FS12 Cité de Maisonneuve: a French Translation of the City Beautiful

This session has qualified for 3 LU|HSW Credits

Meet: 12:30 PM
Departure: 1:00 PM
At the end of the 19th century, a group of French-Canadian businessmen founded a new industrial city just to the east of the city of Montreal. The ambitious Cité de Maisonneuve incorporated principles of the City Beautiful movement and was strategically tied to railway and shipping networks, driving industry and attracting residents. The Cité de Maisonneuve prospered rapidly, particularly through an economic and demographic boom between 1896 and the First World War.
Many of the planned developments were carried out as originally planned, however the dream ended abruptly when the city was annexed by the Ville de Montréal in 1918. Nevertheless, the traces and landmarks are still clearly legible in what became a traditionally working-class neighborhood. Distinguishing the area from other parts of Montreal, the industrial and civic developments still define the urban fabric. Part of Maisonneuve has been classified by the Quebec government as a cultural heritage site.
This session includes stops that highlight the collection of buildings, sculptures, and urban developments, touching on various interventions undertaken to preserve them. Attendees will learn about initiatives undertaken to preserve and maintain accessibility to this part of Maisonneuve’s heritage, while discussing the challenges of maintenance, preservation and rehabilitation. Stops include the Château Dufresne, the former residence of the Dufresne brothers who were the founders of the Cité; Avenue Morgan, Maisonneuve's grand boulevard where the public baths and market make-up the heart of the civic core; as well as the former City Hall rehabilitated into a public Library.