Author of these bas reliefs andGreatest of British Sculptorswas born at York, England, July 6th, 1755. Designed the classical groups on wedgewood-ware. Made a great reputation in Italy. Was the first professor of sculpture at the Royal Academy. Executed the monuments of Burns, Kemble, Mansfield and Paoli in Westminster Abbey, Sir Joshua Reynolds in St. Paul’s, and illustrations of ancient Greek poets. He was elected a Royal Academician in 1800, and died December the 7th, 1826.These bas reliefs were part of the facade of the building erected on this site for the Bank of Montreal in 1821; later on occupied byLa Banque du Peuple from 1846 until 1873 and also of that now occupied by the General Post Office since 1876.The subjects of the bas reliefs are:—Agriculture,Manufacturers,Arts,Commerce.
Author of these bas reliefs andGreatest of British Sculptorswas born at York, England, July 6th, 1755. Designed the classical groups on wedgewood-ware. Made a great reputation in Italy. Was the first professor of sculpture at the Royal Academy. Executed the monuments of Burns, Kemble, Mansfield and Paoli in Westminster Abbey, Sir Joshua Reynolds in St. Paul’s, and illustrations of ancient Greek poets. He was elected a Royal Academician in 1800, and died December the 7th, 1826.
These bas reliefs were part of the facade of the building erected on this site for the Bank of Montreal in 1821; later on occupied byLa Banque du Peuple from 1846 until 1873 and also of that now occupied by the General Post Office since 1876.
The subjects of the bas reliefs are:—
The Montreal postoffice has had under its control for many years subsidiary district postoffices as the growth of population demanded them. In 1900 there were only twenty sub-offices. Today there are ninety-four stations. Its growth can be seen from a few facts.
City Mail: In 1900 there were only 180 letter boxes and ten for newspapers. In 1910 they amounted to 350 and 142 respectively. In 1914 there are 562 letter boxes and 235 news boxes.
English and foreign mail: In 1900 the English mailbags received via New York were from thirty-three to forty-three. In 1910 the number was increased from seventy-five to one hundred. The Canadian steamers bring in at present from 200 to 235 bags. The Compagnie Generale Trans-Atlantique, which brought in ten to fifteen bags now brings forty to sixty. The German line adds seventy to eighty, and there are in addition thirty from other sources.
The directors or postmasters of Montreal have been:
II
STREET TRANSPORTATION
MODERNIZING MONTREAL
MONTREAL IN 1861—THE STREET RAILWAY MOVEMENT—THE “MONTREAL CITY PASSENGER RAILWAY COMPANY” CHARTERED—THE HISTORY OF THE COMPANY—ITS FIRST PROMOTERS—EIGHT PASSENGER CARS, SIX MILES, HORSE SERVICE IN 1861—THE OPENING UP OF THE STREETS—WINTER SERVICE OF SLEIGHS—1892 THE BEGINNING OF ELECTRIC ERA—THE CONVERSION OF THE SYSTEM INTO ELECTRIC TRACTION—THE GRADUAL GROWTH OF THE COMPANY.
Half a century ago no one in his wildest imaginings could have prophesied the amazing growth of the Canadian Metropolis. In 1861, Montreal had a population of but 91,000 and with its suburbs 101,439. It was practically the ancient Montreal, which had scarcely outgrown the days when it was a fortified city crowded within walls to resist the incursions of hostile Iroquois. The city was bounded on the north by the old creek at Craig Street, and did not extend west of Victoria Square.
Today Montreal with its suburbs has a population of approximately 600,000, while the streets which marked its limits fifty years ago are the centre of the downtown business district. Thus within a scant half century the population of Montreal has much more than multiplied five times over, its street mileage has increased in even greater proportion, while practically the whole city has been remodeled and modernized.
They were men of courage and far-sighted ideas who in 1861 decided that the time had come when Montreal needed a street railway. The population was small, business was a mere fraction of that transacted today, and as forbidding as could be found in any city in the world.
But these difficulties did not discourage the founders of the Montreal Street Railway, who had ample belief in the future development of the city, and its consequent opportunities for street railway work. They builded more wisely than they knew however, and could William Molson, John Ostell, William Dow, Johnston Thompson and William Macdonald, the original directors of the company, return to Montreal, attend a meeting of directors at the board room in the Company’s handsome building on Craig Street, and then make a tour of the city in one of their magnificent modern electric cars, they would probably be lost in wonder and admiration. The company they founded used horses. Stables were its power stations, and in winter the service was kept up by sleighs, and in the late fall and early spring by omnibuses. They started with six miles of track, eight cars, a few horses and one stable. To-day they would return to an electric system with hundreds of miles of track extending all over the city and suburbs, huge power stations, an army of uniformed, well paid and cared for employes, and many hundreds of cars which are not merely modern, but so far in advance of the times that the greatest cities of the United States and the world are paying tribute by the adoption of the same style of cars for their service.2
The Montreal Street Railway was born with little ceremony, or anything else to mark the beginning of a new epoch for Montreal when, on May 18th, 1861, the Provincial Legislature adopted a law incorporating the Montreal City Passenger Railway Company “for the purpose of constructing and operating street railways in the City and Parish of Montreal.” The provisional directors named in the act of incorporation were William Molson, John Ostell, William Dow, Johnston Thompson, William Macdonald, John Carter, Hon. Thos. Ryan and William E. Phillips. All these have long since passed away, although they lived to see the riper fruition of the works they planned.
On August 9th of the same year a meeting of the subscribers was held at the “Mechanics’ Hall,” at which the following were present:—
William Molson, Thomas Molson, Hon. Judge Gale, Hon. L.H. Molson, William Macdonald, E.M. Hopkins, William McLaren, Charles Garth, J.H. Springle, G. Weaver, William Dow and John Ostell. At this meeting J.H. Springle was appointed the first secretary of the Company.
On August 17th, another meeting was held, at which Alex. Easton was awarded the contract for building the first section of road, comprising six miles of single track, and an equipment of eight passenger cars, a stable and car shed. This may be called the first attempt at modernizing Montreal.
Work was started in September, ground being broken on the 18th, for the line from St. Mary Street, near the Quebec toll gate, and considerable progress made. The arrangement was that Mr. Easton should build the line and operate it for a time under lease. By November 27th, 1861, part of the line was sufficiently advanced to be opened. The road met with immediate success, and was well patronized, although the service, naturally, was slow and the cars infrequent.
Matters having progressed thus far a meeting of the directors was held on November 5th, 1861, when the Company’s stock books were ordered closed, 2,500 shares having been subscribed for at $50 a share, representing a capital of $125,000. Another meeting was held on the next day, when the following were appointed directors: Thomas Morland, E.M. Hopkins, G.W. Weaver, E.S. Freer and John Ostell. Thomas Morland was elected president.
In the following year construction work was continued, and by June 10th, 1862, a line had been completed from Place D’Armes on Notre Dame Street westward, connecting with St. Joseph Street. This was equipped with three horse cars.
On this same day the Company declared its first dividend, at the encouraging rate of 12% per annum for the first year.
On July 4th, 1862, the Company terminated the lease with the contractor, and took over the actual operation of the road, with considerable profit, the earnings far exceeding the lease price.
At this time the head office of the Company was in a small building at the corner of Craig and Place d’Armes, owned by Rev. Mr. Toupin, but in 1863 the Company moved to Hochelaga. But shortly afterwards the head office of the Company was again at Place d’Armes Hill and Craig Street and remained there until 1894 when the present Street Railway Chambers were erected. Thus it may be said that the head office of the Company has been situated at the corner of Place d’Armes Hill and Craig Street since the incorporation of the Company. The terminus of the line was then Hochelaga and the Company spent $300 on an omnibus to connect the cars with the convent. The service in the city was, ofcourse, only a day one, and the cars were pretty far apart. But even then the demands of the service on Craig and St. Antoine streets was such that improvements to the tracks were needed so as to permit of a more frequent service on these streets.
The advantage of the car line was so much appreciated by the public that in this year, 1863, the Company applied to the city for power to build lines on the following streets:—
Commencing at Papineau Avenue, along St. Catherine to Mountain Street with a line in St. Lawrence Street to the Toll Gate to connect with that now constructed on Craig Street, also commencing at St. Joseph Street along McGill Street to Wellington, to the Bridge and possibly to Point St. Charles.
During 1863 the Company carried 1,066,845 passengers, scarcely 1 per cent of the number carried to-day. It was regarded, however, as an excellent showing, and the Company started to build six miles more track, along Wellington, St. Catherine and St. Lawrence streets. The contract for this work was let to Messrs. Plunkett and Brady.
By May 1864 the St. Catherine line was finished, and opened, while eleven additional cars had to be placed on the Notre Dame Street route. Even the track difficulties were felt, and the line on McGill Street had to be renewed.
By the end of 1864 St. Catherine, St. Lawrence and Wellington street lines, comprising 5¾ miles, had been opened, and all proved revenue producers except the last. During that year 1,485,725 passengers had been carried, an increase of about a half a million for the year. In view of the progress made it was decided to issue more stock at par to the old shareholders. At this time the capital stock of the Company was $200,000.
The winter service was being kept up by sleighs, the tracks and appliances preventing the cars from running. The Company had eight sleighs at this time, with five more being built. There were no heating appliances, and in order to keep the passengers warm each sleigh was provided with about a foot of pea straw, in which the people buried their cold feet.
During the early days the cars were run in a rather happy-go-lucky fashion. Time was of little object. The cars would stop anywhere to take up passengers, and if one wanted to get off and talk to a friend or do a little shopping, the obliging conductors would wait and give their horses a rest. But the demands of business were getting too much for this, and in June, 1865, the board decided that in future the cars should not be stopped to allow passengers to go into stores and make purchases and return again, because this kept other passengers waiting.
It was found that the wages paid were too high, and in August, 1865, conductors were reduced from $30 to $25 a month. The conductors petitioned for a return to their old pay of $1 a day, but this was refused, and the Directors reduced the pay of drivers from $25 to $20 a month. At this time Mr. J.H.R. Molson found he had not time to attend to his duties as vice-president, and resigned.
In 1870 the Company celebrated its tenth birthday by issuing $10,000 of new stock pro rata to the old shareholders, and in 1873 $200,000 more was allotted at par.
For many years matters went along smoothly and quietly until the twenty-sixth annual meeting, in 1886, when an event occurred which subsequently meant agood deal for the Company, although little noticed at the time. This was the election of the present president, Hon. L.J. Forget, as a director. The board of directors was as follows:—
Jesse Joseph, president; Alex. Murray, vice-president, Dr. W.H. Hingston, Hugh McLennan, and L.J. Forget.
During all this time the mileage of the Company had not increased very greatly, only amounting to 12½ miles by 1892, although St. Denis Street had been double tracked in 1891. At this time the Company was operating eighty-two regular sleighs during the winter season.
The year, 1892, however, marked the most important period in the Company’s history, the beginning of the electric era, which has produced such wonderful results in the past two decades.3It was not without violent opposition that the subject was discussed. Several directors supported by many of the shareholders declared that the thing was impossible and would ruin the Company, and some of the directors even went to the length of resigning rather than countenance such a project. So if the first directors of the Company, in 1861, were men of courage and enterprise, how much more so were those who backed up the change to electricity in face of the great cost and doubtful outcome.
At the adjourned special meeting of Tuesday, May 17th, 1892, there being present Mr. H. McLennan, vice-president; Dr. W.H. Hingston and L.J. Forget, a tender for electric car service was submitted and considered clause by clause and finally approved of and adopted and ordered to be transmitted to the city clerk, together with the sum of $25,000.00 deposit.
The city accepted the Company’s terms, and the work of electrifying the service was started without delay.
The president and directors at this period were—
Jesse Joseph, president; Hugh McLennan, vice-president; L.J. Forget, H.A. Everett, Dr. W.H. Hingston, and associated with them in the enterprise was William Mackenzie, of Toronto.
The conversion of the system into one operated by electricity was commenced in 1892, and the work was especially interesting in this city, owing to the climatic difficulties to be overcome. Meteorological records had shown that the average snowfall for each of the sixteen winters from 1875 to 1891 was 118 inches; the greatest fall of 173 inches, or over 14 feet, taking place in the winter of 1886-7.
Another exceptional difficulty was that of grades. For instance Amherst Street rises 50 feet in a distance of 800 feet; St. Denis Street rises 47 feet in a distance of 700 feet; St. Lawrence Street rises 68 feet in a distance of 1,500 feet; Beaver Hall Hill, 60 feet in a distance of 900 feet; and Windsor Street, 70 feet in a distance of 1,500 feet; while on Guy Street and Cote des Neiges Hill there is a rise of 350 feet in a distance of 5,150 feet, with a maximum grade of 11 per cent for about 100 feet.
Before the introduction of electricity, the negotiation of some of these grades was almost a cruelty to animals, while upon other routes now readily, safely and quickly traversed, the old horse car service would have been an impossibility.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE STREET CAR
Round-the-Mountain sight-seeing car“Round-the-Mountain” sight-seeing car
“Round-the-Mountain” sight-seeing car
Sleigh used in winter—Horse car periodSleigh used in winter—Horse car period
Sleigh used in winter—Horse car period
Pay as You Enter car now in use“Pay as You Enter” car now in use
“Pay as You Enter” car now in use
Ordinary horse car in use prior to 1892Ordinary horse car in use prior to 1892
Ordinary horse car in use prior to 1892
The progress under the electric regime was immediate and wonderful, and the business of the Company grew in such manner as to enforce frequent increases in its capital, while dividends at the rate of 8% per annum were paid.
By 1895 the capital stock of the Company had increased to $4,000,000, with bonds of $973,333.33. In 1897 it was increased to $5,000,000, and in that year Mr. G.C. Cunningham resigned as director, manager and chief engineer. Later Mr. R.B. Angus replaced him as a director and Mr. F.L. Wanklyn as manager and chief engineer.
In 1901 the Company purchased all the bonds and a majority of the stock of the Montreal Park and Island Railway Company. In the same year the Company secured franchises from the towns of St. Louis and St. Paul, both now part of Montreal.
In the following year the Company issued $1,500,000 4½% bonds to pay for the Park and Island Railway. The capital at this time was $6,000,000, and no less than fourteen miles of new track were built and put into operation.
In 1903 another $1,000,000 of stock was issued.
Mr. James Ross resigned as vice-president and managing director, during this year, and was replaced by Mr. F.L. Wanklyn, later in that year Mr. Wanklyn resigned and Mr. K.W. Blackwell was elected vice-president, and Mr. W.G. Ross managing director. Mr. Duncan McDonald was appointed manager and Mr. Patrick Dubee secretary. The Company, pursuing its policy of rapid extension, secured a franchise in Delorimier (now part of Montreal), and an extension of their Westmount franchise. Also through another subsidiary company, the Suburban Tramway and Power Company, now The Public Service Corporation, they secured a franchise to Longue Pointe and the Village of Beaurivage.
In the following year, the Company secured an extension of the Maisonneuve franchise, and bought considerable property on St. Denis Street for building purposes.
In 1906, the Company entered into an agreement for the purchase of the stock and bonds of the Montreal Terminal Company, and also secured a franchise in Outremont, for the further extension of its system into the suburbs. By this time the capital stock had grown to $7,000,000. The purchase of the Montreal Terminal Company was concluded in the following year, while considerable additions and extensions were made, and to meet the increased demands the capital stock was increased to $9,000,000.
The Park and Island Company also secured a franchise in Notre Dame de Grâce, and started an extension of the Sault-au-Recollet line to opposite St. Vincent de Paul. The Cartierville line was also double tracked to the bridge.
In 1908 $292,000 debenture bonds were redeemed, and £460,000 ($2,238,666.67) debenture bonds, and another $1,000,000 of stock, were issued, bringing its capital up to $10,000,000 stock and $4,420,000 bonds where it stands today.
In 1910 the Company was capitalized at $10,000,000 stock and $4,420,000 bonds, operated over 144 miles of track, and controlled and operated subsidiary companies with some eighty-six miles of track, a total of 230 miles. On March 24, 1911, an act to incorporate the Montreal Tramways Company saw a new development, the incorporators of the charter being, E.A. Robert (president), J.W. McConnell (vice president), F. Howard Wilson (vice president), Hon. J.M. Wilson, Wm. C. Finley, J.M. McIntyre, Geo. G. Foster, K.C., D.L. McGibbon and N. Curry.
As an indication of the growth of the passenger service the account for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1914, gave the gross earnings as $7,147,804.19, the operating expenses, $4,206,114.57 and the net earnings as $2,936,689.62 while the total number of passengers carried, including “transfers” was 58,120,066. Such a story of rapid progress in the face of natural and other obstacles is one of which both the Company and the city may reasonably feel proud.
FOOTNOTES:
1The two-cent rate of the United States was introduced into Canada in 1899.
1The two-cent rate of the United States was introduced into Canada in 1899.
2The “pay as you enter” cars originated in Montreal on the invention of Mr. Duncan McDonald, of the Montreal Street Railway Company.
2The “pay as you enter” cars originated in Montreal on the invention of Mr. Duncan McDonald, of the Montreal Street Railway Company.
3The rapid growth of the city in population dates from 1891. 1861, City and suburbs, 101,439; 1872, 155,865; 1881, 178,237; 1891, 261,302; 1901, 376,402; 1910, 600,000.
3The rapid growth of the city in population dates from 1891. 1861, City and suburbs, 101,439; 1872, 155,865; 1881, 178,237; 1891, 261,302; 1901, 376,402; 1910, 600,000.
1760-1841
CITY IMPROVEMENT FROM THE CESSION
UNDER JUSTICES OF THE PEACE
EARLY STREET REGULATIONS—A PICTURE OF MONTREAL HOUSES IN 1795—FURTHER STREETS OPENED—A “CITY PLAN” MOVEMENT IN 1799—HOUSES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY—MAP OF 1801—CITY WALLS TO BE DEMOLISHED—CITADEL HILL REMOVED—FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS—ROAD COMMISSIONERS—PICTURE OF 1819—IMPROVEMENTS DURING THE TRANSITIONAL PERIOD OF THE JUSTICES AND THE MUNICIPALITY—PICTURE OF 1839 BY BOSWORTH.
In view of chronicling the efforts of the past, since the Cession, to make the city comfortable for the dweller and attractive to the visitor, the reader is now offered the following notes:
In 1676 an ordinance provided that each tenant should pave up to the middle of the road, every street passing by his home, but this was scarcely attended to and at the time of the British régime these regulations were in desuetude.
The earliest ordinances governing city improvement have already been mentioned in the ordinances of Governors Gage and Burton. Those following on the great fire of 1765 have also been treated elsewhere.
In the letter of an English traveller, dated March 22, 1795, occurs the following reference to Montreal: “Montreal is not equal in size to Quebec, but has considerably the advantage in point of cleanliness. On the whole Montreal has more the appearance of a middle sized country town in England than any place I saw in America. The principal streets are flagged. The houses are built of stone, on the French plan, with this exception that they are in general, much lower and present a greater appearance of neatness than French houses usually do.* * *The amusements of Montreal are exactly similar to those of Quebec. In winter, all is dance and festivity.* * *I have seen few places where a veteran officer of moderate income might entrench himself for life better than at Montreal.” (Canadian Antiquarian and Numismatic Journal, Vol. IX.)
In order to provide for a uniformity in the planning of the streets to meet the growth of the city and the suburbs the legislature by an act of 1799 (36 George IV, Cap. 5) authorized the appointment of a surveyor “who should draw plans of the city and land adjacent and that commodious streets should be opened and ground reserved for public squares.” At the same time an act was passed for therepairing and the changing of the roads and bridges of the country. Montreal was affected by this and was taxed accordingly.
“The houses at the beginning of this century,” says Mr. P.S. Murphy, writing in 1879, “were generally of ‘rubble masonry,’ or of wood, one or two stories high—the former with iron shutters. Some houses on St. Paul Street were two or three stories high, of Ashlar masonry. The buildings in the old city proper were generally of stone.”
At this period Simon McTavish’s castle was standing. He had died in 1805 and left it unfinished. There it stood deserted on the site now covered partially by the Allan property till the latter part of December, 1860—the abode of ghosts according to the credulous.
In 1800 Beaver Hall, the mansion of Joseph Frobisher, one of the founders of the North West Company, was built. It was then far in the country. Being of wood it was burned down in 1845.
A badly preserved map of the city of this period (1801), made by Louis Charland, inspector of roads, reveals that certain streets’ names were applied to localities since renamed. St. Marie was that given to the present Sherbrooke Street; St. James to St. Catherine; Dorchester to St. Jean Baptiste. The present names begin to appear in the map of 1825 by John Adams.
In 1800 an engineer was named by the legislature with a salary of £200 a year to direct the opening of new streets, and with jurisdiction beyond the city limits. The new engineer set to work to pave St. Paul and Notre Dame streets and then to open up others under the direction of the magistrates. In 1815 the road across the property of Etienne Guy was opened. In 1817 the opening was legalized of King, Queen, Prince, George, Nazareth and St. Gabriel streets. St. Paul Street was extended to McGill Street and St. Maurice Street was opened. In 1818 St. Helen, Lemoine and Dubord were opened. At the same time the construction of the fashionable esplanade of the period, the Champ de Mars, was begun and the demolition of the citadel erected under the French régime allowed Notre Dame Street later to be extended to St. Mary Street.
In 1802 His Majesty assented to the last reserved acts regarding the removal of the walls around the city of Montreal. In 1801 a bill for the removal of walls was passed by the legislature, with some amendments, but reserved by Sir Robert Milnes in case any further consideration from a military point of view might be thought necessary. On the 10th of June, 1803, a proclamation was issued giving effect to the reserved bills. Thus at last the fortifications were to be demolished! They had been threatened many years previously. Mr. Brymner (Archives Report for 1892) tells the story.“So far back as 1791 General Mann, then a captain of the Royal Engineers, reported that, while in the infant state of the colony the works around Montreal were useful as a protection against the Indians, they were no longer required for that purpose and that their ruinous condition made them rather a nuisance than a benefit. Part of the materials of the walls, he recommended, should be preserved, the rest to be used by filling up the ditch or for any other purpose in the reforming of the town. Citadel Hill, he considered, should be levelled and barracks built on part of it, or by levelling the hill to any easy slope Notre Dame Street might be opened to the Quebec suburbs, forming a good entrance and a great improvement to the town. The cross streets should lead to the mountain and a road be preserved along the front of the river, which in time would form a fine quay or promenade.* * *In July, 1793, Mr. Dundas approved of the removal of the walls, but directed Lord Dorchester to ascertain whether the owners of the adjoining property had or had not the right, as they maintained, to have their property extended on the removal. In 1797 Prescott, lieutenant governor, informed the legislature that the petition for the extension of the property consequent on the removal of the walls desired the assembly to take measures to prevent litigation between owners, past and present, and stated that the officer commanding the Royal Engineers would be directed to make a plan of the town and fortifications, which should show the reserves proposed to be made for the use of the crown.” In November, 1797, the colonial secretary wrote that the bill had been received and would be returned with such directions as might be necessary, which were sent in August, 1798. The rest of the history has been told above.
NOTRE DAME STREET IN 1803NOTRE DAME STREET IN 1803The portal of the First Parish Church is seen blocking the street. It was necessary to go around the church to continue along Notre Dame to the Quebec Gate. The gable of the Seminary is seen on St. Francis Xavier Street. Between it and the portal is the cemetery gate.
NOTRE DAME STREET IN 1803
The portal of the First Parish Church is seen blocking the street. It was necessary to go around the church to continue along Notre Dame to the Quebec Gate. The gable of the Seminary is seen on St. Francis Xavier Street. Between it and the portal is the cemetery gate.
“From authentic sources,” says Sandham in his History of Montreal, Past and Present, “we learn that between the years of 1805 and 1816 there were sixty-four stone houses erected within the old gates. At the latter date there were forty-five wooden houses, of which four were erected by government during the American war. In 1814 seven stone and four wooden houses were built; in 1815 twenty-three of stone and twenty-one of wood; and in 1816 sixty stone and wooden houses were in the course of erection.”
In the meantime the city was developing its approaches1and special commissions were appointed. An old almanack printed at Quebec in 1815 mentions: “Trustees for improving, ordering and keeping in repair the road from the city of Montreal to Lachine through the wood.” (Honourable James McGill, Honourable John Richardson, Joseph Papineau, Isaac W. Clark, Louis Gugy and Jean Marie Mondelet.) The commissioners for the removal of the old walls of Montreal were J. McGill, J. Richardson, Jean Mondelet and L. Chaboillez. (Lachennais Bridge, Canadian Numismatic and Antiquarian Journal, Series N, Vol. I, pg. 881.)
A traveler visiting the city in 1819 describes the houses and streets thus:“The first impression of the city is very pleasing. In its turrets and steeples glittering with tin; in its thickly built streets stretching about one-and-a-half miles along the river and rising gently from it; in its environs ornamented with country houses and green fields; in the noble expanse of the St. Lawrence sprinkled with islands; in its foaming and noisy rapid and in the bold ridge of the mountain, which forms a back-ground to the city; we recognize all the features necessary to a rich and magnificent landscape and perceive among these indications decisive proofs of a growing inland emporium. The streets of the city are narrow except some of the new ones. The principal ones are St. Paul, which is the bustling business street, near the river, and Notre Dame, on higher ground, more quiet, more genteel and better built. The latter street is twenty-five feet wide and three-quarters of a mile long. Many of the houses are constructed of rough stone coarsely pointed or daubed with mortar and have certainly an unsightly appearance. Many of the stores and dwellings have iron plate doors and window shutters, fortified by iron frames, as a precaution against fire as well as robbery. An act of ’59, (George IV Cap. 8), obliges householders of Montreal whose houses have wooden roofs to whitewash or to paint them every two years.”
Previous to 1827 St. Paul, St. Francois Xavier, St. Sacrement, Notre Dame and others of our present business streets contained the private residences of many of our first citizens where stores and warehouses are now only to be seen. Not half a dozen of our merchants and prominent men lived out of the old city proper, viz. from McGill Street to Dalhousie Street and back to Craig Street, which was its northern boundary. At that time and even later St. James Street and its seven galleries, a terrace of one-story buildings, were the fashionable rendezvous of the military. The windows of the stores were little larger than those of the ordinary houses, but in 1839 more modern display windows were beginning to appear. The iron shutters for protection which are still to be seen on some of the old houses even in 1914, were then giving place to more elegant ones of wood. Puddles were allowed to remain in the street. The roads were very dusty in the dry weather and very muddy in the wet. To remedy the former sprinkling carts were recommended and for the latter wood paving. The streets were still badly lighted for although the old oil lamps were being superseded by gas, the city was not generally lighted.
During all this period under the justices of the peace, it may be remarked, that they had the power to make certain assessment for defraying the necessary expenses of the city and to enact and enforce such by-laws for its regulation as were not inconsistent with the statutes of the realm.
MONTREAL IN 1839
Writing in 1839 in “Hochelaga Depicta,” Mr. Newton Bosworth gives many interesting side lights of the civic improvement of the time preceding the municipality.
“An act passed the Provincial Legislature in 1832, forming Montreal into a Corporation and transferring the authority for the Magistrates to the corporate body; but in 1836, the Act of Incorporation having expired, the Government again passed into the hands of the Justices of the Peace.
“The city is represented in the Provincial Parliament by four Members, the East and West Wards into which it is divided, returning two each. The period of service in the House of Assembly is four years.
“Under the Corporation the city and suburbs were distributed into eight wards, for the more convenient arrangement and dispatch of business. These are East and West Wards, the Wards of St. Ann, St. Joseph, St. Antoine, St. Lawrence, St. Louis, and St. Mary. Another division of the city may be called the Military, according to which the battalions of militia, which are six in number, are collected from the portion of the city or suburbs in which they reside.”
Speaking of the appearance of the town in 1839, Bosworth remarks:
“Montreal, the second city in political dignity, but the first in magnitude and commercial importance, in British America, is situated in Latitude 45° 31' North, and Longitude 73° 34' West. Including the suburbs it covers about 1,020 acres, although within the fortifications the area did not much exceed 100 acres. Its local advantages for the purposes of trade, giving it a decided superiority over everyother place in the Province, and its climate, though severe, is more genial than that of Quebec. On approaching it either on the river from below, or in descending from La Prairie, the tall and elegant steeple of the English Church, the massive grandeur of the French Cathedral, the spires of other churches and chapels, the spreading mass of habitations in the suburbs, and the well built and lofty stores in Commissioner Street, the stranger will be impressed with a very favourable idea of the city he is about to enter. If the entrance be by the Lachine road, a fine view of the city is presented just before descending the hill near the Tanneries, or the village of St. Henry; and another on coming along the road from Mile-end, north west of the city.* * *In the commencement of towns and villages, when no specific plan has been previously arranged, houses and other buildings will be erected where land can be obtained or convenience may dictate, without much regard to regularity or order; and hence in towns of any considerable standing, we generally find that the earliest streets are crooked and irregular. This may be seen in St. Paul Street in this city, which by its contiguity to the river, presents great facilities for trade, and, with the space between it and the wharf, would be occupied in preference by men of business.
“It contains many excellent houses, which would be seen to more advantage, had the street been wider. It reminds one of some of the central streets in London, but without their fog and smoke. From St. Paul Street, downwards to the river, was formerly called the lower town, and the rest of the city the upper; but though in some of the cross streets there is an evident rising in the ground, in others it is scarcely perceptible. The principal streets are airy, and the new ones particularly of a commodious width; some of them running the whole length of the town, nearly parallel to the river, are intersected by others generally at right angles.
“An Englishman when he enters the city, and in his perambulations through nearly the extent of it, is struck with the French names by which nearly the whole formerly, and the greater part now, of the streets are distinguished; the names of Catholic Saints, or eminent Frenchmen, will meet his eye in abundance.
“The Rue Notre Dame, extending from the Quebec to the Recollet Suburbs, is 1,344 yards in length and thirty feet broad. It is in general a handsome street, and contains many of the public buildings. St. James Street, Craig Street and McGill Street, are of still greater width, and when the yet empty spaces in each are filled up with elegant houses, they will be ornaments to the town.* * *The spirit of local improvement has long been in active and efficient operation and betrays no symptoms of langour or decline. Beside a multitude of new and elegant houses in almost every part of the city and suburbs, large spaces and several streets have been considerably improved.
“The covering of the creek, or rather ditch, an offensive and dangerous nuisance, in Craig Street; the levelling of McGill Street; the improvements in Dalhousie Place, in the French Square, and Notre Dame Street, and of that part of St. Ann Suburbs called Griffin Town, by which a large portion of swampy land has been raised and made available for building, may be adduced as specimens. The recent houses are almost universally built of the grayish limestone which the vicinity of the mountain affords in abundance; the fronts of the same material, hewn and squared; even the new stores and warehouses are finished in the same manner.
“Many of the houses are large, handsome, and in modern style, and some of them display great taste in design.
“The best houses and most of the churches are covered with plates of tin, a far better material for this purpose than the wooden shingles which are frequently used. In comparing the climate with that of Quebec, it may be observed that in general the winter is shorter in Montreal and the cold not so intense.
“In the latter city also the snow is seldom so deep, or remains so long, as in Quebec.
“The favourable situation of Montreal enables her to command the trade of a considerable portion of the lower Province, and the greater part of the upper. Her position, indeed, is such as always to ensure a profitable connection with every part of the continent where business is to be done.
“By some persons it has been thought, however favourable the situation of Montreal is at present, it would have been better had the city been founded a little lower down the river, so that the difficulty of ascending the current of St. Mary might have been avoided. The aid of steam navigation, however, by which ships of all burdens may easily be towed up to the city, renders this a consideration of much less importance than it was formerly.
“The civil government of Montreal is administered by Justices of the Peace, who are appointed by the Governor of the Province. They are at present forty-six in number, and have the power to make certain assessments for defraying the necessary expenses of the city and to enact and enforce such by-laws for its regulation and advantage as are not inconsistent with the statutes of the realm. For a short period the municipal affairs of the city were managed by a Mayor and Common Council.”
VIEW OF THE CHAMP DE MARS, MONTREAL, 1830VIEW OF THE CHAMP DE MARS, MONTREAL, 1830
VIEW OF THE CHAMP DE MARS, MONTREAL, 1830
Notre Dame Street ABOUT 1845From a sketch taken by John Murray and engraved by BourneABOUT 1845Notre Dame Street, looking east from St. John Street. Christ Church Cathedral, on the left beyond Notre Dame
From a sketch taken by John Murray and engraved by Bourne
ABOUT 1845
Notre Dame Street, looking east from St. John Street. Christ Church Cathedral, on the left beyond Notre Dame
BONSECOURS MARKETBONSECOURS MARKET
BONSECOURS MARKET
FOOTNOTES:
1The first bridge connecting the island at Bordà Plouffe, now Cartierville, with the north was Pont La Chapelle, built in 1834-5 as a private venture on his own grounds by M. Persillier-Lachapelle.
1The first bridge connecting the island at Bordà Plouffe, now Cartierville, with the north was Pont La Chapelle, built in 1834-5 as a private venture on his own grounds by M. Persillier-Lachapelle.
1841-1867
CITY IMPROVEMENT AFTER THE UNION
UNDER THE MUNICIPALITY
GREAT STRIDES AT THE UNION—THE EARLY MARKET PLACES—THE BONSECOURS MARKET—OTHER MARKETS—PUBLIC PLACES—THE EARLY SQUARES—PRESENT PARKS—THE EARLY CEMETERIES—THE FIRST JEWISH CEMETERY—THE DORCHESTER STREET PROTESTANT CEMETERY—DOMINION SQUARE—MOUNT ROYAL—COTE DES NEIGES—OTHER CEMETERIES—GENERAL CITY IMPROVEMENT—AREAS OF PUBLIC PLACES.
The advent of the Municipality saw great strides in city improvements, especially in laying out of public places, such as markets and parks.
MARKET PLACES
The first market place was held in the first public square or Place Royale, opposite the little river, the landing place of Champlain and Maisonneuve, and on the site occupied by the custom house and the present inland revenue office. The date of this first market goes back as far as 1680. Under the English régime with the growth of the city the provision of further markets was further foreseen. The second market, between Notre Dame Street and St. Paul Street, was placed on the site originally occupied by the Château de Vaudreuil, which became the Collège de St. Raphaël, burnt in the great fire of 1803. An ordinance of 18071(47 George III, Chap. VII) gave authority to borrow to the amount of £2,500 for construction of the market, which, however, was delayed for a time. In 1821 a new wing was added. The building was in wood and was demolished to be replaced by the Bonsecours Market in 1843, and its site, the Jacques Cartier Square of today, served for a public place.
The “new” market, Bonsecours, was established under the regulation of the city council of 1841 (May 22d). It was designed also to be the seat of the Council. It is in the Grecian Doric style of architecture. Its site is partially that of the intendant’s palace and that of the house of Sir John Johnson, commander of the Indians in the American Revolution, and son of Sir William Johnson, the Indianwarrior. In 1845 the market at St. Lawrence and St. Dominique streets was also built. Other markets have followed in the following order: