Kate McDonnell took this photo of the old Préfontaine squat. She provides a bit of background: “This was originally built in 1886 as a smallpox hospital, used for isolating people during epidemics. By 1911 it was falling apart and was rescued from demolition by being renovated. Another renovation in 1979 would be responsible for the mismatched bricks and ugly little windows in the middle section.
“After the mid-1950s it became a shelter for the homeless and in the late 1970s and early 1980s was used to temporarily shelter an influx of boat people. After being officially sanctioned as a squat by the city, it was rather notoriously shut down in 2001.”
2 comments
That sucks. Why would the City not just sanction it and make it an official shelter if necessary? Seems better than letting a heritage building falling from grace like it has already, to the point where it would be easier to tear it down than rebuild it.
The shame!
To be fair, it was Ben Soo who dug up the background on the building, not me. He also has some photos of the place:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bensoo/tags/squatprefontaine/
Also, I believe it’s in Rosemont-Petite Patrie, not Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, although it must be close to the boundary. It’s directly across the street from the Angus Yards.
I agree it’s a pity to leave it standing to rot. I imagine it isn’t up to code for occupation – the official reason for closing the squat was fire hazard – but it does seem lax for the city to let it crumble in the limbo between unwillingness to fix it up and unwillingness to tear it down.