It maybe a little late, but happy New Year folks.
To me, the new year brings a new job, a new office on St-Hubert up near St-Zotique and, by extension, a whole new neighbourhood to explore. The view from our office window is cleanly cut in half: from the top we can see the bare branches of trees and the mixed use commercial-residential building across the street. The bottom half is metal trellis coated with a thick blur of snow on glass.
Which naturally got me wondering how the Plaza St-Hubert acquired its distinct glass awning? The story seems to date all the way back to 1959, when the Saint Hubert merchants association wanted to convert the commercial street into the world’s biggest shopping centre, spanning 5 blocks. Expropriations were planned to make way for a 750 store shopping centre (currently the plaza has about 390 stores) that would have closed St-Hubert street to traffic and surrounded it with parking lots. The plans boasted “one square foot of parking space for every square foot of selling space.”
This grand destination was dreamed up to shelter local merchants, mostly independent family-run businesses, from increasing pressure from new shopping malls and chain stores. “Our aim is not a competitive scramble for bigger stores, for super or ultra-modern markets,” said Wilfred Sauvé, then president of the St-Hubert merchants’ association.
Then, in 1971, a second plan to create a covered pedestrian mall was proposed. But it was turned down by the executive committee after the failure of an experimental pedestrian mall on Mount Royal Avenue. The Mount Royal mall had been hastily abandoned that April after only 7 months in operation.
Finally, in 1984, the city and merchants association finally agreed on a more modest sidewalk covering.
Mark London, then executive director of Heritage Montreal called the canopy a “good piece of high-tech industrial design” but critiqued the uniformity imposed by the glass canopy in a 1985 Gazette article.
Last year there was a rich variety of 300 storefronts and signs set into hundreds of buildings, some brick, some stone, some low, some tall. Now the overall visual effect is of a single uniform, monotonous glass and steel structure 1.2 kilometres long…The buildings themselves are almost impreceptible above the canopies and the structure often lands right on the centre of windows.
The result is to obliterate the diversity of shops and buildings wtih a structure that has the friendliness, interest and warmth of Mirabel Airpot. A year ago St. Hubert St. had so much variety it bordered on the garish. But with this new project, the pendulum has swung too far in the direction of uniformity and control.
His point is really driven home when you look at old photos of Plaza Saint Hubert before the green glass awning.
Yet when I came to the office was during a snowstorm in December, I distinctly remember stepping under the glass onto a relatively clear sidewalk and thinking: this is architecture that makes sense in Montreal. The Plaza St-Hubert brings together the ideal of Main Street shopping with the harsh realities of our climate; is pedestrian friendly without excluding cars, bikes and buses.
Despite imposing uniformity at a local scale, the glass awning makes the Plaza distinct within Montreal, creating a unique destination and this in turn seems to help foster diversity of small independent businesses. I find that it also creates a sense of cohesiveness which tempts shoppers to walk the entire length of the plaza.
I get the impression that the Plaza is hardly loved and seen from the second story window, the project is harder to swallow. Many of the second story apartments and have lost their balconies and views though the Gazette archive has no mention of complaints from local residents.
Made in Montreal have a cute video entitled “Plaza St. Hubert – petite histoire du kitch à Montréal.” I find it interesting is that the president of the St Hubert merchants’ association interviewed in 2009 actually has similar things to say as his counterpart back in 1959: The Plaza aims to be popular but not too trendy or luxurious. At some point the in-scene is fleeting. And the plaza wants staying power.
(Go to the made in Montreal website for a better quality version of the video)
15 comments
Great article! I was in Sydney, Australia a year ago and virtually all shopping streets there have awnings. Another Quebecois there told me: “It’s like Plaza St-Hubert everywhere around here!”.
The awnings there are to provide shade and shelter from the rain. They are flat (no snow to worry about!), so second storey appartments still retain windows.
Regarding 1-to-1 parking/retail ratio… wow, wonder how many buildings they’d have to tear down to accomplish that! But that would have been below typical suburban ratios of 4-to-1.
Check this out:
http://www.archive.org/details/birth_of_a_city
This is a delightful promo piece from the late fifties documenting the “Birth of a City” (really… birth of a subdivision). Parking ratio is mentionned at 6:53
–X
Ugly as the awnings are, I confess that on snowy days I like to walk from one end to the other, able to walk with a degree of speed to get a modicum of aerobic exercise, after trudging eastwards from nearby Petite Italie.
The Plaza did fall on hard times: there used to be an economy department store (Greenberg) that closed down and even the dollar stores didn’t take up all the empty storefronts. Now there is a bit of renewal at the southern end of the Plaza and even the (non-semi-malled) block between Bellechasse and Rosemont; there are some new, “younger” independent businesses, a craft beer store, a fruiterie (south of Beaubien, it is a bit of a walk to marché Jean-Talon) a natural-foods store, two bookshops across the street from the other. This trend might accelerate with the new development of supposedly eco-friendly housing south of Rosemont: cooperatives, an OBNL housing seniors and affordable condos, as well as a community centre, library and swimmng pool.
Farther north on the Plaza and north of it, there are commerces attesting to the newer ethnic groups hereabouts; not just francophone Québécois and Italian (and some Lebanese, though there presence was more visible on Jean-Talon) but Vietnamese pho shops, Latin-American bookshops and cafés, Haitian and African hair goods and clothing shops etc. I haven’t eaten at the pho shop, but there are often many (presumably) Vietnamese people stopping in there for a bite, which is a good sign.
Although there are a few parking disasters and the ugliness of what happened to rue St-André behind the market, where houses face the unadorned back ends of the stores, at least the area has been spared the massive destruction that parking plan would have entailed. And of course Beaubien and Jean-Talon métro stations are right next to the Plaza, and Rosemont one block below its southern end. It would be nice if the 30 bus ran more often though.
You’ll have to do at least one kitsch shoot of bridal, graduation and quincinera wear!
Nice article! I’m looking forward to reading the newspaper article later when I have more time.
As much as I hate the awnings for both the aesthetics and their function, I have to admit that the Plaza can look absolutely beautiful right after a snowstorm with the LED Christmas lights blazing on the trees and up the supporting columns of the awnings. There’s something wonderfully kitschy about it that makes me glad it was done on one street, but stopped there and wasn’t replicated elsewhere.
I’ve always wondered what the street would look like now if the awnings were removed. If you look at the facades of the buildings along the street, you can see a mix of what were previously very beautiful, typically Montreal mixed-use buildings and facades that have been re-done with no attention paid to how they look because nobody can see them. The saddest thing to see is where there were previously balconies on the second stories that were removed to make way for the awnings. No more “eyes on the street”, not that it matters since the street is usually pretty dead after shopping hours.
I used to live on Everett, 2 blocks north of Jean-Talon just off of St-Hubert, after the Plaza has ended. I love that stretch which stays commercial until about Crémazie. It’s a bit shabby but kind of fun too, much more interesting and engaging. I always shudder to think that that might be how the whole stretch might have been before the plazaifacation.
The Plaza did create some parking lot nightmares. If you follow St-André or Boyer along the length of the Plaza, there are plenty of parking lots that were built for the Plaza and have signs indicating that they’re Plaza parking. There’s even a parking garage(!) just south of Bélanger.
An ambitious revitalization of the awning idea (at I assume it will eventually need replacing) might just be to make one that is higher than the buildings that line St-Hubert st. so that the architectural feel is left intact (actually, restored!) while still providing protection for pedestrians and shoppers from rain and snow. Also, I’ve always felt like the Plaza needed more green, there is way too much concrete and asphalt as it stands and it diminishes the experience IMHO.
Chris, the most nightmarish aspect of the parking garage just south of Bélanger is that there is a seniors’ care home located right on top of it. Beyond the question of air quality, it is a shameful example of warehousing castaway people.
Oh yes, there are parking lots – every one of them meaning lost housing of the nice quality found in Petite-Patrie – along St-André and Boyer, but at least the wholesale disaster was averted. Hopefully these can be recovered for much-needed housing in central-northern Montréal, right along a métro line – two métro lines in the case of Jean-Talon.
There can be something a bit sad about parts of the Villeray stretch of St-Hubert north of Jean-Talon, but interesting changes as well. There was a post on spacing a while ago – was it yours? about a former Harveys which has become a modest Vietnamese restaurant. There are several Latino restaurants there too now – mostly Peruvian, but other nationalities as well.
It does sadden me to look at the buildings along the Plaza stretch, as it will be pretty much impossible to restore them.
Hey, neighbour! I am a brand new resident of the neighbourhood, too — on St-Hubert just before Bellechase, so a strange no-mans-land of half residential, half commercial. Our house used to be commercial below but it’s now 100% residential, and I suspect that’s the way that orphan block will go.
I, too, have found myself enjoying the convenience of the awning, even though it is a bit of an eyesore. As a pedestrian, I like the height of the awnings — it lets you see a bit of the building above the storefront. But not enough, and it’s a strange height indeed for the 2nd storey windows. I say stop pretending it’s even remotely decorative and paint the whole damn thing black.
But I’m liking the neighbourhood a lot — a truly bizarre mix of everything under the sun, even weirder than La Promenade Ontario. I like the fact that the Plaza has tons of stuff for both residents AND others; it reduces the neigbhourood feel of the place — it’s no Laurier Est between Bréboeuf and Papineau or Bernard or Monkland for example and it’s far from chic, but it’s sooooo interesting.
It feels rather like an unsung neighbourhood: not particularly pretty, but not ugly, not particularly close to downtown but not that far, compact neighbourhood density but with lots of through traffic, no clear boundaries and disconnected by the stretch of industrial surrounding the tracks. But I love the diversity of the place: what a mix! Latino, vietnamese, caribbean, african, italian, jewish, french, portuguese, anglo, franco, families, students, little old ladies dressed in black, a beggar or two, cats and dogs galore, and even a few cute gay guys to cruise :)
It also feels like a place in transition — it’ll be interesting to see if the new Rosemont métro development will change the southern part, or if it will become more a self-contained thing like Les Jardins Windsor which has a truly amazing number of residents for very little impact on its surroundings, it seems.
A colleague of mine, whilst during research on the area, discovered the hidden dangers about Plaza St-Hubert:
The awning has become a habitat for pigeon, also known as the flying city rat.
Pigeons = Droppings = Soiled clothing.
Fais gaffe.
Was boul Rosemont previously called de Fleurimont? The first article says that the mall would have gone from de Fleurimont to Jean-Talon but the only de Fleurimont I could find on Google Maps was a tiny two block stretch just below Rosemont, east of Papineau.
Yep. Rosemont was called Fleurimont.
Here’s a map from 1910. It’s pretty detailed. Beware though, it includes projected streets that weren’t built when the map was printed…
http://services.banq.qc.ca/sdx/cep/pleinecran.xsp?eview=CARTES_PLANS/66995.tif&id=0000066995&mention=
I’ve been working and living on the Plaza for the last 5 years. Although you might find the awnings ugly, they do end up being very practical in the winter months – and when it rains. I can even walk to Jean-Talon metro without opening my umbrella! During winter, the snow obscures the second-storey windows, and my living room gets pretty dark.
Also, look out for the pigeon droppings. An easy hint is to look at the ground, if you see a patch of them – and you will – you’ll know they’re hanging out directly above.
Finally, the dizzyingly eclectic mix of shops mean you will find anything you’re looking for within a 4-block walking distance. And most are local independent-owned businesses.
Well, some of the offerings are more than a bit limited. I certainly wouldn’t want to have to dress myself ONLY from the Plaza, though I do frequently drop in at the Renaissance-Montréal location there (and the nearby one on St-Laurent between Jean-Talon and rue de Castelnau) – L’Armée du salut is rather pathetic and smelly.
For food and drink, although now there is a fruiterie (greengrocer’s), an artisanal beer shop and a boulangerie south of Beaubien, you have to dash a wee bit out in the snow or rain to Métro (just west of the awnings on Jean-Talon), IGA (just east of the awnings on St-Zotique, and an SAQ Sélection (just east again, on Beaubien).
The neighbourhood isn’t unsung – it is part of what Claude Jasmin called La Petite Patrie – though his Petite Patrie also extended north of Jean-Talon to central Villeray – the distinction between the two is very recent and a bit artificial). I hope that doesn’t mean that lots of anglo youth are going to move in and not bother to learn French (to say nothing of Italian, Spanish, Arabic etc). Beau Dommage, including Michel Rivard, also sang about this area. “Dans le nord d’la ville d’une ville du Nord”.
Et il y a de très belles rues dans le coin, comme la rue St-Vallier par exemple…
I agree that the southern end has some surprisingly diverse offerings.
Shawn, the southern end of the Plaza has really picked up. Five or 10 years ago, it was the most dismal, dollarstorelandia part, with lots of empty storefronts too. There was a hip restaurant (started by Garou, if I recall) that failed, but there is also the Gainsbar, the artesanal beer store, some quirky fashion artesans etc now.
Re: Rosemont/de Fleurimont:
The western end of Rosemont was originally at Marquette, and de Fleurimont extended from Garnier to St. Denis. A road was subsequently built across Pere-Marquette Park (late 60’s?) joining the two – and de Fleurimont was renamed Rosemont.
If you look at a map – there is a little bit of Rosemont off Garnier that was named de Fleurimont until recently (similar to the piece of de Maisonneuve between St-Laurent and St-Urbain which is still called “de Montigny” – but Streetview shows the streetsign at St.Laurent as being “de Maisonneuve”. The St-Urbain intersection shows “de Montigny” – can’t see the Clark intersection. Looks like the Google video vehicle couldn’t get along it because of the construction).
Re: Rosemont/de Fleurimont
Mark F. is right. Apart from the bit of Rosemont off Garnier, there is also still a stub of de Fleurimont, as Chris Erb pointed out, east of Papineau across from the park.
Chris indicates that the “de Fleurimont” stub is below Rosemont but it actually lines up nicely with the “Rosemont” that is west of parc Pere-Marquette and which was called “de Fleurimont” back when Pere-Marquette Park was a quarry called carrière Martineau and before the curvy road was drawn through the park to connect the two streets, leading to “de Fleurimont” being renamed Rosemont.
The City of Montreal website has an interesting short history of boulevard Rosemont as part of its “Les grandes rues” series at the following address:
http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal/page?_dad=portal&_pageid=5677,64817625&_schema=PORTAL