.  I also like this plan a lot because, although it is a point of commencement in the history of this site, it also the precise site that I am working on.  Despite the various transformations the site has undergone, it is a delightful twist of nostalgia that it currently shares the same proportions of a time 129 years removed.
	1879	Dating only 8 years after the previous plan, the site has been developed into the configuration it would remain for many years.  The pink shading represents the courtyard that would remain as such similarly for many years.  In fact when you examine the city plan of this area, the courtyard is a prevalent feature, commonly used as a service access to the building's functions.
	1912	This plan more clearly shows the positioning with respect the Marche Bonsecours and also internal voids within the block that illustrate the numerous courtyards in Old Montreal at this time.  At the lower centre of the plan is the "Harbour Commissioners Grain Elevator No. 2" which is no longer present, and the high occupation density of the area.
	1916	This plan, although difficult to read, signifies another expansion as part of the courtyard buildings are removed and the shape of the site slowly evolves back into the original shape it is today.  Another interesting component of this plan is the demarcation of various occupancies in the area.  The building in red is denoted as Hotel Payette on the upper floors and a restaurant, bar and flour/feed store on the lower levels.  To the right of this building is another hotel (Hotel du Canada) and there are numerous boarding houses to the left and behind.
	1918	This plan shows that two years later another hotel (Hotel du Pays) has replaced the Hotel Payette and furthermore, the entire block on the rue St-Paul Est is composed of boarding houses and hotels.  There is also an opening up of the courtyards with the demolition of several interior buildings which appear haphazardly oriented in previous earlier plans.
	1938	By 1938, the site and its vicinity are clearly opening up, and many more buildings have been subject of demolition.  A printing factory flanks the northern border of the site on rue Notre Dame Est and there are several fish houses in the block.
	1949	By 1949, numerous changes in occupation have occurred in the block with the building that is shown in red at left is now a butcher and the hotels that once dominated this block are now taverns, grocers, granaries, printers and even a radio station has premises here.
	1991	And so we arrive, 129 years later at a site that is back in its initial lot configuration awaiting a transformation and destiny as an art institute.  Appropriately, the Marche Bonsecours has undergone recent renovations turning it into a venue for the sale of many crafts, and now an appropriate complimentary venue to a school that produces them.