The Place d'Youville 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 historical square 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 ...

, named after

Marguerite d'Youville Marguerite d'Youville, SGM (; October 15, 1701 – December 23, 1771) was a French Canadian Catholic widow who founded the Order of Sisters of Charity of Montreal, commonly known as the Grey Nuns. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1990, b ...

. The roads from the Place Royale and McGill Street meet at this point. The square is notable as the site of St. Anne's Market, a market building that once housed the Legislative Council and

Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

of Canada between 1844 and 1849, when it was burned down on April 25, 1849.

History

It was near to this spot, previously crossed by the Saint-Pierre river, that the first European inhabitants of Montreal arrived in 1642. Soon after, this frequently flooded area was abandoned in favour of the hill overlooking

rue Notre-Dame Notre-Dame Street (officially in french: Rue Notre-Dame) is a historic east-west street located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It runs parallel to the Saint Lawrence River, from Lachine to the eastern tip of the island in Pointe-aux-Trembles, ...

. For many years, the land around the present-day square was owned by the Old Montreal General Hospital. That hospital for the poor, built between 1692 et 1694, was run at first by the Charon Brothers then, from 1747, by the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Montreal, or

Grey Nuns The Sisters of Charity of Montreal, formerly called The Sisters of Charity of the Hôpital Général of Montreal and more commonly known as the Grey Nuns of Montreal, is a Canadian religious institute of Roman Catholic religious sisters, founde ...

, founded by

Marie-Marguerite d'Youville Marguerite d'Youville, SGM (; October 15, 1701 – December 23, 1771) was a French Canadian Catholic widow who founded the Order of Sisters of Charity of Montreal, commonly known as the Grey Nuns. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1990, ...

. Proximity to the port gave the area a new lease of life. In 1833, the ''marché Sainte-Anne'' was built to accommodate the fruit and vegetable sellers. The

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

building consisted for two long wings, a

Portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

entrance on one end and a central section topped with a smaller steeple. The ''marché Sainte-Anne'' was so attractive that the Parliament of the

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

moved into it in 1844, where the representatives of Upper and

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

sat (present-day south

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

); a second market building built in 1844 behind the new Parliament building (and later demolished in 1860) substituted the original role of the old market. It was burned down on April 25, 1849, when English-speaking demonstrators drove the representatives out and set fire to the building because they opposed the

Rebellion Losses Bill The Rebellion Losses Bill (full name: ''An Act to provide for the Indemnification of Parties in Lower Canada whose Property was destroyed during the Rebellion in the years 1837 and 1838'') was a controversial law enacted by the legislature of ...

, pardoning those who had been involved in the

Lower Canada Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (french: rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the Patriots' War () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now southe ...

thus lost its status as capital city. After being rebuilt in 1852, the new building was once again a public marketplace, with a fish market added later. In 1871, the Grey Nuns left for a new home on

René Lévesque Boulevard René Lévesque Boulevard (french: Boulevard René-Lévesque), previously named Dorchester Boulevard () is one of the main streets in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is a main east–west thoroughfare passing through the downtown core in the borou ...

, then in the countryside. The opening up of rue Saint-Pierre towards the port involved the demolition of their former chapel; only the walls and the remains of old windows are left. Other buildings met the same fate in order to create space for rue Normand. In 1901, the demolition of the St. Anne's Market and the fish market cleared out the heart of the neighbourhood, and shops, public buildings and organizational headquarters moved in. It was at that time that the City of Montreal decided to name the area "''place d'Youville''", after Marie-Marguerite d'Youville, one of its first residents.

Gallery

File:Edifice des Douanes.jpg, The customs house on the corner of the

Rue McGill McGill Street (officially in french: rue McGill) is a street in Montreal named after James McGill after whom McGill University is named. The former head office building of Canadian National Railway Company, built for its predecessor Grand Trunk ...

File:Centre d histoire de Montreal.jpg, The

Centre d'histoire de Montréal The Centre d'histoire de Montréal is a museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 335 Place d'Youville in Old Montreal, in the borough of Ville-Marie. The museum is dedicated to the history of Montreal. History The centre is housed i ...

, incorporated into the former Central Fire Station. File:Maison Mere dYouville.jpg, The (to the south of the Youville square), known locally as ( en, The Old Montreal General Hospital) File:Ecuries d'Youville.jpg, Inside the , at number 300 Youville square

Present-day layout

*The

Pointe-à-Callière Museum Pointe-à-Callière Museum (french: Musée Pointe-à-Callière) is a museum of archaeology and history in Old Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was founded in 1992 as part of celebrations to mark Montreal's 350th birthday. The museum has collections of ...

. *The area has been called since 2001 Place de la Grande-Paix-de-Montréal. *In the centre, a former barracks is the premises for the

. *A public work of art by Gilles Mihalcean called ''La Peur'' (Fear). * Bello deli (363 place d'youville)

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control 1901 establishments in Canada Old Montreal Youville, Place d'