The End of 19th Century
At the end of the 19th century, the area around de la Gauchetière and St-Laurent was populated by English, Irish, French Canadians, and some Jews. St-Laurent was called St. Lawrence the Main, and was a major commercial street. Almost all immigrant groups spent time in this area. Only the Chinese have remained. The first businesses run by Chinese immigrants in Montreal were established close to today's Chinatown, on Craig (Saint-Antoine) and Rue Bleury as far back as 1877. Around the end of the 19th century, Chinese businesses, clubs and associations, as well as housing, were starting to concentrate on the segment of Rue de La Gauchetière, between Rue St George (Jeanne-Mance) and Boulevard Saint-Laurent, as well as on Rue St Chas Borromee (Clark) and Rue Saint-Urbain, between Dorchester (now Boulevard René Levesque) and Vitré (Viger).
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The Late 20th Century
During the late 1950s and early 1960s, speculators purchased old buildings and demolished them and vacant land became parking lots waiting for an attractive offer. 1980s is the most important period for Montreal's Chinatown, it is when the Revival of Montreal's Chinatown started with the installation of a pedestrian mall on de la Gauchetière and construction of the Catholic Community Centre and a senior citizens' home. Chinese Montrealers live throughout the city and suburbs; Chinatown, centered at de la Gauchetière and St-Laurent, remains the heart of the community and has attracted a new generation of Asian developers. However, over time and particularly the last few decades, the construction of a number of public and private projects (Rene Levesque Boulevard, Complexes Desjardins and Guy-Favreau, the Autoroute Ville-Marie) has profoundly changed the traditional urban fabric (streets, blocks and lots) underlying Chinatown's vital way of life, jeopardizing the balance of an area threatened by the development of the City's business centre.
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Catholic Community Centre
Catholic Community Centre is one of the most important parts for Montreal’s Chinese community. The solid development of Montreal's Chinatown starts with the construction of the Catholic community Centre. Due to the demolition occured in late 1950s, the structure of the Chinatown, both physical and cultural, was very fragile. Thanks to the opening of the Community Centre, it craeted a sense of community for Chinese immigrants, as well as offered classes for learning languages. Its existence also symbolizes the Chinese history rooted in Montreal society.
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