Laneway houses, old or new, are one of the city’s great secrets. Montreal has a lot that were built around the turn of the last century when thousands of migrant workers poured into the city. This particular house is found in a small unnamed laneway just off Durocher Street in the McGill Ghetto (its address is technically on Durocher — I’d love to see a delivery guy find that place!).
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I love those – there are also places where streets such as St-Christophe and avenue de Chateaubriand are little more than lanes, and lined with houses. A related topic is “les fonds de cour” – houses behind others, especially in the Centre-Sud near Radio-Canada/Gay Village where there are many portes cochères. Many have been demolished, but some have been restored.
I love montreal’s laneways. It is because of their development, that we have these world-unique + healthy urban neighbourhoods like the plateau.
Toronto has this potential, but sadly there is much legislation against laneway development, and huge issues with the OMB. also, many people do not realize the value of this development and get stuck in NIMBYism ruts.
The lane where that house is was once called Elm Lane. It might have been part of a farm, when this area was agricultural. As the city grew, it survived, integrated in the regular grid we now live in.