Michael James S. Fish (born October 23, 1934) is a Canadian
architect and
urban conservationist, best known for his attempts to preserve heritage buildings in
Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Biography
Michael Fish began his career in Montreal in 1956, mostly involved in new apartment building construction. Soon, he developed an interest in renovating established buildings rather than constructing after demolition. He noted that it was less expensive and less disruptive to the cohesion of neighbourhoods. He became involved in community groups that advocated to save structures such as the
Van Horne Mansion
, former_names =
, image = Sir William C. Van Horne house, Sherbrooke St. at Stanley St., Montreal, QC, about 1890.jpg
, caption = The Van Horne Mansion, c. 1890
, map_type =
, building_type ...
.
[Delean, Paul (August 31, 1987). "Architect lauded for conservation efforts", '']The Gazette
The Gazette (stylized as the GazettE), formerly known as , is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band, formed in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa in early 2002.''Shoxx'' Vol 106 June 2007 pg 40-45 The band is currently signed to Sony Music Recor ...
'', p. A3.
In 1970, Fish co-founded Friends of
Windsor Station Windsor station or Windsor railway station may refer to:
Australia
* Windsor railway station, Brisbane
* Windsor railway station, Sydney
* Windsor railway station, Melbourne
Canada
* Windsor Station (Montreal)
* Windsor station (Nova Scotia)
* W ...
with architect
Peter Lanken
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a ...
and urban-planning professor
Jean-Claude Marsan. In 1974, he co-founded
Save Montreal. He has been credited with playing a major role in saving, or preventing major transformation of, such buildings as the
Dawson College
Dawson College (French: ''Collège Dawson)'' is an English-language public general and vocational college in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The college is situated near the heart of Downtown Montreal in a former nunnery on approximately 12 acre ...
building at
Sherbrooke and
Atwater Streets, the
Collège de Montréal on Sherbrooke Street, the
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 ...
' quarters and church at
René Lévesque Boulevard and
Guy Street, and the
patriotes' prison near the
Jacques Cartier Bridge. In the mid-1980s, he served as vice-president of the
Canadian International Council of Monuments and Sites, a United Nations affiliate.
After becoming more involved in political lobbying for marginalized groups, he found less and less work available to him from private developers, who saw conservationists as "a threat", according to him. In the latter part of his career, his firm worked only on social housing projects. He has stated that a highlight of his conservation work was saving a row of greystone houses on Jeanne Mance Street, south of Sherbrooke Street.
In 1989, he advocated for the preservation of
Rockcliffe Airport
Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport or Rockcliffe Airport , a former military base, is a non-towered airport located on the south shore of the Ottawa River, northeast of Downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The airport is the home of the Canada Aviation and S ...
hangars. Earlier in his career he had designed hangars for Canada's air force, and for
Trans-Canada Air Lines.
Awards
In 1987, he received acclaim for his "significant contribution to heritage preservation in Quebec" and was presented with a lieutenant-governor's award from
Heritage Canada.
In 2003, he was presented with a Montreal city medal for his work with Save Montreal.
[Gravenor, Kristian (October 23, 2003).]
The museum that is Montreal
", '' Montreal Mirror'' 19 (19). Retrieved on February 11, 2009.
References
External links
Michael Fish's blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fish, Michael
20th-century Canadian architects
Architects from Montreal
1934 births
Living people
Anglophone Quebec people
Preservationist architects