Centre-Sud

The Centre-Sud is a neighbourhood located in the easternmost edge of the Ville-Marie borough of the city of Montreal.

For the region of Burkina Faso, see Centre-Sud Region.
Centre-Sud
Neighbourhood
The Centre-Sud neighbourhood around the Jacques Cartier Bridge
Nickname(s): 
  • Bas de la Ville
  • Bas de la Côte
Centre-Sud
Location of Centre-Sud in Montreal
Coordinates: 45.523565°N 73.55187°W / 45.523565; -73.55187
CountryCanada
ProvinceQuebec
CityMontreal
BoroughVille-Marie
Postal code(s)
H2K, H2L
Area code(s)514 and 438

Home to Montreal's Gay Village and to the Sainte-Marie area, the Centre-Sud has long been seen as one of the city's most complex and troubled neighbourhoods.[1]

Having held a notorious reputation for poverty and prostitution[1][2][3] for decades, gentrification[4] has changed the neighbourhood considerably in recent years.

History

Early History

During the era of New France, when the city was fortified, the populated area east of the walls came to be known as Faubourg Québec, a name that would live on as Faubourg à m'lasse.[5]

In 1782, the Molson family settled the area, purchasing a small brasserie from Irishman Thomas Loyd, which eventually developed into the brewery of the same name.[5]

Following the Lower Canada Rebellion, several patriots were hung at the Pied-du-Courant Prison, a prison by the water. It ceased to be a prison in 1912, and the historic building was acquired by the SAQ in 1921, as served as their head office for a time.[5][6]

Construction of the Jacques Cartier Bridge began in 1925, and was opened to traffic on May 14, 1930, becoming a prominent landmark in the neighbourhood.[7]

A large section of the neighbourhood known as Faubourg à m'lasse was torn down in 1963 to build the Maison Radio-Canada.[8]

Contemporary
Mural on Rue Ontario, acknowledging the Centre-Sud's past notoriety for prostitution

Originally a poor working-class area, the Centre-Sud neighbourhood became increasingly attractive to the gay and lesbian community in the 1980s after the migration of many gay businesses from other parts of the city. The area between St-Hubert and De Lorimier developed into the Gay Village as a result.

During the Quebec Biker War, the Rock Machine had their bunker in the Centre-Sud from 1992 to 1997.[9]

This contributed to a bad reputation for poverty,[10][11] organized crime and prostitution.[1][2][3][12][13]

In 2001, a section of the neighbourhood known as l'îlot Huron, where the bunker and other ilicit businesses thrived, was demolished to build a ramp to the Jacques Cartier Bridge and a large park, Parc des Faubourgs.[9][14]

Parc des Faubourgs, former site of the Rock Machine bunker

In recent years the neighbourhood has experienced significant gentrification and social change.[4][15]

Features

The Jacques Cartier Bridge and the Maison Radio-Canada are prominent in the skyline, as well as the Sûreté du Québec's headquarters, known as the Prison Parthenais.[16]

Notable features include the Molson Brewery, Gay Village, Hopital Notre-Dame and historic Pied-du-Courant prison.

Due to its poverty and proximity to downtown, a significant number of shelters, supervised injection sites[17] and resources for the homeless are located in the neighbourhood. This includes Dans la Rue for homeless youth,[18] and the Old Brewery Mission's Patricia Mackenzie Pavillion for homeless women.[19] Another shelter, Refuge des Jeunes, for young men 18-25, is also in the Centre-Sud.[20]

Geography

The neighbourhood is bordered by the Saint Lawrence River to the south, Saint Hubert Street to the west, the Canadian Pacific rail line to the east and Sherbrooke Street to the north.

The Plateau is located to the north, Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve to the east and the Quartier Latin to the west.

Transportation

The neighbourhood is accessible by the following Montreal Metro stations, Frontenac, Papineau, Beaudry and Berri-UQAM (partly).

Its main arteries running east to west are Rue Ontario, Boulevard De Maisonneuve, Rue Saint Catherine Est and Boulevard René Lévesque.

Major streets and avenues running north to south include Saint-Hubert, Papineau, De Lorimier, D'Iberville and Frontenac.

Education

The Commission scolaire de Montréal (CSDM) operates French-language public schools.[21]

Elementary
  • École Marguerite-Bourgeoys
  • École Garneau
  • École Champlain
  • École Jean-Baptiste-Meilleur
  • École Saint-Anselme

Secondary
  • École Pierre-Dupuy

Specialized
  • École des métiers des Faubourgs-de-Montréal
  • École Éducation pour Adultes Centre Lartigue
  • École Éducation pour Adultes Centre Gédéon-Ouimet

Politics

The neighbourhood is part of the Montreal City Council district of Sainte-Marie and the federal riding of Laurier—Sainte-Marie. Provincially it’s part of Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques, with a small eastern corner in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve riding, despite not being part of that neighbourhood.

Notable People

The neighbourhood is the subject of Richard Beaulieu’s Chroniques du Centre-Sud, a 2014 graphic novel portraying the neighbourhood in the 1990s.[22]

The novel Ces Spectres Agités by Louis Hamelin is also set in the Centre-Sud.[27]

In 2013, a group of collaborative authors and photographers, released Hôtel Jolicoeur. A novel, in a scrapbook format, about a former motel and brothel located in the heart of the Centre-Sud, on the corner of Ontario and Papineau.[13][28][29]

The 2003 documentary, Sexe de rue, focuses on prostitution in the neighbourhood.

Atach Tatuq released a song about the Centre-Sud in 2005 entitled Australie in their final album Deluxxx.[30]

It's also featured in Rue Ontario, a 2010 single by Bernard Adamus.[31]

  • Sainte-Marie, looking south towards the Jacques Cartier bridge
  • The Maison Radio-Canada
  • The historic JTI MacDonald factory on Ontario Street
  • The Gay Village
  • The area around the Frontenac station

References
  1. "Une nuit avec Capone" (in French). Montreal: La Presse. 26 October 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  2. "Prostitution dans le quartier Centre-Sud: les citoyens exigent des solutions" (in French). Montreal: TVA Nouvelles. 18 September 2002. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  3. "Prostitution dans le Centre-Sud de Montréal - Le groupe Stella n'apprécie pas les opérations policières" (in French). Montreal: Le Devoir. 21 May 2002. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  4. "Embourgeoisement : que va devenir le quartier Centre-Sud?" (in French). Montreal: Radio Canada. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  5. https://ocpm.qc.ca/sites/ocpm.qc.ca/files/pdf/P97/4.2_cartes_historiques_ville-marie_2009.pdf
  6. https://ville.montreal.qc.ca/memoiresdesmontrealais/la-prison-au-pied-du-courant-et-le-monument-aux-patriotes
  7. "Jacques Cartier Bridge" (PDF). Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI). Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  8. Corriveau, Jeanne (13 December 2008). "Réinventer le "Faubourg à m'lasse"" (in French). Montreal: Le Devoir. Retrieved 14 December 2008.
  9. "L'ancien bunker des Rock Machine n'est plus qu'un amas de débris" (in French). Montreal: TVA Nouvelles. 18 October 2001. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  10. Forget, Dominique (8 May 2013). "Mon quartier me rend malade" (in French). Montreal: L'Actualité. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  11. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7-_0csCC1hY%7C Conte du Centre-Sud documentary clip (in French)
  12. Nadeau, Roxanne (24 September 2003). Pute de Rue (in French). Éditions des Intouchables. ISBN 9782895491194.
  13. Collective authors (January 2013). Hôtel Jolicoeur (in French). Self-Publication. ISBN 9782981375506.
  14. http://basdelacote.net/le-parc-des-faubourgs/
  15. "Faced with eviction, tenants in Centre-Sud throw a protest party". Montreal: Radio Canada. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  16. https://www.sqi.gouv.qc.ca/immeubles-pat/Pages/Mtl-WilfridDerome-1701Parthenais-3214.aspx
  17. http://www.spectrederue.org/accueil/
  18. https://danslarue.org/en/contact-us/
  19. https://www.missionoldbrewery.ca/en/contact/
  20. https://www.refugedesjeunes.org/en/
  21. https://www.cssdm.gouv.qc.ca/trouver-une-ecole/
  22. Suicide, Richard (March 2014). Chroniques du Centre-Sud (in French). Éditions Pow Pow. ISBN 9782924049143.
  23. https://advitam.banq.qc.ca/notice/695611 "Janette Bertrand est née le 25 mars 1925 et a grandi dans le quartier Centre-Sud de Montréal"
  24. Débats reconstitués de l'assemblée législative : débats de 1923-1924,débats de 1926,débats de 1927. "À partir de cette époque, on le surnomme « le p'tit gars de Sainte-Marie », surnom qui lui restera".
  25. https://journalmetro.com/local/hochelaga-maisonneuve/2580640/leo-major-heros-guerre-quebecois-meconnu/ "Élevé sur la rue Frontenac à Montréal, Léo Major a été récompensé à deux reprises de la Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM)."
  26. https://www.facebook.com/QS.ManonMasse/posts/3595071730576752 "J’habite le Centre-Sud de Montréal. Dans ma circonscription, Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques, l’itinérance, on la côtoie au quotidien..."
  27. Hamelin, Louis (1991). Ces Spectres Agités (in French). Boréal. p. 12, 40, 60-62, 134, 230. ISBN 9782764620571.
  28. "Les vies rêvées d'un bordel disparu". Montreal: Le Devoir. 16 March 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  29. "Hôtel Jolicoeur, un étrange objet". Montreal: La Presse. 2 April 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  30. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBEmWn9ZopY Australie by Atach Tatuq (2005)
  31. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmhskszxZF4 Rue Ontario by Bernard Adamus (2010)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.