Creation of an Early Victorian Suburb in Montreal David B
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Document généré le 23 sept. 2021 19:05 Urban History Review Revue d'histoire urbaine Creation of an Early Victorian Suburb in Montreal David B. Hanna Aspects of Urban Heritage Résumé de l'article Volume 9, numéro 2, october 1980 À Montréal, le paysage urbain composé de maisons en bande (la « terrace »), surgi pendant les années 1850 et 1860, a maintenant disparu. Il incarnait la URI : https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1019335ar rencontre de forces que, seul parmi les grandes villes de l’Amérique du Nord DOI : https://doi.org/10.7202/1019335ar britannique, Montréal renfermait. La « terrace », qui rassemblait derrière une même façade monumentale un groupe homogène de maisons en bande, se Aller au sommaire du numéro confinait à un plateau situé entre la vieille ville au sud et les prestigieuses maisons étagées sur la pente au nord. Ce type d’habitation s’est répandu en quelque sorte grâce aux opérations spéculatives de riches propriétaires fonciers, encouragées par le développement de la ville et le fort accroissement Éditeur(s) simultané du nombre des logements entre 1850 et 1869, ainsi que le désir, de la Urban History Review / Revue d'histoire urbaine part des classes supérieures, de quitter les vieux quartiers repoussants, dangereux et exigus. Des améliorations de l’infrastructure urbaine et en particulier la construction d’installations hydrauliques ont rendu possible le ISSN lotissement des terres élevées. La formule ou la mode de la construction en 0703-0428 (imprimé) bandes représentait en outre une forme acceptable d’un point de vue 1918-5138 (numérique) architectural et social, et qui trouvait ses racines dans des exemples britanniques, spécialement ceux de Londres la prestigieuse. Il s’agissait Découvrir la revue finalement d’une formule ou d’une mode, « incontestablement liée à une haute bourgeoisie puissante » qui ne se trouve que dans les grandes villes administratives et commerciales et qui, en Amérique du Nord britannique, ne s’est fortement manifestée qu’à Montréal. Citer cet article Hanna, D. B. (1980). Creation of an Early Victorian Suburb in Montreal. Urban History Review / Revue d'histoire urbaine, 9(2), 38–64. https://doi.org/10.7202/1019335ar All Rights Reserved © Urban History Review / Revue d'histoire urbaine, 1980 Ce document est protégé par la loi sur le droit d’auteur. L’utilisation des services d’Érudit (y compris la reproduction) est assujettie à sa politique d’utilisation que vous pouvez consulter en ligne. https://apropos.erudit.org/fr/usagers/politique-dutilisation/ Cet article est diffusé et préservé par Érudit. Érudit est un consortium interuniversitaire sans but lucratif composé de l’Université de Montréal, l’Université Laval et l’Université du Québec à Montréal. Il a pour mission la promotion et la valorisation de la recherche. https://www.erudit.org/fr/ CREATION OF AN EARLY VICTORIAN SUBURB IN MONTREAL David B. IJanna Résumé/Abstract A Montréal, le paysage urbain composé de maisons en bande (la "terrace"), surgi pendant les années 1850 et 1860, a maintenant disparu. Il incarnait la rencontre de forces que, seul parmi les grandes villes de l'Amérique du Nord britannique, Montréal renfermait. La "terrace", qui rassemblait derrière une même façade monumentale un groupe homogène de maisons en bande, se confinait à un plateau situé entre la vieille ville au sud et les prestigieuses maisons étagées sur la pente au nord. Ce type d'habitation s'est répandu en quelque sorte grâce aux opérations spéculatives de riches propriétaires fonciers, encouragées par le développement de la ville et le fort accroissement simultané du nombre des logements entre 1850 et 1869, ainsi que le désir, de la part des classes supérieures, de quitter les vieux quartiers repoussants, dangereux et exigus. Des améliorations de l'infrastructure urbaine et en particulier la construction d'installations hydrauliques ont rendu possible le lotissement des terres élevées. La formule ou la mode de la construction en bandes représentait en outre une forme acceptable d'un point de vue architectural et social, et qui trouvait ses racines dans des exemples britanniques, spécialement ceux de Londres la prestigieuse. Il s'agissait finalement d'une formule ou d'une mode, "incontestablement liée à une haute bourgeoisie puissante" qui ne se trouve que dans les grandes villes administratives et commerciales et qui, en Amérique du Nord britannique, ne s'est fortement manifestée qu'à Montréal. Montreal's "terrace tcwnscape" emerged in the 1850s and 1860s and has since disappeared. It represented a conjuncture of forces peculiar to Montreal among British North American cities. The terrace - the uniting of a homogeneous group of attached houses behind a single monumental facade - vas concentrated on a plateau, between the older city to the south and the high-prestige homes on the slope to the north. Such housing flowed/ in one sense, from the speculative development of wealthy landowners. The developnent was driven by the grcwth of the city and the concurrent housing boom of the 1850s and 1860s, coupled with the desire of the better classes to move from the noisome, dangerous and constricted older areas. Improvements in the urban infra-structure, especially the construction of water-works, made new development on higher lands feasible. The "terrace" form or fashion also derived from an architecturally and socially acceptable formula, rooted in British precedents, especially those of prestigious London. It was, finally, a form or fashion that was "indubitably linked with a strong upper middle class sector of the population" found only in administrative and commercial cities, and in British North Anerica found only in sufficient strength in Montreal. * * * 39 Mount Royal stands out in longer. Beginning in 1839, singular splendour as a solid chunk Montreal's export trade, with Upper of rock over the largely Canadian wheat in the lead, was sedimentary and uniformly flat booming and would continue to surge Saint Lawrence plain, rising 759 upwards throughout the early 1840s. feet above the St. Lawrence River. The importing field, the real During the seventeenth and source of Montreal's wealth due to eighteenth centuries, the southern the high value of the merchandise, slope of Mount Royal was a part of grew rapidly immediately after Montreal's agricultural hinterland. 1838, no doubt because of the Little is known of the agricultural period of privation during the activity during this period except Canadian rebellions and economic that the mountain slope formed a depression (Fig. 1). As always, part of the cadastral block known inland farmers could only indulge as "la côte Saint-Antoine" with in the wide range of imported goods access provided by the road of the offered by Montreal if staple same name. By the beginning of the exports, on which their income nineteenth century some elements of depended, were in demand. change were evident in the rural Consequently, the unprecedented landscape. The staple fur trade of boom in staple products in 1841 the previous century had done gave rise to the equally amazing little to advance settlement or leap in import sales the following income distribution in the colony, year. This fact is reflected in but it had made a handful of men Montreal's urban development, 1842 extremely rich and these fur being the year the first major traders became Montreal's first subdivision plans for the Mount resident merchant elite. Fur Royal plateau were drawn up and barons such as James McGill, Joseph presumably the year importers Frobisher, Simon McTavish and gained enough surplus cash to William McGillivray realized the entertain the idea of speculative status potential of large summer building. The year 1843 was a homes on the mountain slope. One setback in both exporting and by one they purchased a farm or two importing, but in 1844 the boom in "côte Saint-Antoine," returned. The passage of the Canada transforming them into estates made Corn Act in 1843, granting Canadian up of a country house and wheat almost duty-free access to ornamental gardens with the the British market, sent exports to remainder of the lot continuing as new heights, in turn fostering farmland, probably by lease or by further import sales. The renewed hire. House sites were invariably high import profits of 1844 coupled chosen to take full advantage of with the confidence gained from the the sweeping view of Montreal, the Canada Corn Act appear to have St. Lawrence River and the plain provided the means as well as a beyond. A fundamental condition psychological boost to importers for creating a prestige interested in speculative building, neighbourhood had been acknowledged as construction of the first by these first 'urban' owners. terraces on the plateau was undertaken that year, almost all by By 1825, the fur traders had major Montreal wholesalers and for the most part either departed retailers. from Montreal or died and the bucolic scene they left behind The opening of housing would not remain intact much construction near Mount Royal was MONTREAL IMPORT-EXPORT TRADE IN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS 1833 - 1869 Fig. 1 41 only a fringe manifestation of a manner of the fur barons, high up true building boom which evidenced the slope of the mountain at the itself throughout the city in the foot of a cliff. Yet, unlike the early 1840s. Although any formal fur barons, this new-generation census collection of housing stock Scotsman wasted little time in is lacking for the years between seeking a return on his land 1831 and 1842, the overall pace of investment. In 1842 he opened cumulative growth was obviously Drummond Street, named after his slow, a mere 600 units or so having wife Jane Drummond. Presumably at been added during that period (Fig. the same time he extended rue de la 2). The addition of nearly 2,000 Montagne (by now referred to as houses to the net stock within a Mountain Street by the Anglo-Saxon short space of two years element) north of Dorchester Street (1842-1844) shows clearly that a and extended St.