Life, the city | Vieux-Pointe-aux-Trembles: 350 years of village heart

Our journalist wanders around Greater Montreal to talk about people, events and places that make the heart of their neighbourhood beat.

Without even having disembarked from the river shuttle that takes us to Vieux-Pointe-aux-Trembles, we see cranes that bear witness to the ongoing revitalization of its village heart.

But you shouldn’t wait until the end of the work to visit The tip of the islandin particular to see the screening of the same name of Cité Mémoire which can be seen at nightfall until September at the Place du Village.

Especially since the parish of Pointe-aux-Trembles, the second oldest in Montreal, is celebrating its 350th anniversary with festivities until September. Matt Holubowski and FouKi have already given shows there, and historical events, outdoor cinema and sailing and rowing are still planned.

The best way to get there from the city center? By river shuttle. We can’t stress enough how this is the best form of public transportation, with incredible views of the city center and a feeling of being on vacation, hair blowing in the wind^⁠1.

For several more Saturdays, the public market will liven up the Place du Village-de-la-Pointe-aux-Trembles, while the Buvette du quai will be open from Thursday to Sunday.

During our visit, on a Tuesday evening, we witnessed – and were charmed! – the daily life of the Pointeliers. People were fishing on the quay, children were throwing stones into the river while watching the merchant ships go by, while a yoga class was taking place in the Fort park.

Then, when night fell, we witnessed The tip of the island, the series of 25 interactive and immersive scenes from Cité Mémoire projected on the ground. A design by Michel Lemieux, while Michel Marc Bouchard signs the text of the soundtrack (to be downloaded in advance via the free application of Montréal en Histoires).

There is a reference to the landing of the British army in 1760, to the time of the Montreal Hunt Club, founded in 1826, and to the heyday of Bissonnette Beach on Sainte-Thérèse Island, just opposite.

We learned that the name Pointe-aux-Trembles comes from Jacques-Cartier and that a fire ravaged its village heart in 1912. However, its reconstruction resulted in the transformation of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Street into a boulevard inspired by the City Beautiful movement, with a median lined with trees and street lamps (like Morgan Boulevard in the former city of Maisonneuve).

In 1914, the Roussin Academy, a secondary school, was built. Today, it is a community center with a swimming pool, a café, a performance hall named after two original Pointeliers (Marie-Claire and Richard Séguin), and it is the home of the Station VU neighborhood cinema.

Reviving PAT’s downtown

Let’s be honest: right now, there are few options for grabbing a bite to eat in what is nicknamed Vieux-PAT, unlike other waterfront areas like Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, on the western tip of the island.^⁠2.

Fortunately, since 2019, the Angus Development Corporation has had a mandate to revitalize Old Pointe-aux-Trembles.

The historic district of Vieux-Pointe-aux-Trembles was its downtown before its annexation to Montreal in 1982, explains urban planner Stéphane Ricci, vice-president of development at the Société de développement Angus, who grew up nearby, on Route 14^e Avenue, and which still remains in the neighborhood. It was a once lively commercial corner that suffered, like many others in Quebec, from the arrival of shopping centers.

The Angus Development Corporation has acquired seven buildings around the intersection of Notre-Dame Street East and Saint-Jean-Baptiste Boulevard. “It’s a mixed project. There will be businesses on the ground floor and affordable housing on the upper floors,” explains Stéphane Ricci. “We want local and independent businesses to have a local, cutting-edge identity.” It’s the result of consultations and workshops with the population and with historian Martin Landry.

The heritage house at 76, rue Saint-Jean-Baptiste will be transformed into a café, while a barn will be transformed into a sort of refreshment bar. The Saint-Enfant-Jésus church, in the heart of the second oldest parish in Montreal, will become a cultural venue – it already hosts a circus company – while the presbytery will become a country-style restaurant with a terrace overlooking the river.

The Angus Development Corporation claims that Old Pointe-aux-Trembles will be as charming as villages in the Lower St. Lawrence, while being accessible by public transportation and river shuttle. “There is enormous potential,” insists Stéphane Ricci.

The work is in its first phase and should be completed in 2026. We will therefore have to be patient. Until then, the images of the project are inspiring and arousing great expectations.

1. Read the article “Boat, work and sleep”

2. Read the article “In vacation mode in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue”

Visit the project website