Les premiers immeubles d’appartements de Montréal, 1880–1914. Un nouveau type d’habitation

Type of resource
Author/collaborator
Title
Les premiers immeubles d’appartements de Montréal, 1880–1914. Un nouveau type d’habitation
Abstract
The author examines the emergence and the evolution of apartment buildings in Montreal from 1880 to 1914. Her study of Montreal’s first apartment buildings is set within the broader context of the city’s rapid economic and social growth during the latter decades of the nineteenth century and the years preceding the First World War. The author points out that it is against this backdrop of urbanization, industrialisation and territorial expansion that the evolution and the characteristics of this new type of residential building are examined. Her detailed analysis of 218 buildings shows that the history of Montreal’s apartment buildings can be divided into three distinct phases. The first phase, from 1880 to 1904, was marked by a shift from the apartment hotel to the apartment building, a limited number of new constructions confined to a small geographical area and a will to experiment with different architectural forms. During the second phase, from 1905 to 1909, the number of buildings grew, new types of apartment buildings were developed and they spread to a greater number of neighbourhoods. During the final phase of construction, from 1910 to 1914, the apartment building continued to grow in popularity, conquer new city spaces and the range of building types stabilized. In this latter period, the author found that most apartments were occupied by upper middle class, English-speaking Protestants, with 2.61 individuals per household, mainly composed of marital and family nuclei whose members were between 20 and 45 years of age. The author argues that three specific types or models of apartment buildings dominated the Montreal’s market between 1880 and 1914. These types can be differentiated according to their footprint, height, and degree of ornamentation.
Publication
Urban History Review / Revue d'histoire urbaine
Volume
Vol. 39
Issue
no. 2
Pages
40-55
Date
Printemps 2011
Language
fr
URL
Citation
Huppé, Isabelle. “Les premiers immeubles d’appartements de Montréal, 1880–1914. Un nouveau type d’habitation.” Urban History Review / Revue d’histoire urbaine Vol. 39, no. 2 (Printemps 2011): 40–55. https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/uhr/2011-v39-n2-uhr1521619/1003461ar.pdf.
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