Bonsecours Market (french: Marché Bonsecours), at 350 rue Saint-Paul in

Old Montreal Old Montreal (French: ''Vieux-Montréal'') is a historic neighbourhood within the municipality of Montreal in the province of Quebec, Canada. Home to the Old Port of Montreal, the neighbourhood is bordered on the west by McGill Street, on th ...

, is a two-story domed public market. For more than 100 years, it was the main public market in the Montreal area. It also briefly accommodated the Parliament of

United Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

for one session in 1849. Named for the adjacent

Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel The Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel (''chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours'', "Our Lady of Good Help") is a church in the district of Old Montreal in Montreal, Quebec. One of the oldest churches in Montreal, it was built in 1771 over the ruins of ...

, it opened in 1847. During 1849 the building was used for the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper C ...

. The market's design was influenced by

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Customs House A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting c ...

History

Construction of this Neoclassical building began in 1844 and were completed in 1847. It was designed by British architect William Footner, and alterations completed in 1860 were designed by Irish-born Montreal architect George Browne (1811–1885). Bonsecours Market also housed

Montreal City Hall The five-story Montreal City Hall (French: ''Hôtel de Ville de Montréal'') is the seat of local government in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was designed by architects Henri-Maurice Perrault and Alexander Cowper Hutchison, and built between 1872 ...

between 1852 and 1878. The former city hall chambers later became a 3700-square-meter meeting room. The market building was also a venue for banquets, exhibitions and other festivals. Browne was charged with adding a 900-square-meter concert hall and banquet hall. The building continued to house the farmer's central market, an increasingly multicultural mix of small vendors, until it was closed in 1963 and slated for demolition. However, the building was later transformed into a multi-purpose facility, with a mall that houses outdoor cafés, restaurants and boutiques on the main and second floors, as well as a rental hall and banquet rooms on the lower and upper floors and municipal office space. Bonsecours Market was designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...

in 1984.

Legacy

On 28 May 1990

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (french: Société canadienne des postes), trading as Canada Post (french: Postes Canada), is a Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the opera ...

issued 'Bonsecours Market, Montreal' designed by Raymond Bellemare. The stamp features an image of the Bonsecours Market, which was designed by Montreal architect William Footner and constructed from 1842-45. The $5 stamps are perforated 13.5 and were printed by British American Bank Note Company & Canadian Bank Note Company, Limited.Canada Post Stamp
Library and Archives Canada website

References

External links

Gobernment of Quebec website

{{s-end 1847 establishments in Canada Old Montreal City and town halls in Quebec Commercial buildings completed in 1860 Landmarks in Montreal Legislative buildings in Canada National Historic Sites in Quebec Neoclassical architecture in Canada Domes Province of Canada Retail markets in Canada Shopping malls in Montreal