Ah, holidays in the country! The pure air that fills the lungs, the sweet song of the birds, the feet that dangle at the end of the quay... In Montreal, city dwellers have been trying to escape the heat, density and pollution of the big city since the middle of the 19th century. During this period of intense industrialization, factories and plants multiplied in the metropolis, while the population jumped from 58,000 in 1851 to nearly 500,000 in 1911! At first, as you might expect, escaping the city was mainly the privilege of the wealthy. The fashion was for "water places": people went by steamboat to spend the summer in Charlevoix or the Lower St. Lawrence, then to the Laurentians thanks to the railway that linked Montreal to Saint-Jérôme starting in 1876 and then to Mont-Laurier in 1909.
On the other hand, as ville de Montréal was more or less contained between the St. Lawrence River and Sherbrooke Street, there was no need to go that far to enjoy the sweet pleasures of pastoral life. While some of the more affluent built villas on the slopes of Mount Royal, others, seeking to reconnect with nature, relaxation and calm, turned to the banks of the Rivière des Prairies or the St. Lawrence River to reach such exotic destinations as Pointe-Claire, Repentigny, Ahuntsic or Longueuil. Over time, with the arrival of the streetcar and the automobile, Montreal's surroundings became increasingly popular and accessible to the general public.
AHUNTSIC
The occupation of the territory in the area of the present-day Ahuntsic district is not new. Traces of Aboriginal presence have been found on the grounds of the Sault-au-Récollet church. As for the French settlers, they have populated the banks of the Rivière des Prairies since the end of the 17th century, but it is mainly the arrival of other inhabitants, essentially farmers, that led to the constitution of a real village core and the founding of the parish of La Visitation in 1736.
In the following century, the Rivière des Prairies saw the arrival of new types of visitors who came to enjoy the calm and freshness of the area: vacationers. Near the present-day Viau Bridge, wealthy English-speaking Montrealers formed a hamlet that they called Back River. The area was later renamed Ahuntsic in 1897 and annexed to Montreal in 1910. In 1847, the first wooden bridge linking Île Jésus contributed to the development of the village. Almost fifty years later, in 1895, the Millen tramway allowed city dwellers to quickly reach the banks of the Rivière des Prairies and several hotels and summer villas were built to accommodate the vacationers who came to enjoy the area in large numbers. People enjoyed the beaches in the area of l'Abord à Plouffe, bicycling, fishing and canoeing... Further west, Belmont Park rented boats to sail on the pond and the amusement park opened its doors to the first visitors in 1923. There is no shortage of entertainment activities!
Today, the area has changed: the major urbanization, marked by the opening of Henri-Bourassa Boulevard and the construction of the Viau Bridge, has sounded the death knell for the Ahuntsic resort.
The Péloquin Hotel
Most of the buildings from the golden age of the Ahuntsic resort have disappeared. This is the case of the Péloquin Hotel, built in 1876, but destroyed by fire in 1911. It was located on chemin du Bord-de-l'eau, now boulevard Gouin, near rue Basile-Routhier. At the time, another hotel, the Marcotte Hotel, located on the site of barracks number 35, stood opposite it.
The imposing building in the Second Empire style was characterised by the broken shape of its roof. With its neo-classical facade, white colonnades and towers, it had everything to catch the eye of holidaymakers who wanted to see and be seen. The Péloquin Hotel was a place to be for leisure activities; people met there for dances as well as for various sporting activities such as hiking or hunting. At one time, the famous Montreal Hunt Club, the oldest hunting club in North America still in operation, met there.
Mary-Dorothy-Molson House
In Saraguay, to the west, the resort developed later. In 1930, Mary Dorothy Molson, daughter of Molson brewery president Herbert Molson and wife of Hartland Campbell MacDougall, a prominent financier, built this huge residence. The building remained in the hands of the Molson-MacDougall family until 1974. Located at 9095 Gouin Boulevard West, in the Bois-de-Saraguay Nature Park, the Mary-Dorothy-Molson House, commonly known as the MacDougall Manor, still stands as a testament to the social life of Montreal's Anglo-business elite. One can imagine the sumptuous receptions held in this fabulous resort house where the Molsons, the MacDougalls and the Ogilvies met!
Architect Alexander T. G. Durnford drew inspiration for the plans from the Georgian Revival style. The house is distinguished by the symmetry of its main façade. The triangular pediment above the forebody is pierced by a bull's eye, and the painted wooden portal is surmounted by a second pediment in the form of a pointed arch. The choice of finishing materials testifies to the wealth of the former owners. Painted ornamental woodwork, copper flashings and original wooden doors and windows can still be seen. What's more, almost all of the 60 rooms inside have retained their original layout. Today, the vacant house is owned by Ville de Montréal, which rents it out for occasional uses such as film shoots (including the TV series La Galère).
LONGUEUIL
Like the other major vacation spots in the greater Montreal area, the agglomeration of Longueuil was also very popular from the end of the 19th century until the 1950s. Many Montrealers took advantage of its access to the river to practice various nautical and recreational activities. Regattas, tennis tournaments, picnics, excursions, dances, etc. are organized there. The Night Festivals held by the Boucherville Yacht Club at the end of the 19th century attracted up to 15,000 people! Crowded steamboats left from the Bonsecours Market wharves to bring revellers to enjoy the many booths, the entertainment, the brass bands, but especially the village illuminated by thousands of lanterns until the early hours of the morning.
At first, the Longueuil region was only accessible to Montrealers by boat. Then, in 1909, it was possible to make the trip by tramway via the Victoria Bridge. Finally, the Havre Bridge (renamed Jacques-Cartier in 1934) was opened to traffic in May 1930.
This craze for vacationing on the south shore of Montreal generated two types of establishments. First, opulent residences in the heart of vast plots of land along the St. Lawrence River, particularly in Vieux-Longueuil, and second, thanks to improved transportation, more modest cottages on small plots of land in the older areas of Saint-Hubert and Greenfield Park. In all cases, the inconvenient winter roads favoured summer vacationing.
Many of these villas belonged to prominent Montrealers such as the famous photographer William Notman and Hochelaga bank manager Alfred Prendergast. While many have been burned down or simply demolished, a few signs of that era remain, whether they be villas or former beaches transformed into parks.
Villa Prendergast-Lavery (45, rue Saint-Thomas)
The Prendergast-Lavery villa, one of the oldest in Longueuil, was built around 1879 by lawyer Alfred Prendergast. It is one of the jewels of 20th century Longueuil resort architecture.
The house has undergone some changes since its construction. In particular, the original clapboard cladding has been replaced by a yellow plaster. The house also had a large balcony that ran from one side of the façade to the other and which, prior to housing and highway developments, allowed a view of the river and the nearby beach. Its mansard roof is made of sheet metal in the Canadian style and the windows are casement windows. The façade is impressive with its columns, modillion cornice and pilasters.
It is interesting to note that the house was raised above ground level to withstand the seasonal flooding that was common until the 1960s; the river could sometimes overflow as far as Saint-Charles Street! In 1951, in order to protect the municipality from flooding, the authorities had a concrete wall built along the old Longueuil territory, closing off the beach that was so popular with vacationers and residents alike.
Whether it be visiting the Ahuntsic, Balconville on the Plateau, the Old Port or Île Sainte-Hélène, the 2021 edition of ArchitecTours will have made you discover Montreal on holiday! Thank you to our many participants!
In the meantime, we invite you to see or review our virtual tour of Montreal's parks as well as this post on the disappeared theme parks!
We look forward to seeing you next year with a brand new theme!
Thank you to the partners of the 2021 edition of the ArchitecTours: 
This project is funded under the Agreement on the cultural development of Montreal between Ville de Montréal and gouvernement du Québec.
