The residence of former Prime Minister Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine (1807-1864) is for sale for 5.9 million dollars, plus taxes in principle, since the house has just been completely renovated.
Gutted, left to the winds for years, the restored house was inaugurated with great fanfare in September 2020 by property developer Brivia de Kheng Ly and his partner Vincent Kou. Representatives of the city of Montreal and public authorities were pleased with its rescue, after years of advanced decline.
On the old grounds where there was once a vast orchard and stables, two residential towers, townhouses and an underground parking lot have grown in recent years.
The interior walls of the property can be arranged “according to your specific needs”, announces the real estate agent, addressing future buyers of this property which now has three interior parking spaces. The seller indicates that the Minister of Culture and Communications has a “right of first refusal of 60 days”. So far, neither the Quebec state nor the federal state have shown any interest in acquiring this property.
Many specialists have underlined the historical importance, both for Quebec and for Canada, of this building, which witnessed the strong political tensions that tore society apart. The gray limestone facade, typical of Montreal architecture, still shows the traces of gunshots left by rioters who wanted La Fontaine’s life and who came very close to succeeding in 1849, on two occasions. That year, the house will be heavily vandalized and partly burnt down. But it has been in the past 40 years that she has suffered the most, despite repeated talk of the importance of saving her.
In 2005, the Federal Ministry of the Environment agreed to acquire the house and even transform it into a place of commemoration. The house, although officially protected by the City of Montreal since 1988, continued to collapse. The Quebec state had also classified the building in 2012, without this changing anything in the advanced state of decrepitude of the building.
The building is now flanked, from behind, by two tall 38-storey towers and, to the west, by a row of about twenty townhouses. The heritage site also has a five-storey underground parking lot.
This house, recalls the real estate broker in charge of its liquidation, was once located in an area occupied by “Montreal’s elite”, a district “defined by luxurious shops, Victorian mansions, renowned institutions and green spaces. Today, he adds, many of Montreal’s landmarks, such as McGill University, the McCord Museum of Canadian History and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts are located in this so-called Mille space. golden square [Golden Square Mile]at the western edge of Montreal’s business district.
La Fontaine was the youngest French-Canadian prime minister in history. His very first speech, delivered in 1842, was delivered in French, even though in principle the Act of Union, following the crushing of the uprisings of 1837-1838, prohibited its use within colonial political life.