Place Viger

Place Viger was both a grand hotel and railway station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, constructed in 1898 and named after Jacques Viger, the first Mayor of the city. Although combined stations and hotels were common in the United Kingdom in the late 19th century, Place Viger was the only such combination in Canada.

Place Viger was designed by Bruce Price for the Canadian Pacific Railway, and was built near what was then the central core of Montreal, in proximity to the financial district, the city hall, the port and the court house. The mayor of Montreal, Raymond Préfontaine, strongly encouraged its construction in an area central to the French Canadian élites, in contrast to the rival Windsor Hotel to the west, which was perceived to cater to the city's anglophone classes. The rail station served as the terminus of the CP passenger rail lines running into downtown Montreal from the north and east. It replaced the older Dalhousie Station. Its counterpart terminus for CP passenger rail lines running into downtown Montreal from the south and west was Windsor Station.

Constructed in the French château-style common to railway hotels built by Canadian Pacific, Place Viger housed the railway station in its lower levels and a luxurious hotel on the upper floors. Place Viger enjoyed an enviable setting adjacent to the gardens of Viger Square, allowing both railway travellers and hotel guests to stroll along the garden paths.

The shifting of Montreal's commercial core to the north-west, and the onset of the economic depression of the 1930s, proved disastrous for Place Viger. The hotel closed in 1935. In 1951, the railway station was also closed, and the building was sold to the City of Montreal. The interiors were gutted and transformed into nondescript office space, and the building was renamed ''Édifice Jacques-Viger''.

The Viger Square gardens were destroyed in the 1970s to allow for the construction of the ''Autoroute Ville-Marie'' highway. After the highway was completed, although a new Viger Square was created on the concrete deck covering the highway, it was poorly designed, desolate and underused, despite sculptural works by artists including Charles Daudelin. For decades, the old Place Viger station sat isolated and neglected, a striking historic building surrounded by parking lots and concrete.

In 2003, the ''Commission scolaire de Montréal'', the City of Montreal and the Quebec provincial government announced that Place Viger would house a new ''École des métiers du tourisme'' (a school of tourism). In 2004, the Borough of Ville-Marie announced that it would restore what remains of the nearby public gardens, by replacing much of the concrete in Viger Square with trees, paths and other soft landscaping.

Place Viger was sold in 2005 to a developer who intended to convert the building to apartments and a new hotel. However, the developer suffered financial difficulties and finally resold the property in 2012.

In May 2014, the new owner, real estate developer Jesta along with partners, announced a $250 million mixed-use redevelopment plan for the complex, including residential and office space. In September of that same year, software provider Lightspeed announced that it would be moving its Montreal offices to the Viger complex. Lightspeed moved into the Viger castle in April 2015.http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1529803/redevelopment-of-gare-viger-first-phase-nearing-completion-as-lightspeed-and-brasseur-de-montreal-take-up-residence Redevelopment of Gare Viger

References

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* http://coolopolis.blogspot.ca/2012/12/viger-square-hotel-80-years-of.html

External links

Commission scolaire de Montréal - Le château du tourisme

1908 article in ''La Patrie'' announcing construction of annex

Redevelopment of Gare Viger - First phase nearing completion as Lightspeed and Brasseur de Montréal take up residenceMagazine article from ''Railway Age'' (1898) with floor plan

{{Defunct hotels in Canada

Hotel buildings completed in 1898
Transport infrastructure completed in 1898
Hotels in Montreal
Landmarks in Montreal
Defunct hotels in Canada
Old Montreal
Châteauesque architecture in Canada
Disused railway stations in Canada
Railway stations in Canada opened in 1898
Hotels established in 1898
Hotels disestablished in 1935
Railway stations closed in 1951
Canadian Pacific Railway hotels
Canadian Pacific Railway stations in Quebec
Railway stations in Montreal
1898 establishments in Quebec
Bruce Price buildings
1951 disestablishments in Quebec