Griffintown is a historic neighbourhood of Montreal , Quebec , southwest of downtown . The area existed as a functional neighbourhood from the 1820s until the 1960s and was mainly populated by Irish immigrants and their descendants. Mostly depopulated since then, the neighbourhood has been undergoing redevelopment since the early 2010s.
34-639: Griffintown is the portion of the ward of St. Ann north of the Lachine Canal; the part south of the canal is now part of Pointe-Saint-Charles . This part of the ward was delimited by Notre-Dame Street to the north, the Bonaventure Expressway to the east, and a short segment of the city limit between Notre-Dame Street and the canal west of the St. Gabriel Locks to the west. It was the earliest and largest faubourg annexed to Old Montreal before
68-438: A Sikh temple). Today, Pointe-Saint-Charles is considered the heart of historic Irish Montreal, with street names like Rue Saint-Patrick, Rue d'Hibernia, Place Dublin, and Rue des Irlandais testifying to that heritage. By the 1860s, the area was a busy industrial neighbourhood and one of Canada's first neighbourhoods offering housing to industrial workers. Notably, the development on Grand Trunk Row (today Rue Sébastopol) introduced
102-473: A controversy because of the social impact of the establishment of gambling in an underprivileged district. The project was finally abandoned. In July 2007, promoter Devimco announced plans to develop 12 hectares of the neighborhood into a modern complex of office towers and residential homes. On the City of Montreal Website , additional plans to update the now-renamed Griffintown are described. Michel Régnier made
136-446: A film on the subject in 1972, which used archival photos of Griffintown, along with interviews of former residents in order to paint a picture of the landscape, community, and a people. Richard Burman made a documentary in 2003 called 'Ghosts of Griffintown'. It starts off telling the story of Ms Mary Gallagher, a prostitute who was brutally murdered in 1879 and would return every seven years to William Street in search of her head. Although
170-752: A project to move the Montreal Casino to the area. Located southwest of Downtown Montreal , it is bounded on the north by the Bonaventure Expressway , the east and southeast by the Saint Lawrence River , the southwest by the Décarie Expressway and Atwater Avenue, and the west and northwest by the Lachine Canal . Adjacent neighbourhoods are Little Burgundy and Saint-Henri (across the canal to
204-538: A wide swathe between Dalhousie and Nazareth Streets around 1930. Post-war economic changes beginning in the 1950s led to the depopulation of "The Griff". The Lachine Canal lost its role as a major transport artery when it was replaced by the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1959. In 1962, Griffintown was re-zoned as "light industrial". Many buildings were demolished in the 1960s to make way for the Bonaventure Expressway and for parking lots. St. Ann's Church
238-408: Is a neighbourhood in the borough of Le Sud-Ouest in the city of Montreal , Quebec , Canada. Historically a working-class area, the creation of many new housing units, the recycling of industrial buildings into business incubators, lofts, and condos, the 2002 re-opening of the canal as a recreation and tourism area, the improvement of public spaces, and heritage enhancement have all helped transform
272-515: Is a walking tour designed to be completed individually. It provides a background and interviews regarding the changing landscape of this space. 45°29′15″N 73°34′00″W / 45.48756°N 73.56677°W / 45.48756; -73.56677 Pointe-Saint-Charles Pointe-Saint-Charles ( French pronunciation: [pwɛ̃t sɛ̃ ʃaʁl] ; also known in English as Point Saint Charles , and locally as The Point , or "PSC" )
306-463: Is home to film studios. The point for which the area was named, located south of the modern area around Parc Le Ber, has long since disappeared under landfill. The name was reassigned to a new point at the southeastern tip of the area, opposite the northern point of Nuns' Island . The neighbourhood is served by the Charlevoix metro station, with LaSalle station near the southwestern part of
340-640: The Congrégation de Notre-Dame . The sisters operated a sharecropping farm ( métairie ) on the land. From an area of about 30 arpents (about 10 hectares), the farm reached an area of 200 arpents (about 68 hectares) by the mid-18th century. The nuns built the Maison Saint-Gabriel , the only remaining trace of their farm and one of the oldest buildings in Montreal, on their property in 1698. Their farming activity only ceased altogether in
374-661: The Sulpician Order , divided the area into lots and auctioned them off starting in 1853, with the Grand Trunk Railway purchasing a large area for use as a railyard. Numerous workers moved in, including numerous Irish immigrants as well as French-Canadians , English, Scots and in the early 20th century, the Poles, Ukrainians and the Lithuanians. Irish-Catholics and French-Canadians lived side by side in
SECTION 10
#1732780577295408-546: The 1950s. Until the mid-19th century, the area was chiefly agricultural. Urbanization began with the enlargement of the Lachine Canal (completed in 1848), as the transportation access and water power attracted industry to the whole of what is now the Sud-Ouest borough. The installation of railways and the construction of the Victoria Bridge (1854–1860) also attracted workers and spurred development. The then-owners,
442-635: The Clinique communautaire de Pointe-Saint-Charles was founded in 1968 to offer health and social services to local residents; it inspired the CLSC model used throughout the province, while remaining an independent clinic with the mandate of a CLSC. Several social housing developments were built in the 1970s; today, some 40% of the housing stock in Pointe-Saint-Charles is social housing. The Montreal Metro reached Pointe-Saint-Charles in 1978 with
476-518: The Point to worship at Holy Ghost Parish on the corner of Grand Trunk and Shearer Streets. Numerous Protestant churches were also built during the late 1800s including Grace Anglican Church (built 1871 enlarged 1892), St. Mathew Presbyterian Church (built 1891, destroyed by fire in 1977), Centenary Methodist Church (built 1891, now a Seventh-Day Adventist church), and a Baptist church at the corner of Liverpool and Wellington streets (built 1900 and now used as
510-517: The Point, each community building its own Catholic church, also side by side on Centre Street: Saint Gabriel's Parish (completed 1895) and Église Saint-Charles (completed 1905). The Polish Community was given permission by the Archdiocese of Montreal to build a church on Centre Street between Richmond and Montmorency Streets, Holy Trinity Church, which is still attended by the community from near and far. The Ukrainian Community also still returns to
544-679: The YMCA, the Centre Saint-Charles, Saint-Gabriel Park, Le Ber Park, Marguerite Bourgeoys Park , and the Lachine Canal greenspace and bike trail, as well as road bike trails crossing through the neighbourhood. Historic buildings include the Maison Saint-Gabriel and Saint-Gabriel and Saint-Charles churches. The neighbourhood is served by the Bibliothèque Saint-Charles. Pointe-Saint-Charles served as
578-530: The area around the Lachine Canal, the neighbourhood went into a long decline in the 1960s, caused by the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway and sealed by the closure of the Lachine Canal. The destruction of Goose Village and the construction of the Bonaventure Autoroute further impacted the area. Still, the neighbourhood reacted to the difficult times by forming bands of social solidarity. For example,
612-527: The area, and very little of the original architecture remains, however. Because of its location, some residential projects are taking shape, including Lowney Lofts, a multi-phase condominium project revitalizing a chocolate factory and the surrounding block. In 2006, a project to move the Montreal Casino to the Peel Basin, as part of an entertainment complex in partnership with the Cirque du Soleil , caused
646-503: The city of Montreal revealed its plans concerning the redevelopment of the Griffintown area, with a desire to transform what was then an industrial, sparsely inhabited area into a pleasant, high-density neighborhood. In order to do this, the city announced plans to establish parks and bike paths and to provide permits for the building of dozens of condominium towers in the area, ranging from 10 to 20 stories high. Another stated goal of
680-504: The closure of the Turcot Yards, CN has been performing switching operations and storing trains in the area, a practice denounced by local residents due to increased noise and danger from hazardous cargo in a residential area. The Clinique communautaire de Pointe-Saint-Charles is the primary health and social services institution in the area. La Maison Saint-Charles provides space for community groups. Recreational facilities include
714-607: The construction of Charlevoix station. However, in recent years, the neighbourhood has undergone gentrification . The Montreal Technoparc industrial park opened in 1988 on the site of a former landfill and dump site between the neighbourhood and the river. The rehabilitation of the Lachine Canal for recreational use spurred the reclamation of factories along the canal for lofts and condominiums. However, this has brought its own pressures as to increased rents and cost of living. The tradition of social solidarity continues, with residents banding together in 2005–2006 to successfully oppose
SECTION 20
#1732780577295748-701: The first clerk of the Bank of Montreal upon its formation in 1817. Griffintown was first populated in the early nineteenth century mostly by Irish immigrant labourers. They worked on the Lachine Canal and in the industries surrounding it, the Victoria Bridge , railways, and the Port of Montreal . The Irish community was centered on St. Ann's Catholic Church, which opened in 1854 at the corner of McCord (now Mountain Street ) and Basin Streets, across from Gallery Square, which
782-399: The introduction of the tram car in the 1840s. The name Griffintown was derived from Mary Griffin. Griffin illegally obtained the lease to the land from a business associate of Thomas McCord in 1799. She then commissioned land surveyor Louis Charland to subdivide the land and plan streets for the area in 1804. Griffin's husband, Robert, owned a soap factory in the area and went on to become
816-511: The lack of remaining historical architecture. The Cité Multimédia was built partly above the ruins. The remainders are preserved in the McCord Museum . In 2014, Griffintown became part of an ongoing movement to introduce a "Quartier de l'innovation" to lower Montreal. This area would look to foster creativity and entrepreneurship in the city, designed to promote and encourage economic development for district residents. In October 2012,
850-479: The last reported sighting was in 1928, Mary Gallagher Day is on June 27 (the date of the sightings), every seven years. It then explores the history using this story as a metaphor on how the community itself has disappeared like a ghost. Alan Hustak has written a book 'The Ghost of Griffintown' which explores in great detail the murder of Mary Gallagher. Lisa Gasior created the Griffinsound Project that
884-423: The neighbourhood and attract new residents. Community groups continue to be pro-active in areas related to the fight against poverty and the improvement of living conditions. Twenty years after the founding of Ville-Marie (Montreal) by Paul Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve in 1642, he granted an area on the pointe Saint-Charles, extending into the St. Lawrence, to St. Marguerite Bourgeoys for agricultural use by
918-850: The neighbourhood in Verdun. The area is ringed by the Décarie and Bonaventure Expressways, as well as Quebec Route 112 (Rue Bridge) leading to the Victoria Bridge. It is also the Montreal end of the Champlain Bridge complex (Île-des-Sœurs and Clément bridges) leading to Nuns' Island and the South Shore at Brossard . Major thoroughfares include Rue Saint-Patrick, Rue du Centre, Rue Wellington, and Rue Charlevoix. The CN Rail , Via , and Amtrak lines to Montreal's Central Station run through Pointe-Saint-Charles. As of 2011, with
952-623: The neighbourhood of Point St. Charles to the Old Port , and north to Notre-Dame Street. Currently, it holds the stables (the Griffintown Horse Palace , at the corner of Ottawa and Eleanor) for the horses that provide tours in carriages (calèche) around the Old Port. Many technological companies built office space in the area, and École de Technologie Supérieure (ÉTS) built its residence there. Very few residents still live in
986-537: The north Montreal directions ), Griffintown to the northeast, the wharves of the Old Port to the east, and the borough of Verdun to the west. The residential part of the neighbourhood is bisected by the CN Rail line running through its centre on an elevated structure. A large industrial area, including the former CN rail yards, lies on landfill to the east; on the riverside, the Montreal Technoparc
1020-410: The project was to preserve the historical significance of some of the remaining century-old buildings. The Griffintown redevelopment is expected to be completed by 2025. The entire area currently considered to be Griffintown is located within the borough of Le Sud-Ouest , although the western end of the historic district extends into the borough of Ville-Marie . Griffintown spans theoretically from
1054-428: The stacked "duplex," based on British working-class housing, that would come to be so typical of neighbourhoods throughout Montreal. Building continued in the central Rushbrooke/Hibernia area until 1910. The area straddled the Montreal city limit, and the part outside was set up as the village of Saint-Gabriel in 1874 and annexed to Montreal in 1887, becoming a city ward. In the early 20th century, Pointe-Saint-Charles
Griffintown - Misplaced Pages Continue
1088-495: Was demolished in 1970, and is now the site of the Parc Griffintown-St-Ann, where parts of the church's foundations remain visible, and park benches are positioned where the pews would have been. By 1974, the population of Griffintown was 546. In 1990, the eastern part of the area was included in the planning sector of "Faubourg des Récollets". By then it only somewhat resembled the historic neighbourhood due to
1122-399: Was made up of two city wards: St. Gabriel, to the west, and St. Ann, to the east, which also included Griffintown and extended as far as McGill Street in what is now Old Montreal. The two were divided by the former city limit line, passing from the basin on the Lachine Canal just west of the St. Gabriel Locks to the riverbank just south of what is now the end of Ash Avenue. Like the rest of
1156-593: Was named after the Gallery brothers, John Daniel Gallery, who ran a large and successful bakery and his brother Daniel Gallery who was an alderman of Montreal, Schools commissioner and a Liberal member of parliament. By the early twentieth century, the Irish were being replaced by Jewish, Italian, Ukrainian, and Francophone communities, with the Irish becoming a minority group by 1941. The Canadian National Railway elevated tracks approaching Montreal Central Station cut
#294705