Place Viger
Encyclopedia
Place Viger was both a grand hotel and railway station in Montreal
, Quebec
, Canada
, constructed in 1898 and named after Jacques Viger, Montreal's first mayor. Although combined stations and hotels were common in the United Kingdom
in the late 19th century, the concept was unique to Canada.
Place Viger was designed by Bruce Price
for the Canadian Pacific Railway
, and was built near what was then the central core of Montreal, in proximity to the financial district
, the city hall
, the port and the court house. The mayor of Montreal, Raymond Préfontaine
, strongly encouraged its construction in an area central to the French Canadian
élites, in contrast to the rival Windsor Hotel
to the west, which was perceived to cater to the city's anglophone
classes. The rail station served as the terminus of the CP passenger rail lines running into downtown Montreal from the north and east. It replaced the older Dalhousie Station
. Its counterpart terminus for CP passenger rail lines running into downtown Montreal from the south and west was Windsor Station
.
Constructed in the château-style common to Canada's railway hotels, Place Viger housed the railway station in its lower levels and a luxurious hotel on the upper floors. Place Viger enjoyed an enviable setting among the Viger Gardens, allowing both railway travellers and hotel guests to stroll along the garden paths.
The shifting of Montreal's commercial core to the north-west, and the onset of the economic depression
of the 1930s, proved disastrous for Place Viger. The hotel closed in 1935. In 1951, the railway station was also closed, and the building was sold to the City of Montreal. The interiors were gutted and transformed to non-descript office space, and the building was renamed Édifice Jacques-Viger. Much of the Viger Gardens was destroyed in the 1970s to allow for the construction of the Autoroute Ville-Marie highway
, and the remainder of the gardens was transformed into a little-travelled public square (named "Viger Square"), with much-criticized concrete landscaping by artist Charles Daudelin
. For decades, Place Viger sat isolated and neglected, a striking historic building surrounded by concrete and a highway.
In 2003, the Commission scolaire de Montréal
, the City of Montreal and the Quebec provincial government announced that Place Viger would house a new École des métiers du tourisme (a school of tourism). In 2004, the Borough of Ville-Marie
announced that it would restore what remains of the nearby public gardens, by replacing much of the concrete in Viger Square with trees, paths and other soft landscaping.
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, constructed in 1898 and named after Jacques Viger, Montreal's first mayor. Although combined stations and hotels were common in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the late 19th century, the concept was unique to Canada.
Place Viger was designed by Bruce Price
Bruce Price
Bruce Price was the American architect of many of the Canadian Pacific Railway's Château-type stations and hotels...
for the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
, and was built near what was then the central core of Montreal, in proximity to the financial district
Old Montreal
Old Montreal is the oldest area in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, dating back to New France. Located in the borough of Ville-Marie, the area is bordered on the west by McGill St., on the north by Ruelle des Fortifications, on the east by Berri St. and on the south by the Saint Lawrence River...
, the city hall
Montreal City Hall
The five-storey Montreal City Hall is the work of architects Henri-Maurice Perrault and Alexander Cowper Hutchison, and was built between 1872 and 1878 in the Second Empire style. It is located in Old Montreal, between Place Jacques-Cartier and the Champ de Mars, at 275 Notre-Dame Street East...
, the port and the court house. The mayor of Montreal, Raymond Préfontaine
Raymond Préfontaine
Joseph Raymond Fournier Préfontaine, PC was a Canadian politician.- Biography :Born in Longueuil, Quebec, he studied at the law faculty of McGill College and was called to the bar in 1873. He was created a Queen's Counsel in 1899.In 1875, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for...
, strongly encouraged its construction in an area central to the French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
élites, in contrast to the rival Windsor Hotel
Windsor Hotel
Windsor Hotel may refer to:in Australia*Hotel Windsor , Australiain Canada*Windsor Hotel , Canada*Windsor Arms Hotel, Toronto, Canadain Japan*The Windsor Hotel Toya Resort & Spa, Hokkaidō, Japanin the United States...
to the west, which was perceived to cater to the city's anglophone
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
classes. The rail station served as the terminus of the CP passenger rail lines running into downtown Montreal from the north and east. It replaced the older Dalhousie Station
Dalhousie Station (Montreal)
Dalhousie Station is a former railway station in Montreal. Built in 1884, it still stands at the corner of Rue Notre-Dame Est and Rue Berri in east end Montreal...
. Its counterpart terminus for CP passenger rail lines running into downtown Montreal from the south and west was Windsor Station
Windsor Station (Montreal)
Windsor Station is a former train station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, formerly serving as the city's Canadian Pacific Railway Station.Windsor Station was the Canadian Pacific Railway's headquarters built between 1887 and 1889. The Romanesque Revival building was designed by New York architect...
.
Constructed in the château-style common to Canada's railway hotels, Place Viger housed the railway station in its lower levels and a luxurious hotel on the upper floors. Place Viger enjoyed an enviable setting among the Viger Gardens, allowing both railway travellers and hotel guests to stroll along the garden paths.
Great Depression in Canada
Canada was hit hard by the Great Depression. Between 1929 and 1939, the gross national product dropped 40% . Unemployment reached 27% at the depth of the Depression in 1933...
of the 1930s, proved disastrous for Place Viger. The hotel closed in 1935. In 1951, the railway station was also closed, and the building was sold to the City of Montreal. The interiors were gutted and transformed to non-descript office space, and the building was renamed Édifice Jacques-Viger. Much of the Viger Gardens was destroyed in the 1970s to allow for the construction of the Autoroute Ville-Marie highway
Quebec Autoroute 720
Autoroute 720 , known as the Ville-Marie Expressway or Autoroute Ville-Marie is an Autoroute highway in the Canadian province of Quebec that is a spur route of Autoroute 20 in Montreal...
, and the remainder of the gardens was transformed into a little-travelled public square (named "Viger Square"), with much-criticized concrete landscaping by artist Charles Daudelin
Charles Daudelin
Charles Daudelin, was a Canadian sculptor and painter, a major Quebec artist.Born in Granby, Quebec, he became a pioneer in integrating art into public space...
. For decades, Place Viger sat isolated and neglected, a striking historic building surrounded by concrete and a highway.
In 2003, the Commission scolaire de Montréal
Commission scolaire de Montréal
Commission scolaire de Montréal is a French-language school board located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The school board was created on July 1, 1998, as a result of a law passed by the Quebec government that changed the school board system from denominational to linguistic...
, the City of Montreal and the Quebec provincial government announced that Place Viger would house a new École des métiers du tourisme (a school of tourism). In 2004, the Borough of Ville-Marie
Ville-Marie (borough)
Ville-Marie is the name of a borough in the centre of the city of Montreal, Quebec.-Location:The borough comprises all of downtown Montreal, Old Montreal and the Old Port, the Centre-Sud area, most of Mount Royal Park, Saint Helen's Island, and Île Notre-Dame.It is bordered by the city of...
announced that it would restore what remains of the nearby public gardens, by replacing much of the concrete in Viger Square with trees, paths and other soft landscaping.