While Old Montreal is famous for its history, there are plenty of peeks into the past all across the city. We took a look through the City of Montreal archives to see old-time pictures of buildings – from notable edifices to the more obscure structures.
But history tours are no fun when you can’t compare the past with the present day so we’ve twinned each snapshot with its modern-day Google Street View update.
Enjoy!
The Molson Brewery as seen in April 1936.
Image: GMAP
“Institut des sourds et muets” in 1936.
Image: GMAP
The site today. The building will be converted into Castelnau Condos by DevMcGill.
Bonus picture! Here’s how the building will look in the future once the condo community is complete.
Morgan’s Department Store on Sainte-Catherine Ouest, near Union and Aylmer, in 1936. The store opened in 1891 though the first ever Morgan’s opened in Montreal in 1845.
Image: GMAP
The street corner today. Morgan’s was bought out by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1960.
Pictured here in 1933, the Refuge Meurling on Champ-de-Mars was a shelter.
In 1956, the city moved the facility to the east end. In 1984, the building changed into residences.
Image: GMAP
A cinema on Saint-Denis at Rue Belanger. It’s pictured here in 1936, five years after it was built.
Image: GMAP
The building today.
An undated photo of the Ekers Brewery, built in 1894.
The site in more modern times.
DevMcGill is converting the space into Condominiums St Dominique. Read up on the structure’s unique history and the restoration here.
The Dominion Square Building at 1010, rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest in 1936.
Photo: GMAP
It still looks impressive today!
The Palais de justice de Montreal on Rue Notre-Dame Est in 1920.
Image: GMAP
The site today.