Saint-Roch is a downtown neighbourhood in the borough of La Cité in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

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 ...

, Canada. It is the central business district. Once a working-class quarter, some of its parts have been

gentrified Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...

in recent years.

History

Saint-Roch was first settled in 1620 by the

Recollects The Recollects (french: Récollets) were a French reform branch of the Friars Minor, a Franciscan order. Denoted by their gray habits and pointed hoods, the Recollects took vows of poverty and devoted their lives to prayer, penance, and spiri ...

, who built a small church dedicated to

Saint Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79 (traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327, also called Rock in English, is a Catholic saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he is especially invoked a ...

. Today the

Église Saint-Roch The Church of Saint-Roch (french: Église Saint-Roch) is a 17th-18th-century French Baroque and classical style church in Paris, dedicated to Saint Roch. It is located at 284 rue Saint-Honoré, in the 1st arrondissement. The current church was ...

is the largest in Quebec City. Later, a few houses were built near what is now the

Gare du Palais Gare du Palais ("Palace Station") is a train and bus station in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Its name comes from its proximity to the Palace of the Intendant of New France. It is served by Via Rail, Canada's national passenger railway, and by t ...

. In the first half of the 19th century, Saint-Roch was a

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befo ...

site. Later, the district saw the development of retail and manufacturing activity. From the mid-19th century to the 1960s, rue Saint-Joseph was the main commercial street in Quebec City. Part of the street was covered with a roof of

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

and

plexiglass Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) belongs to a group of materials called engineering plastics. It is a transparent thermoplastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and brands Crylux, Plexiglas, Acrylite, ...

in 1974. The decision to progressively demolish the roof (and thus the mall) was taken in the 1990s, and the destruction was completed in 2007. Quebec City (40320529911)

During the second half of the 20th century, the district fell into decline and was considered the most deprived in the city. However, Since 2000, $380 million have been invested in the district to renovate and reconstruct most of the buildings in rue Saint-Joseph. Many working-class residential buildings, representing one tenth of the area of Saint-Roch, were demolished in 1972 to make way for an overpass of highway 440 (''Dufferin-Montmorency'' segment), as a way to accommodate the post-Second World War suburban expansion and automobile use. The empty lot on which the concrete pillars were built was used for public art, and later for illegal

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

and authorized large-scale '' trompe-l'œil murals''. This unofficial area was called ''Îlot Fleurie'' ( ''fr''), because of nearby Fleurie street. It was also a socializing place for protesters during the 2001 Summit of the Americas, as well as where the

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

free show ''

Les Chemins invisibles ''Les Chemins invisibles'' (Invisible Paths) was a seasonal outdoor show created by Cirque du Soleil that was performed during the summer street events in Quebec City's Saint-Roch, Quebec City, Saint-Roch district. In 2009, Cirque signed a contrac ...

'' was held in the summers between 2010 and 2012.

Gallery

References

{{Authority control Neighbourhoods in Quebec City Central business districts in Canada Gentrification in Canada Canada geography articles needing translation from French Wikipedia