Historical Discovery Tour Welcome to the World Trade Centre! Situated halfway between Old Montréal and the downtown district, the World Trade Centre Montréal is a vital part of the Quartier international de Montréal. Its location and unique architecture reflect the city’s history and development. Inaugurated in 1992, the World Trade Centre Montréal (WTCM) is an architectural mix of distinctive buildings more than a century old. At its outset, a study was conducted to determine the historical, cultural and structural value of the 17 buildings that occupied this city block from 1840 to 1960. Some, as a result, were fully restored and others only partially. Today, this complex fuses the facades of 11 historic buildings with entrances that retain their original personality. After a major renovation, restoration and construction project from 1988 to 1991, the WTCM was inaugurated in 1992. It was designed by a consortium of architectural firms, namely ARCOP, Provencher Roy and Becker, Gersovitz, Moss. Together, they were able to harmonize and integrate the architectural and historical character of the existing structures to create a contemporary centre in a prestigious complex. The magnificent glass roof overtop this indoor ”city within a city” creates a spectacular atrium ideal for a beautiful stroll any time of year. The World Trade Centre Montréal boasts a full range of stores, restaurants and services and also houses the offices of around fifty companies operating in various industries.

We hope you enjoy your visit!

The World Trade Centre montréal • Historical Discovery Tour • 2016

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Historical Discovery Tour Plan 18

SAINT-ANTOINE STREET 380

360 19

T TREE ILL S

GREENSHIELDS BUILDING STATUE 14

INFORMATION STAND

RUELLE DES FORTIFICATIONS

T

747

BASIN

TREE

POWER CORPORATION DUNCAN McINTYRE BUILDING

16

RE S

McG

WILSON BUILDING

17

R T-PIE

15

20

INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL

2 FRAGMENT OF BERLIN WALL

1

CIRCULATIONS MURAL

5

3

FORMER EASTERN TOWNSHIPS BANK

4

VAULTED CELLARS

SCOTIABANK

413

12

6

FORMER CROWN TRUST BUILDING

FORMER BERTHELET HOUSE

FORMER LOCATION OF MORGAN’S DEPARTMENT STORE 13

SAIN

CANADA STEAMSHIP LINES

393

11

FORMER HUTCHISON HOUSE

383

10

NORDHEIMER BUILDING

373

NESBITT THOMSON FORMER MERCHANTS BANK

8

9

SAINT-JACQUES STREET 7

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Start from the World Trade Centre Montréal (WTCM) information stand.

1 ruelle des Fortifications (Fortifications Lane) This vast atrium, 180 metres long, was originally a lane between Saint-Jacques and Saint-Antoine

streets. The two streets were laid out after Montreal’s fortifications were demolished in the early 19th century. Until 1850, the lane provided access to the back of elegant townhouses. It then became an alley establishing a separation between commercial and financial buildings. Ruelle des Fortifications is the heart of the WTCM, linking old and new buildings together. Head west towards the Saint-Pierre Street entrance.

2 Saint-Pierre Street From the year Montreal was founded in 1642 to the construction of stone fortifications beginning in 1717, the site now occupied

by the WTCM was farmland. It was initially part of a lot belonging to Pierre Gadois, who gave his name to Saint-Pierre Street. Pierre Gadois came to Montreal (then known as Ville-Marie) around 1646; in 1648 he became the first person to whom the governor, Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve, granted a piece of land, which is why he is known as Ville-Marie’s “first settler”. Notice the delicate net of steel and glass of Passage Saint-Pierre, leading to Saint-Pierre Street and the “underground city”. Go down the steps towards RÉSO, the underground city, and stop in front of the mural.

3 20th Anniversary Mural Circulations, a mural created by Rafael Sottolichio with the help of Olivier Roy, celebrates the WTCM’s 20th anniversary.

Every winter during the Montréal en lumière festival, some 150 works of art are added to works permanently on display in the underground city. With 32 km of tunnels, the underground city – known as RESO or, in French, “la Ville intérieure” – is thought to be the world’s largest indoor pedestrian network. Its first segment appeared in the 1960s when Place Ville-Marie was built. The network links office buildings, thousands of shops, university buildings, cultural venues, parking lots and some fifteen metro stations, train stations and bus terminals. Go back up the stairs to the left to the Ruelle des Fortifications; head east.

4 Vaulted Cellars The Nordheimer building (1888) is the only heritage building of the WTCM site to have been restored to its original state. Three

vaulted cellars, each one 36 metres long, were uncovered at the bottom of the building. Two of them were dug around 1820 under the first wooden buildings built after the fortifications were dismantled. The third was dug between the first two around 1845, beneath a new stone building that covered the entire width of the lot.

5 A Fragment of the Berlin Wall On permanent display within the WTCM, in the Ruelle des Fortifications, is a segment of the Berlin Wall that is

part of Montreal’s public art collection. Given to the City of Montreal by the City of Berlin to mark Montreal’s 350th birthday, the fragment bears witness to Berlin’s return to the community of free cities after the fall of the Wall on November 9, 1989.

Take the stairs that are on your left when you are looking at the panels describing the Berlin Wall; turn left on the walkway and cross; turn left towards the hall of the Nordheimer building.

6 Nordheimer Building (Interior) In 1888, Toronto businessmen Abraham and Samuel Nordheimer rebuilt their piano warehouse-shop. The first

Nordheimer building, built in 1849, had been destroyed by fire in 1886. In addition to piano showrooms and offices, the Nordheimer brothers also created a concert room, the Nordheimer’s Music Hall, that welcomed one of Montreal’s first symphony orchestras as well as many famous artists such as Québec diva Emma Lajeunesse (Albani) and French tragedienne Sarah Bernhardt. The World Trade Centre montréal • Historical Discovery Tour • 2016

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Turn right and go through the building towards Saint-Jacques Street; go outside and cross the street to the steps of the Royal Bank building. From there, you can see the WTCM façades.

7 Saint-Jacques Street Saint-Jacques Street, also known as St. James Street, became known as “Great St. James Street” when it was extended west

of Saint-Pierre after the fortifications were demolished. The street was residential until the appearance of warehouse-shops and the first department store (Morgan’s, 1866 to 1891). In the late 19th century, it became “Canada’s Wall Street” at the heart of the city’s financial and business district. Eventually abandoned by the banking sector which moved to the new downtown business district, Saint-Jacques declined as many of its buildings were vacated and fell into disrepair. The advent of the WTCM brought this section of the street back to life, contributing to the revitalization of Old Montreal.

8 Nordheimer Building (Exterior) Built in 1888, the Nordheimer building had shops on the ground floor; the next two floors were piano

showrooms, and offices occupied the rest of the building. The Neo-Romanesque building is set apart from its neighbours, and from other buildings with similar functions in Old Montreal, by a façade in which pink granite alternates between a polished and a rusticated finish, and by a monumental arch crowned by a finial that unites its central sections. Look to the right of the Nordheimer.

9 Merchants Bank A partner of the WTCM project, the Merchants Bank building, constructed in 1873 and heightened in 1901, is today a prestigious

hotel called Hotel Le St-James. The building was acquired by a brokerage house, Nesbitt Thomson, in 1929. When the brokerage house left, the building was entirely renovated to become a luxury hotel which opened in 2002. The façade expresses the assurance and stability that early banks sought to embody in richly carved stone buildings, with the goal of impressing and dazzling passersby, seducing investors and making depositors feel safe. Look to the left of the Nordheimer.

10 Hutchison House On a lot acquired by merchant William Hutchison, his widow Margaret Fisher and her second husband William Lunn built a house

in 1840. Lunn was an English businessman who become known as a pioneer of education when he helped establish Montreal’s first free, non-denominational school for working-class children of both sexes. From 1930 to 1976, the building was occupied by an F. W. Woolworth Co. five and dime store. Because the building was in poor condition, only the façade of this neoclassical merchant’s shop and house was preserved and incorporated into the WTCM complex. Head west and stop in front of 393 Saint-Jacques.

11 Crown Trust Building In 1924-1925 an Ontario trust fund, the Crown Trust Co., built a narrow three-story building which it intended eventually to

incorporate into a larger building. All of the openings defined by decorative metal mullions converge on an impressive rounded arch that is dominated by an ornamental keystone and topped with a prominent cornice bearing the company name. Because of its monumental aspect, the Crown Trust façade was the only element of the building to have been preserved; it is now one of the WTCM’s main entrances. Head west and stop in front of 413 Saint-Jacques.

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12 Berthelet House The modest four-bay façade of the building at 413 Saint-Jacques gives no indication of the varied and prestigious functions of the larger building to which it once belonged. The building was a shop and house built by merchant and real estate investor Antoine-Olivier Berthelet around 1845. A close ally of Archbishop Ignace Bourget, Berthelet was known as Bourget’s “Minister of Finance”; he gave large sums of money to support the charitable works of religious congregations and of the archbishop himself. In 1857 the house was taken over by the posh St. James Club; it later housed a fraternal society, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In 1955, pharmacist Jean Locas opened a drugstore in the building in partnership with his cousin Jean Coutu, well-known today to Quebec shoppers; this was the beginning of Coutu’s brilliant career as an entrepreneur in the drug store business. 13 Banque Scotia In 1919, the Bank of Nova Scotia took over the building constructed by the Eastern Townships Bank in 1909. Two exceptional buildings had preceded it at this location. The American Presbyterian Church, built in 1826, was replaced in 1866 by a large building rented by Henry Morgan & Co. Morgan made it into one of Montreal’s largest shops and the first department store in Canada. In 1891, the Morgans decided to move their store to Sainte-Catherine Street at the top of Beaver Hall Hill; this helped make a fashionably elegant residential neighbourhood into the new shopping district of the new downtown. In 1907-1909, the Eastern Townships Bank built a 10-story building, which was the maximum height allowed for commercial buildings by a new city by-law. Go west and cross Saint-Jacques Street at the corner of McGill. Head back east on Saint-Jacques and go into the WTCM at 393 Saint-Jacques. Cross the hall and the walkway, turn left, and go down the monumental staircase leading to the fountain of Amphitrite.

14 Fountain of Amphitrite and Black Granite Basin This 18th-century French fountain and the huge contemporary basin next to it shape the space and lighten the atmosphere of the Ruelle des Fortifications. The stone fountain is dominated by the statue of Amphitrite, wife of Poseidon, god of the sea in Greek mythology. Acquired by Paul Desmarais, president of Power Corporation, the fountain is installed beneath a gigantic glass canopy. The canopy is reflected by a 200-square-metre black granite basin, covered by a thin film of water that is like a transparent tablecloth. Go around the basin and go out of the building by the Square Victoria door. Cross the street at the corner of Saint-Jacques and stop in front of the WTCM entrance.

15 square Victoria The creation of a square was one of the urban projects that arose when the fortifications were dismantled in the early 19th century. A hay market occupied the site beginning in 1813; then the square became an ornamental garden surrounded by churches of various denominations, institutions, associations, businesses and large retailers. In 1872, a large statue of Queen Victoria was unveiled in the square. Today, the WTCM heritage buildings are the only remaining elements of the elegant late 19th-century square. The old square’s organization and identity, which were almost completely erased by high office buildings (such as the Stock Exchange tower) and the metro, were restored at last when Quartier International created a new urban design for the area. 16 McIntyre Building (Power Corporation) The first building to occupy the lot north of Ruelle des Fortifications was the superb St. Patrick’s Hall, built in 1867. After its roof had collapsed under the weight of accumulated snow in 1869, the building was then completely destroyed by fire three years later! At the same location, two warehouse-shops were built: the Clendinneng building and the McIntyre building. Of this prestigious ensemble, only half of the McIntyre building is still standing. The building today is the head office of the Power Corporation trust company. Each richly ornamented level of the grey dressed stone façade is different from the other levels.

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17 Greenshields Building (Canada Steamship Lines) In 1899, after a fire, a new building was erected on the location formerly occupied by the Clendinneng and half of the McIntyre. In 1906-1907, this building was extended to occupy the space previously occupied on Craig Street by other buildings destroyed by fire. The entire building was used by Greenshields Limited, one of Canada’s largest distributors of dry goods. The building now bears the name of Canada Steamship Lines, a shipping company that acquired it in 1946 and made it into an office building. Cross to the north side of Saint-Antoine and head east. Stop in front of 380 Saint-Antoine.

18 Saint-Antoine Street (formerly Craig) In the middle of a large new street called Craig, the Saint-Martin river was first channelled in 1814, then buried in a sewer in 1843. Some say you can still hear it flowing beneath the WTCM underground parking lot. Craig Street was home to Henry J. Shaw’s large auction hall (around 1875), warehouse-shops such as the Wilson building (1889) and the Greenshields building (1899 and 1907), manufacturing concerns such as the Robert Mitchell foundry (1862) and, later, printers and newspaper publishers. 19 Wilson Building (380 Saint-Antoine) In 1888-1889, paper and paper bag manufacturer James Crockett Wilson built a seven-story building with an elevator. The James C. Wilson Co. occupied every story. The company moved away in 1914 and was replaced, until the early 1920s, by Gault Brothers & Co., one of the largest fabric and dry goods wholesalers in Montreal. The Neo-Romanesque façade is decorated with garland-wreathed muses against floral backgrounds, baskets of fruit, owls and horned satyrs. Its spectacular false mansard crown is dominated by a pyramidal turret that was rebuilt as part of the WTCM. The clock was added in accordance with the original architects’ plans. Go east and stop in front of the building at 360 Saint-Antoine.

20 InterContinental Hotel (360 Saint-Antoine) A partner of the WTCM project, the InterContinental Hotel established itself on the location formerly occupied by an industrial building constructed in 1862 for Robert Mitchell & Co. The Mitchell foundry produced copper, bronze and brass items for trains and streetcars. The building was later used by a newspaper, The Montreal Witness, known for its combative stance and its religious intolerance of Irish Catholics and Catholics in general. The beautiful Place Jean-Paul Riopelle and the Quartier International are dominated by the InterContinental Hotel and its 26-story turret. Cross Saint-Antoine Street and go into the WTCM by the entrance at 380 Saint-Antoine; head for the information stand in the Ruelle des Fortifications. End of the tour.

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