On September 7 and 8, 1973, the Van Horne House, the prestigious residence of Sir William Cornelius Van Horne (1843-1915), at the corner of Sherbrooke and Stanley Streets in Montreal, collapsed under attack by demolition workers. At the same time, Windsor Station, another notable legacy of the famous Canadian Pacific leader, is on the verge of destruction. A look back at this almost forgotten episode, which nevertheless symbolizes the first efforts to protect the country’s built heritage.
At the beginning of the 1970s, several associations were founded to protect the built heritage, in particular “Sauvons Montréal” after the demolition of the Van Horne House. “Credits: BAnQ digital, excerpt from an article from the Montreal weekly newspaper Le Petit Journal, September 23, 1973, p. 35”
No national significance
“The decision has been made [il y a quelque temps de cela] is that Windsor Station had no national significance, which is our main criterion,” said Peter Bennett, director of the federal historic sites agency, during an interview in October 1973.
This statement, perhaps surprising today, was supported by Jean Chrétien, then Minister of Indian Affairs and head of historic sites and parks in Canada.
“Back then there was no interest in built heritage, let alone Victorian architecture,” explains Michael Fish, architect and co-founder of Friends of Windsor Station, during a roundtable organized by Héritage Montréal in 2021.
Described as a “monster full of useless towers”, Windsor Station must be demolished and replaced by a modern skyscraper according to plans by the Bank of Montreal, Canadian Pacific and the project developer Marathon Realty in the late 1960s.
“I didn’t know much about Heritage or Windsor Station myself,” the architect continues modestly. “But I was very shocked at the vocabulary used to talk about this building with extraordinary architecture. It was such a sad time back then, the destruction was increasing, something had to be done.”
During a public hearing in Westmount in 1969, Michael Fish’s pertinent questions about the Windsor Station project caught the attention of a journalist from the Montreal Star.
This first intervention led to a snowball effect.
The beginning of a movement
“Suddenly I started getting calls from great historians and renowned architects from all over Canada,” he recalls. At the same time I took an express course on the history of Windsor Station.”
But in his opinion it was the young activists of the time who made the crucial difference.
To counter the developer’s repeated attacks, architects Michael Fish, Peter Lanken and Jean-Claude Marsan founded the Friends of Windsor Station in 1970. Not only did they recruit new “Friends” across the country, but they also joined forces with other groups such as the Friends of Windsor Station. “Green spaces” and “Extraordinary places”.
By drawing public attention to this problem, they also strive to discover the architectural heritage that was little appreciated at the time but, above all, little known.
Windsor Station brochure, downtown tours, letter-writing campaigns across Canada, press editorials, petitions, it’s all covered.
“We tried everything, everything [,] except violence,” declared Michael Fish in an article in the daily newspaper Le Soleil on September 11, 1973.
Windsor Station brochure page with photographs by photographer Brian Merrett (1945–2023), who specialized in architecture and building culture. On the left is the Room of Lost Steps and the Angel of Victory, a monument commemorating the sacrifice of Canadian Pacific employees who fought in the First World War. On the right is the entrance to Windsor Station, on the corner of Saint-Antoine Street and Peel Street, completed in 1912. Photo credit: Windsor Station / La Gare Windsor par les Amis de la Gare Windsor/The Friends of Windsor Station, [Audrey Bean et al.]. Montreal, 1973. P. 17
A new era for heritage
“The most important change in this movement [né dans les années 1970] is probably the expansion of the perception of what heritage is,” later wrote the journalist Pierre Berton, author of several works on Canadian railway history.
Héritage Montréal was re-established in 1975 to provide financial support to activist associations and is participating in a designation application submitted to the federal government.
In November 1975, Windsor Station was finally recognized as a National Historic Site of Canada and saved from demolition.
For Friends of Windsor Station, this is a landslide victory for ordinary people. Faced with a powerful consortium, they achieved what was unthinkable at the time: saving an irreplaceable building from almost certain destruction.
These years of activism shaped Michael Fish’s later career as an architect. “All my subsequent projects were imbued with the spirit of Windsor. My clientele has completely changed. People were at the heart of our concerns, which made my life so much more interesting and rich,” he concludes, now 89 years old.
Windsor Station narrowly escaped demolition: a landslide victory for ordinary people, according to the Friends of Windsor Station. “Source: BAnQ digital, Le Devoir, December 29, 1975, p. 2.”
Windsor station is finally classified
With the end of railway operations, the huge building was converted into a large multi-functional complex in the 1990s. With offices and shops, the station became a central transit point in underground Montreal.
Next to the Bell Center, the Deloitte Tower was recently built on the site of the tracks that once led to the train station.
Although the oldest parts of Windsor station have been saved and revived, preservationists remain vigilant. “Saving Windsor Station shouldn’t just be a reprieve for a few decades,” recalls Michael Fish.
This is how the station was classified by the Government of Quebec in 2009, following measures taken by Héritage Montréal to ensure the protection of this emblematic building both through its external architecture and certain interior spaces of historical interest.
“The station was recognized as a historic station by the federal government in 1990 and was no longer scheduled for protection once Canadian Pacific stopped owning it,” recalls Dinu Bumbaru, director of policy at Héritage Montréal. “As soon as the sale process became known, we intervened to encourage Quebec’s culture minister to do what Canadian Pacific’s special status under the Canadian Constitution had prevented her predecessors from doing in the 1970s: classify Windsor Station.”
A short story
The central part of Windsor station was built between 1887 and 1889 according to the plans of the American architect Bruce Price. As the first Canadian example of the Richardsonian Romanesque Revival style, it is the quintessential symbol of the success of the gigantic Canadian Pacific project. Connect Halifax and Vancouver by rail.
The fastidious William C. Van Horne sent architect Bruce Price back to the drawing board four times before he was satisfied with the plans for Windsor Station. Inaugurated on February 1, 1889, Windsor Station will reach the venerable age of 135 in 2024. “Source: © Pointe-à-Callière, Christian Paquin Collection, [«La Gare Windsor en 1900»]2013.30.04.474r”
In addition to serving as the headquarters of the railway company, Windsor Station became a hub for passenger and freight transportation, helping to make Montreal Canada’s metropolis for a century. Between 1900 and 1914 it was enlarged twice and maintained its perfect architectural harmony until developments in the 1950s.
This postcard shows the expansions of Windsor Station in the early 20th century. The original section at the corner of Windsor (Peel) and Osborne Streets (Avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal) was expanded in 1900 to the right of a new main entrance with three monumental arched doors by architect Edward Maxwell. From 1910, the station was then expanded south to Rue Craig (Saint-Antoine) at the foot of the hill and adorned with a 15-story tower (recognizable by its cat ears) designed by the engineer, head of the Canadian Pacific Railway. WS painter. Photo credit: © Pointe-à-Callière, Christian Paquin Collection, 2013_30_04_482r
For a hundred years, the station was the departure and arrival point of thousands of travelers every year: soldiers during the world wars, big stars, members of the British royal family, numerous immigrants and many others.
The station is a place of remembrance and houses the Angel of Victory Monument in the Salle des Pas Perdus, designed by Cœur de Lion McCarthy in 1922. It commemorates the sacrifice of the Canadian Pacific employees who fought in the First World War.
A railway legacy
Montreal was Canada’s metropolis for a century and retains a significant railway heritage, particularly stations from the golden age of railways.
Dalhousie Station, located at the corner of Berri and Notre-Dame Streets, was built by Canadian Pacific in 1883–1884 to designs by architect Thomas C. Sorby. On June 28, 1886, the first intercontinental passenger train in the Canadian Pacific left Dalhousie station on the first crossing from Canada to British Columbia. In 1898, passenger service was moved to the Viger Station Hotel, another building designed by architect Bruce Price. The elevated station, which was equipped with a flat roof, was converted for freight and storage purposes. It was purchased by the City of Montreal in 1984 and was remodeled and renovated. Although it has regained its original volume, only the stone wall with arches in the base is authentic. After hosting the National Circus School from 1986 to 2004, it now houses the Éloize Circus. The area south of the train station has now been converted into a linear park with a floor plan reminiscent of the location of the tracks. Photo credit: © Pointe-à-Callière, photo Normand Rajotte, [La gare Dalhousie en 2004] 2022.19.101
Along Viger Square, not far from the intersection of Craig (Saint-Antoine) and Berri Streets, the Viger Hotel Station was built between 1895 and 1898 by the Canadian Pacific based on plans by Bruce Price. Hanging to the east of Windsor station, the building resembles a Loire castle and in particular the Château Frontenac in Quebec, a hotel built by Canadian Pacific to the plans of the same architect. Viger station replaces Dalhousie station and includes a hotel. In order to meet the growing demand, the hotel function was left to the palace part and in 1912 a wing dedicated exclusively to passengers was inaugurated on Rue Berri. But the economic crisis of the 1930s severely affected tourism. The Viger train station hotel was closed in 1935. Canadian Pacific consolidated railway operations at Windsor station and closed the Viger terminus in 1951. The building was purchased by the City of Montreal and used by municipal services until its sale to private developers in 2006. Like the Windsor train station, the Viger complex now houses shops and offices, while the old train station has given way to new high-rise buildings. Photo credit: © Pointe-à-Callière, Christian Paquin Collection, [La gare Viger en 1913]2013_30_04_299r
Built by Canadian Pacific in 1931, Jean-Talon Station (then called Park Avenue Station) was designed by architect Colin Drewitt in a classical style with Art Deco elements. It replaces the old Mile-End station and will become the connection and transit point for trains traveling to the United States, Ottawa, Quebec and the Laurentians. The “P’tit Train du Nord” stops there from Viger train station and takes holidaymakers to rustic inns or to the ski slopes of Sainte-Adèle and Mont-Laurier. But the closure of Viger station in 1951 led to the demise of Jean-Talon station. In 1984 it was sold to the city of Montreal and integrated into the subway network in 1987 and the commuter rail network in 1997 (Station Parc). The Jean-Talon station sparked interest in several community projects, but without success, to the great disappointment of many residents of the area, who held a referendum in 1995. The city sold the building in 1996 to Loblaws, which carefully restored it and built a hypermarket next door. The modernized station has regained its former glory, but operations followed one another, without real stability. Photo credit: © Pointe-à-Callière, Christian Paquin Collection, [d’après une photo de 1936]2013.30.04.498
The main station was built according to the work of Canadian National Railway architect John Schofield in a then-innovative international style, incorporating certain Art Deco elements, particularly sculpted murals and stone reliefs illustrating Canada and transportation. Inaugurated in 1943, it is one of the rare large-scale projects that saw the light of day despite the economic crisis of the 1930s and the restrictions of the Second World War. With the construction of the ICAO, Place Ville-Marie, Place Bonaventure and the Reine-Élizabeth Hotel, the station was gradually embedded in a dense building that surrounded and concealed it. At the same time, a covered parking lot (instead of the one visible in this picture) was built in front of the station’s original façade, so that it disappears from street level. Combining simplicity and functionality, the original goal of making it a meeting point for travelers has been realized over the decades. Notably, the main hall above the boarding platforms is accessible from the Bonaventure subway station via the Montreal subway and provides access to VIA Rail, Amtrak, commuter trains and REM services. Photo credit: © Pointe-à-Callière, Christian Paquin Collection, 2013.30.04.537r
Westmount Station, located on Sainte-Catherine Street West at the intersection of Victoria Avenue, was built in 1907 in the Château style based on plans by Canadian Pacific architect WS Painter. A particularly successful work for a medium-sized train station that fits perfectly into the surroundings of this privileged suburb west of Montreal. It replaces the first station built in 1896 and is part of the network of numerous small stations that serve the metropolitan area and connect Montreal, its suburbs, the south coast and the north coast. It was expanded in 1923 and 1927, contributing both to the development of this part of southwest Montreal and to connecting its residents with the Laurentians and the joys of winter. Passenger train service ended in 1984, leading to the closure of the station. After several hurdles, including the idea of moving the station from its original location, which was unappreciated by the public, the land and building were acquired in 1998 by the city of Westmount, which wanted to house some of its services there, a project supported by the city Westmount was rejected as a neighborhood at the time. Because the listed building does not have protected status, it has remained empty ever since, despite several project proposals including an interpretation center and a technology center such as Notman House. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons, photo by Jean Gagnon, Westmount Station in 2012.
Let’s leave Montreal!
The railway has operated from Montreal to the Laurentians since the turn of the 20th century. At the heart of Curé Labelle’s colonization project was the possibility of establishing a network of stations in each locality. The transport of people and goods as well as access to communication via telegraph were facilitated and enabled the development of winter tourism from 1925 onwards.
With the cessation of rail traffic in the 1980s, abandoned historic train stations in several communities in the Laurentians quickly became a problem for citizens. A first concrete action in 1988 led to the transformation of the Annunciation station in Rivière-Rouge into an exhibition center and tourist information office. Thanks to the inauguration of the P’tit Train du Nord linear park in 1996, a dozen historic train stations were saved from demolition. While some communities have not retained their original train stations, most have been successfully restored. They serve the community and are very popular with passing cyclists and skiers. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons, Gare de l’Annonciation in Rivière-Rouge, 2010.
Some restored and reclassified train stations between Saint-Jérôme and Mont-Laurier. Public domain
Find out more about the P’tit Train du Nord
Discover the route of Beautiful stories and his discovery podcast
Learn about demolitions in the 1970s in Montreal and elsewhere
The documentary film Hands on the City (2016) by Martin Frigon
The film Citizen Jane: Battle of the City (2016 – in English) about the journey of activist Jane Jacobs, who spoke out against numerous demolitions in New York and elsewhere in the United States
Who are we?
Founded in 1975, Héritage Montréal is an independent, non-profit organization committed to protecting and promoting the architectural, historical, natural and cultural heritage of the Greater Montreal area.
