The French model
There are no remains in Quebec prior to the first settlements in the 17th century. Built by craftsmen from France, the simple buildings of this period were inspired by regional styles, particularly Breton and Norman. An example of this can still be found today in Lachine, a borough to the west of the city, in the Le Ber-Le Moyne house, built in 1669. It is the oldest example of architecture of the French regime in the capital. Its thick walls, made of coarse rubble assembled with mortar, and its slate roof are indeed reminiscent of the traditional houses of northwestern France. However, the architecture adapts to extreme climatic conditions: the size and number of openings are limited and chimneys are required
Stone fortifications protected the strategic town of Montreal. Designed to replace the old wooden palisades, they were built during the French regime. Their walls more or less follow the layout of today's Old Montreal. They were destroyed at the beginning of the 19th century, but vestiges remain at the Champ-de-Mars, behind City Hall. Other remains can be seen at the entrance to the Pointe-à-Callière Museum, where a visit will allow visitors to discover, through history and archaeology, the evolution of the city through the centuries. Pointe-à-Callière also corresponds to the historic site of the city, where Samuel de Champlain (1574-1635) established Place Royale, a trading post, in 1611. A stroll through Old Montréal is a must to admire the old buildings, and don't forget to make a detour through the Old Port.
At the end of the 17th century, following the installation in Quebec of the orders of the Ursulines, Augustines and Jesuits, architecture was inspired by French classicism. This is thecase of the Vieux Séminaire de Saint-Sulpice, designed by François Dollier de Casson (1636-1701) in 1684. A series of fires ravaging Quebec City at that time prompted the construction of buildings throughout the province that were better adapted to the North American climate: this was the birth of Quebec architecture. The best example is the Pierre du Calvet house (1770) in Montréal, which is distinguished by its imposing fire walls that protrude from the roof, supporting very wide chimneys.
British influence under the English regime
After the English conquest, which ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the influence of England became preponderant and gradually modified the architectural landscape of Quebec. The model is now the Anglo-Saxon house, with massive chimneys and a gently sloping four-pitched roof. The shores of the St. Lawrence River became the vacation spots of a wealthy bourgeoisie. In Old Montreal, the Château Ramezay is representative of an early 18th century residence. Acquired by the city in 1895, it is the oldest history museum in Quebec, as well as the first building in the area to be classified as a historical monument. Recent renovations have led to the re-creation of the French-style ornamental garden that originally bordered it.
During the first quarter of the 19th century, neo-palladianism, which was highly prized by the English, dominated Quebec architecture. Inspired by the antique model, it favoured pediments, pilasters, Doric or Ionic columns and moulded cornices. The Bonsecours Market (1847) is a fine example, recognizable by its dome inspired by Dublin's Custom House: it was designed by English architect William Footner
The multiple forms of Quebec eclecticism
In the first half of the 19th century, the neo-Gothic style became the norm in church architecture, both Catholic and Protestant (Christ Church). Victor Bourgeau (1809-1888) designed the neo-Gothic interior of Notre-Dame de Montréal. He also adopted a neo-baroque style that found its best expression in the Marie-Reine-du-Monde Basilica, characterized by massive proportions and an enormous dome. The wealthy bourgeoisie adopted the neo-Renaissance style, inspired by Italian villas, which can be seen in the imposing Ritz-Carlton Hotel. It was designed in 1912 by the firm Warren & Wetmore, famous for the plans of the Grand Central Terminal in New York.
The architect Eugène-Étienne Taché (1836-1912) built, in the Second Empire style, imposing government buildings recognizable by their mansard roofs, their windows with arched lintels and their wrought iron ridges, of which a fine example is the Shaughnessy House. The Romanesque Revival style, with its towers, turrets, machicolations and conical roofs, was also popular during this period. This is the case of the Chancellor Day Hall at McGill University. This style is also found in churches or train stations such as Windsor Station and Viger Station in Montreal, by the same architect: the American Bruce Price (1845-1903).
Finally, the monumental Beaux-Arts style, characterized by the heterogeneous mix of Gothic, Renaissance, Elizabethan, Louis XV and Louis XVI styles, is very much in vogue in North America. It is best illustrated in the Château Dufresne, which symbolizes the success of the new French Canadian bourgeoisie
Two curious features of Montreal's housing
Exterior staircases, known as duplexes and triplexes, are one of the specificities of residential architecture in Montreal. They appeared at the end of the 19th century and adorned the facades of buildings with their wrought iron. They made it possible to gain a significant amount of space inside and to free up space for small green areas in front of the facades, in a city that was too congested at the time. Banned from 1940, they were finally reintroduced in 1980 in order to preserve their authenticity
Shoebox houses, so called because of their rectangular shape, appeared all over Montreal in the early 20th century. Made of brick with a cornice on the front, these charming little one-storey houses were home to working-class families and still bear witness to the city's industrial boom. After several demolitions, Heritage Montreal, in charge of the preservation of Montreal's architectural heritage, now protects these small buildings.
Modern currents
Thebeginning of the 20th century was marked by the construction of many buildings that grew higher and higher, such as the Oratoire Saint-Joseph-du-Mont-Royal, an impressive basilica inaugurated in 1904, whose spire is the highest point in Montreal, at more than 300 metres above sea level and 129 metres above the ground (originally 97 metres). In the late 1920s, the Royal Bank Building became the tallest building in the British Empire at 121 metres. It wasn't until 1992 that the 200-metre mark was crossed, with the 1000 de la Gauchetière, which to this day remains Montreal's tallest skyscraper.
In the 1920s, the Art Deco style, imported from Europe, made its appearance in Quebec and flourished in Montreal for nearly thirty years. The Roger-Gaudry Pavilion at the Université de Montréal is a good example of the Art Deco influence, mixed with a rationalist and compact plan. It was designed by Ernest Cormier and inaugurated in 1943. Its tower is as much the emblem of the university as that of the city. It is to this same architect that we owe the Cormier house - which for its part was built in a pure Art Deco spirit. It was classified as a historical monument, before being restored in the early 1980s.
After the Second World War, we return to simple, geometric volumes inspired by Le Corbusier and Gropius. Their legacy can be seen in the buildings of the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), such as the Judith Jasmin Pavilion, whose rationalism and dark brickwork are reminiscent of modern buildings in Hamburg.
Large glass and metal towers also make their appearance in Montreal. Place Ville-Marie, designed by architect Ieoh Ming Pei (1917-2019), illustrates the renewal of downtown Montréal in the 1960s and 1970s. Superb complexes followed in the 1980s: Place des Arts, Palais des Congrès, Place Montréal Trust, etc
But these towers are not the only signs of a city at the forefront of contemporary forms. Habitat 67, on the shores of the St. Lawrence River south of the Old Port, is one of the most avant-garde housing complexes in existence. This curious assembly of geometric modules is reminiscent of a construction game. It was built in 1963 for Expo 67. It is the building that made Moshe Safdie (1938-), a Canadian of Israeli origin, famous as its architect, when he was still a student at McGill University in Montreal! This achievement strongly inspired the metabolic movement, which took off in Japan at the same time. Impressive to discover from the shore while strolling along the St. Lawrence!
Another sign of a resolutely modern city is the Montreal metro. It is recognized as the most efficient transportation system in North America. It was conceived and designed on the model of the Paris metro. The MR73 cars, recognizable by their angular design, are still in service today, and they have a certain "retro" charm that is sorely lacking in the new trains, whose difficult commissioning was completed in 2019.
Postmodernism and contemporary architecture
At the end of the 1980s, postmodernism attempted to break the monotony of architecture: Place de la Cathédrale, Maison Alcan and the BNP-Paribas tower are all testament to this period. Peter Rose'sCanadian Centre for Architecture is another remarkable postmodern achievement. The 1989 building surrounds and integrates Shaughnessy House (1874), which fits perfectly into it. The contemporary building, constructed of grey limestone (a distinctive feature of Montréal), contrasts in its classical form with the ornate façade of this beautiful Second Empire-style residence - one of the few late 19th-century homes open to the public. Like this building, the architecture now aims to integrate old buildings into an ultramodern structure. This is thecase of the Ritz-Carlton renovation project in 2006, which saw the addition of a glass cage on an entire façade of the original building.
Over the past two decades, Concordia University has erected two buildings that are emblematic of contemporary architecture in Montreal. Their forms respond to each other: the EV Building and the John Molson Building, the School of Business, both composed of interlocking geometric shapes, separating the buildings into various blocks of glass and steel. The roofs of the two buildings also have the same shape: the university is leaving its mark on the contemporary city.
Finally, a stroll on Mount Royal is a must to admire the urban sprawl and skyline of the capital - and to find the buildings that make up the architectural history of this eclectic city. Its tall buildings remind visitors that it is one of the most powerful financial centres in North America.
