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Golden Square Mile
The Golden Square Mile (French: Mille carré doré, pronounced [mil kaʁe dɔʁe]), also known as the Square Mile, is the nostalgic name given to an urban neighbourhood developed principally between 1850 and 1930 at the foot of Mount Royal, in the west-central section of downtown Montreal in Quebec, Canada. The name 'Square Mile' has been used to refer to the area since the 1930s; prior to that, the neighbourhood was known as 'New Town' or 'Uptown'. The addition of 'Golden' was coined by Montreal journalist Charlie Lazarus, and the name has connections to contemporary real estate developments, as the historical delimitations of the Golden Square Mile overlap with Montreal's contemporary central business district.
From the 1790s, the business leaders of Montreal looked beyond Old Montreal for spacious sites upon which to build their country homes. They developed the farmland on the slopes of Mount Royal north of Sherbrooke Street, creating a neighbourhood famous for its grandeur and architectural audacity. At the Square Mile's peak (1850–1930), its residents included the owners and operators of the majority of Canadian rail, shipping, timber, mining, fur and banking industries. From about 1870 to 1900, 70% of all wealth in Canada was held by this small group of approximately fifty men.
By the 1930s, multiple factors led to the neighbourhood's decline, including the Great Depression, the dawn of the automobile, the demand for more heat-efficient houses, and the younger generations of the families that had built these homes having largely moved to Westmount. During the Quiet Revolution, some of the businesses created in Montreal, on whose fortunes the Square Mile had been built, moved to Toronto.[citation needed] In this period, the Square Mile evolved to gradually become the central business district, and many of its grand houses were demolished. The face of the Square Mile was altered, leading to the formation of Heritage Montreal to preserve historic architecture in the city.
By 1983, only 30% of the mansions in the northern half of the Square Mile had survived demolition; and only 5% survived south of Sherbrooke Street. Many of the remaining mansions, such as the James Ross House, today known as Chancellor Day Hall, are today owned by McGill University. Nevertheless, the mansions of the Golden Square Mile represent a prosperous period during which Montreal was the cultural and financial capital of Canada.
The neighbourhood had precise borders measuring roughly a square mile, covering the area between Dorchester Boulevard at the southern end, Pine Avenue at the foot of Mount Royal at the northern end, University Street at the eastern end, and Guy Street (along with Côte-des-Neiges Road) at the western end. In effect, however, the 'Square Mile' was contained within a far smaller area, between Sherbrooke Street and Pine Avenue, and Côte-des-Neiges and University, covering scarcely nine streets on the north–south axis. From east to west: McTavish Street, Peel Street, Stanley Street, Drummond Street, Mountain Street, Ontario Avenue (now Avenue du Musée), Redpath Street, Simpson Street and Guy Street; and three streets on the east–west axis, from south to north: Sherbrooke Street West, McGregor Street (now Doctor Penfield Avenue) and Pine Avenue.
The architects of the Square Mile included Robert Findlay, Bruce Price, Sir Andrew Taylor, William Thomas, John Hopkins and the brothers Edward and William Maxwell. The architecture was an eclectic mix of the Neo-classical, Neo-Gothic, Romanesque, Second Empire, Queen Anne and Art Nouveau, though other styles also figured prominently, sometimes within the same home. By World War I, simpler houses were built, such as Herbert Molson's. Maison Cormier was one of only a few examples of Art deco.
Scottish sandstone and local granite were commonly used materials, and most homes had substantial grounds, atria and large conservatories. A great many of the Square Milers were keen horticulturalists and aside from their gardens, they enjoyed keeping hothouse flowers through the long winters. The streets of the Square Mile were lined with elm, spruce and maple trees, but an outbreak of Dutch elm disease in the 1970s destroyed those that had once lined Sherbrooke Street.
In 1642, a fort named Ville Marie was founded on the Island of Montreal by Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve. Ville Marie became a centre for the fur trade and French expansion into New France until 1760, when it was surrendered to the British army, following the French defeat of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. British immigration expanded the city.
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Golden Square Mile
The Golden Square Mile (French: Mille carré doré, pronounced [mil kaʁe dɔʁe]), also known as the Square Mile, is the nostalgic name given to an urban neighbourhood developed principally between 1850 and 1930 at the foot of Mount Royal, in the west-central section of downtown Montreal in Quebec, Canada. The name 'Square Mile' has been used to refer to the area since the 1930s; prior to that, the neighbourhood was known as 'New Town' or 'Uptown'. The addition of 'Golden' was coined by Montreal journalist Charlie Lazarus, and the name has connections to contemporary real estate developments, as the historical delimitations of the Golden Square Mile overlap with Montreal's contemporary central business district.
From the 1790s, the business leaders of Montreal looked beyond Old Montreal for spacious sites upon which to build their country homes. They developed the farmland on the slopes of Mount Royal north of Sherbrooke Street, creating a neighbourhood famous for its grandeur and architectural audacity. At the Square Mile's peak (1850–1930), its residents included the owners and operators of the majority of Canadian rail, shipping, timber, mining, fur and banking industries. From about 1870 to 1900, 70% of all wealth in Canada was held by this small group of approximately fifty men.
By the 1930s, multiple factors led to the neighbourhood's decline, including the Great Depression, the dawn of the automobile, the demand for more heat-efficient houses, and the younger generations of the families that had built these homes having largely moved to Westmount. During the Quiet Revolution, some of the businesses created in Montreal, on whose fortunes the Square Mile had been built, moved to Toronto.[citation needed] In this period, the Square Mile evolved to gradually become the central business district, and many of its grand houses were demolished. The face of the Square Mile was altered, leading to the formation of Heritage Montreal to preserve historic architecture in the city.
By 1983, only 30% of the mansions in the northern half of the Square Mile had survived demolition; and only 5% survived south of Sherbrooke Street. Many of the remaining mansions, such as the James Ross House, today known as Chancellor Day Hall, are today owned by McGill University. Nevertheless, the mansions of the Golden Square Mile represent a prosperous period during which Montreal was the cultural and financial capital of Canada.
The neighbourhood had precise borders measuring roughly a square mile, covering the area between Dorchester Boulevard at the southern end, Pine Avenue at the foot of Mount Royal at the northern end, University Street at the eastern end, and Guy Street (along with Côte-des-Neiges Road) at the western end. In effect, however, the 'Square Mile' was contained within a far smaller area, between Sherbrooke Street and Pine Avenue, and Côte-des-Neiges and University, covering scarcely nine streets on the north–south axis. From east to west: McTavish Street, Peel Street, Stanley Street, Drummond Street, Mountain Street, Ontario Avenue (now Avenue du Musée), Redpath Street, Simpson Street and Guy Street; and three streets on the east–west axis, from south to north: Sherbrooke Street West, McGregor Street (now Doctor Penfield Avenue) and Pine Avenue.
The architects of the Square Mile included Robert Findlay, Bruce Price, Sir Andrew Taylor, William Thomas, John Hopkins and the brothers Edward and William Maxwell. The architecture was an eclectic mix of the Neo-classical, Neo-Gothic, Romanesque, Second Empire, Queen Anne and Art Nouveau, though other styles also figured prominently, sometimes within the same home. By World War I, simpler houses were built, such as Herbert Molson's. Maison Cormier was one of only a few examples of Art deco.
Scottish sandstone and local granite were commonly used materials, and most homes had substantial grounds, atria and large conservatories. A great many of the Square Milers were keen horticulturalists and aside from their gardens, they enjoyed keeping hothouse flowers through the long winters. The streets of the Square Mile were lined with elm, spruce and maple trees, but an outbreak of Dutch elm disease in the 1970s destroyed those that had once lined Sherbrooke Street.
In 1642, a fort named Ville Marie was founded on the Island of Montreal by Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve. Ville Marie became a centre for the fur trade and French expansion into New France until 1760, when it was surrendered to the British army, following the French defeat of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. British immigration expanded the city.
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