Place Viger was both a grand hotel and railway station in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

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Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, constructed in 1898 and named after Jacques Viger, the first Mayor of the city. Although combined stations and hotels were common in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in the late 19th century, Place Viger was the only such combination in Canada. Place Viger was designed by

Bruce Price Bruce Price (December 12, 1845 – May 29, 1903) was an American architect and an innovator in the Shingle Style. The stark geometry and compact massing of his cottages in Tuxedo Park, New York, influenced Modernist architects, including F ...

for the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

, and was built near what was then the central core of Montreal, in proximity to the

financial district A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies and other related finance corporations have their head offices. In major cities, financial districts are often home to s ...

, the

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, the port and the court house. The mayor of Montreal,

Raymond Préfontaine Joseph Raymond Fournier Préfontaine, (16 September 1850 – 25 December 1905) was a Canadian politician. Biography Born in Longueuil, Quebec, he studied at the law faculty of McGill College, articled with Antoine-Aimé Dorion and Chri ...

, strongly encouraged its construction in an area central to the

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

élites, in contrast to the rival Windsor Hotel to the west, which was perceived to cater to the city's

anglophone Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest language ...

classes. The rail station served as the terminus of the CP passenger rail lines running into downtown Montreal from the north and east. It replaced the older Dalhousie Station. Its counterpart terminus for CP passenger rail lines running into downtown Montreal from the south and west was Windsor Station. Constructed in the French château-style common to

railway hotels Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

built by Canadian Pacific, Place Viger housed the railway station in its lower levels and a luxurious hotel on the upper floors. Place Viger enjoyed an enviable setting adjacent to the gardens of Viger Square, allowing both railway travellers and hotel guests to stroll along the garden paths. The shifting of Montreal's commercial core to the north-west, and the onset of the

economic depression An economic depression is a period of carried long-term economical downturn that is result of lowered economic activity in one major or more national economies. Economic depression maybe related to one specific country were there is some economic ...

of the 1930s, proved disastrous for Place Viger. The hotel closed in 1935. In 1951, the railway station was also closed, and the building was sold to the City of Montreal. The interiors were gutted and transformed into nondescript office space, and the building was renamed ''Édifice Jacques-Viger''. PlaceViger

The Viger Square gardens were destroyed in the 1970s to allow for the construction of the ''Autoroute Ville-Marie'' highway. After the highway was completed, although a new

Viger Square , photo = Agora Daudelin 02.jpg , photo_width = , photo_caption = ''Agora'' by Charles Daudelin is a prominent sculpture in Viger Square. , map = Canada Montreal , map_width = , type = Town square , location = Old Montreal, Ville-Marie ...

was created on the concrete deck covering the highway, it was poorly designed, desolate and underused, despite sculptural works by artists including

Charles Daudelin Charles Daudelin, (October 1, 1920 – April 2, 2001) was a French Canadian pioneer in modern sculpture and painting. He worked in a wide variety of media, including painting, metal and ceramic sculpture, jewelry, and marionettes which he mad ...

. For decades, the old Place Viger station sat isolated and neglected, a striking historic building surrounded by parking lots and concrete. Place Viger Hotel & station, Montreal

In 2003, the ''

Commission scolaire de Montréal The Commission scolaire de Montréal (CSM ''Montreal school board''), was a board from 1998 until 2020, as a result of a law passed by the Quebec government that changed the school board system from religious denomination to linguistic denominatio ...

'', the City of Montreal and the Quebec provincial government announced that Place Viger would house a new ''École des métiers du tourisme'' (a school of tourism). In 2004, the Borough of Ville-Marie announced that it would restore what remains of the nearby public gardens, by replacing much of the concrete in Viger Square with trees, paths and other soft landscaping. Place Viger was sold in 2005 to a developer who intended to convert the building to apartments and a new hotel. However, the developer suffered financial difficulties and finally resold the property in 2012. In May 2014, the new owner, real estate developer Jesta along with partners, announced a $250 million mixed-use redevelopment plan for the complex, including residential and office space. In September of that same year, software provider

Lightspeed The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted , is a universal physical constant that is important in many areas of physics. The speed of light is exactly equal to ). According to the special theory of relativity, is the upper limit fo ...

announced that it would be moving its Montreal offices to the Viger complex.

moved into the Viger castle in April 2015.http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1529803/redevelopment-of-gare-viger-first-phase-nearing-completion-as-lightspeed-and-brasseur-de-montreal-take-up-residence Redevelopment of Gare Viger

References

* * * http://coolopolis.blogspot.ca/2012/12/viger-square-hotel-80-years-of.html

External links

Commission scolaire de Montréal - Le château du tourisme

1908 article in ''La Patrie'' announcing construction of annex

Redevelopment of Gare Viger - First phase nearing completion as Lightspeed and Brasseur de Montréal take up residenceMagazine article from ''Railway Age'' (1898) with floor plan
{{Defunct hotels in Canada Hotel buildings completed in 1898 Transport infrastructure completed in 1898 Hotels in Montreal Landmarks in Montreal Defunct hotels in Canada Old Montreal Châteauesque architecture in Canada Disused railway stations in Canada Railway stations in Canada opened in 1898 Hotels established in 1898 Hotels disestablished in 1935 Railway stations closed in 1951 Canadian Pacific Railway hotels Canadian Pacific Railway stations in Quebec Railway stations in Montreal 1898 establishments in Quebec Bruce Price buildings 1951 disestablishments in Quebec