The former home of Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine has regained its presence and stands proudly in the shadow of skyscrapers in downtown Montreal. Saved thanks to the relentless efforts of heritage defenders in 1987, left to fend for itself for a long period and then carefully restored, it is waiting for the next chapter in its long and fascinating history to be written.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
Its preservation subtly marks the very urban landscape in which it is integrated. It is an integral part of the YUL downtown complex, which includes two 38-storey residential towers overlooking René-Lévesque Boulevard West, a huge garden, and row houses on Overdale Avenue. Its gray stones have dictated the coloring of the new buildings that now surround it. His fate, however, is still up in the air.
“We see that cases are not resolved by snapping your fingers and that it can take decades,” notes Dinu Bumbaru, Director of Policy at Héritage Montréal. “We are certainly not in the hell of the 1970s, where demolition was the watchword. Today, it is often in the succession of uses that the challenge lies, to find the one that is adequate. »
Discovery on point
He remembers the call he received in 1987 to alert him. Robert Lemire, a renowned historian who worked at the Canadian Center for Architecture, believed that a house doomed to destruction was likely that of Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine, who led, with Robert Baldwin, the first responsible government in United Canada. . The house, built in the 1830s, is one of the oldest on the island of Montreal.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
The heritage building served as inspiration from the design of the YUL centre-ville complex, which includes two 38-storey residential towers overlooking René-Lévesque Boulevard West, a huge garden, as well as row houses on Overdale Avenue.
“It was a completely fortuitous discovery and that’s when we approached the City of Montreal to ask that a status be assigned to it,” he explains. Otherwise, the zoning planned to raze everything to build towers. Towers were still built, but the house of La Fontaine was not demolished like the rest.
This house is a real witness of the events of 1849, among which there was the fire of the Parliament, which was in Montreal, place D’Youville. She recalls that these events were not just confined to Old Montreal and set the city ablaze, because the rioters spread and wreaked havoc everywhere.
Dinu Bumbaru, Director of Policy at Heritage Montreal
The demonstrators attacked the house of Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine because the latter had demanded that the French-speaking citizens of Lower Canada who suffered losses during the rebellion of 1837-1838 be compensated in the same way as the citizens of Upper Canada. The politician, who defended the use of French in the House by the elected officials of United Canada, would have twice managed to escape attacks perpetrated against his home.
In 1988, the house was granted historical monument status, then fell dormant. All the houses around were demolished, and nothing that was inside could be saved, laments Dinu Bumbaru. Abandoned, the residence made headlines in 2001 when it was occupied by squatters.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MENKÈS SHOONER DAGENAIS LETOURNEUX ARCHITECTS
As this photo taken in 2001 shows, the residence had gained an attic floor over time, in order to become a rooming house. Graffiti marred its facade.
“We must welcome the turnaround because the house was in limbo for decades, until the transfer of ownership to the current developer,” he said. The house has been the subject of quite meticulous work based on interesting scientific hypotheses because there were very few traces of what was originally there. »
At the heart of the YUL project
The obligation to restore the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine house was one of the conditions imposed by the City of Montreal in order to grant a permit for the construction of the YUL downtown complex.
“We respected our commitment, that’s for sure, but we did it by exceeding all expectations, in order to achieve a world-class result”, indicates Vincent Kou, head of investments and development of the Brivia Group, promoter downtown YUL with the Tianco Group.
“We wanted to give back to the community a house that is part of Montreal’s heritage and has significant historical value for Canadian and Quebec society as a whole,” he says.
The residence, which over time became a rooming house, had gained an attic floor. Following a long process, it was restored to look as it did when Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine lived there, from 1849 until his death in 1864.
“For Kheng Ly, the president of the Brivia Group, the presence of the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine house was one of the reasons why he had bought the land”, reveals Anik Shooner, senior partner architect of Menkès Shooner Dagenais LeTourneux Architectes, l agency responsible for the project. “From the very beginning, it was clear that this house would be preserved and restored. He loves Montreal and wants to do projects that will be a plus for the city. »
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY MENKÈS SHOONER DAGENAIS LETOURNEUX ARCHITECTS
The masonry was in very poor condition. The stones were removed, numbered, then cleaned to remove the graffiti.
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PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
The Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine house has been carefully restored and has regained the look it had when the politician lived there, from 1849 until his death in 1864. Nothing remains, upstairs , from its illustrious past. The space, which is very well lit, nevertheless has great potential.
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PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
The basement has the cachet of an old cellar without having the disadvantages. Completely restored, the space is well lit and comfortable.
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PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
In the basement, a door leads to the indoor parking lot of the YUL downtown complex. Three places are reserved for the owners of the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine house. Others are available as needed.
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The work took place over six years. “It was a great challenge to integrate details that would ensure a great durability to this house without disfiguring it, remarks Mr.me Shooner. We did not do the roof as it was done at the time. We put membranes underneath to make sure it was watertight. The masonry was in such poor condition that we removed the stones, numbered them, cleaned them to remove the graffiti, but we still kept the marks of bullets fired to try to assassinate Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine . »
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Space was given to the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine house to breathe. Next to it, in a large section of the land, crabapple trees have been planted to recall the orchard in which it originally stood.
The fully restored home was unveiled to much fanfare in September 2020. It still sits on the resale market, priced at $5.9 million (plus tax). Its interior has not been completed in order to allow future buyers to give it the desired vocation, whether public, to make a museum for example, or private.
Dinu Bumbaru would like attention to be given to older properties when they come up for sale. He makes a connection with the Buchanan house, built in 1837 on Sherbrooke Street East, which also experienced difficulties.
“Perhaps we should see the role of heritage people in public authorities, especially the City of Montreal, he suggests. Does this role correspond to a facilitation, are there agreements or is it simply a sale on the ordinary market? Or could a kind of trust be involved to ensure that there is a good link between the occupants and the buildings? This is often the challenge in heritage. It is to ensure that the buildings are well inhabited. There may be a way to help through something other than permit authorization mechanisms. »