Centre-Sud

Tin-clad sheds stood behind the rows of two- and three-storey houses in the Faubourg à m’lasse. Most homes were rented; grocery shops, taverns, garages and hair salons served the surrounding streets. Longshoremen worked at the port, day labourers moved between jobs and seasons, and factory workers found employment in local industry. Molson, Dominion Glass, Dominion Oil Cloth and Dominion Rubber were among the large industrial establishments nearby. Mount Royal Dairies also operated on Avenue Papineau. Ontario Street’s commercial role features in the Écomusée’s neighbourhood walking tours.

The Jacques-Cartier Bridge brought demolitions in the 1920s; widening Dorchester Street removed more blocks between 1953 and 1955. In 1963–1964, construction of Place Radio-Canada required clearing the area enclosed by Dorchester, Wolfe, Viger and Papineau. Citizen action challenged the clearance proposed for the broadcasting complex. The former Généreux public bath later became home to the Écomusée du fier monde, following its conversion by architect Felice Vaccaro. Inside, the museum uses the bathhouse’s history to explore hygiene and living conditions in a working-class neighbourhood.