Westmount places:
St. Catherine Street

The history behind the familiar: the former residents who called the street their home

By Michael Walsh

March 26, 2025

An ‘urban renewal” project that will radically alter the appearance and character of an old and rundown section of Montreal’s Westmount made important progress… against the feeble objections of a few people who still find the area interesting, attractive and convenient for residential purposes…

– The Globe and Mail, December 1963

I recall, several years ago, attending a job interview for a position at a New England university. One selection committee member was intrigued that I lived within walking distance of St. Catherine Street. Having attended a conference in Montreal, he had fond recollections of the variety of bars, shops and nightclubs that lined the street. I explained that I resided near the street’s “Westmount portion” – and tactfully avoided adding that, over the years, the entire street has become transformed into a shadow of its former self.

How should I have described Westmount’s portion of St. Catherine St.? Perhaps using the idiom “a camel is a horse designed by a committee”. Over the past 120 years, the city has transformed a street originally graced with over 160 nineteenth-century homes and businesses into one that today retains approximately a dozen of those original structures. The street has been relocated from its original line, widened, extended on several occasions (at huge costs), had portions expropriated by the Canadian Government and suffered its “death blow” as a victim of the 1960s “urban renewal” craze that swept across North America.

Montreal portion of St. Catherine Street, 1937 • Image: Wikimedia Commons

The result is today’s wide, shadeless and banal-looking thoroughfare lined with non-descript apartment buildings, office buildings, an unused railway station, Jersey traffic barriers, a shopping mall with a huge parking garage, a large crumbling structure that housed the former Packard Motor Company showroom, towering condominiums, vacant retail stores for rent, a half-dozen benches, bus stops and scores of parking meters. One cannot overlook the postage-stamp-sized green space near Clarke Ave. In short, one can transpose this street onto any faceless North American suburban landscape, and it would fit perfectly in place.

One might ask how a residential street can be transformed into a vehicular thoroughfare with so little regard for both aesthetics and pedestrian requirements. As we will see, it was the result of a series of misguided good intentions.

‘How should I have described Westmount’s portion of St. Catherine Street? Perhaps using the idiom ‘a camel is a horse designed by a committee’.’

To begin, before 1801 the street was named Chemin Saint-Jacques. It traversed Westmount’s eastern limits to Clarke Avenue. The street’s continuation to Metcalfe Ave. was a narrow, unpaved lane known as Little Saint Antoine Road or Sissons Lane, which opened in 1877. It ended at a toll gate at Cross Road. Although Cross Road disappeared from the municipal map, a lane off Ingleside Ave. is still referred to as Cross Lane.

City Council’s proceedings first mention St. Catherine St. in 1874:

“That the road inspector… to put the continuation of St. Catherine Street from the City limits… (to) the corner of the Little Saint Antoine Road or Sissons Lane in a passable condition for pedestrians.”
– Council Minutes, December 7, 1874

Westmount train station, 1979 • Image: ebay

As such, the street was extended in 1880, with the required land expropriated from Wood, Clarke, and Olivier avenues, as well as Sissons Lane. By 1883, the road was macadamized, and one year later, the city changed Sissons Lane to Saint Catherine West.

In 1887, St. Catherine St. was rebuilt, widened (to 66 feet) and extended westwards from Greene Ave. to Bethune Ave., with a portion paid by the fronting proprietors.

In addition, the new street was moved about 40 feet from its original line, closing Sissons Lane. To accomplish this, large tracts of land were expropriated from Else Bellefeuille and the Grey Nuns at a total cost of $12,933 (approximately $300,000 in today’s dollars), with a portion paid out by the fronting proprietors in ten annual installments. Council funded this project by borrowing the sum from the City and District Savings Bank.

‘In 1910, the City’s priorities included the development of today’s Westmount Park. In their design, the park was to encompass a frontage along St. Catherine Street. Council purchased land between St. Catherine Street and Western Avenue, most of which was resold to developers and a local school board.’

However, there was an expropriated portion of Sissons Lane that was not required in the reconfiguration of St. Catherine St. This caused major concerns among the proprietors with residences facing the lane. Compounding that, in 1888, the city closed the lane as a public street, resulting in several lawsuits from the proprietors. In response, the City attempted to resell the expropriated land back to the owners. This option was refused, given the plummeting value of the homes no longer fronting St. Catherine St.

In 1890, St. Catherine Street was further extended through The Glen to the boundary of Saint Henri. Two years later, the extension continued to Albert Place (adjoining Prince Albert Ave.) and widened to a uniform width of 66 feet.

In 1894, the Montreal Street Railway provided the public transportation requirements along the street, and in 1907, the C.P.R. built a new train station on the southeast corner of Victoria Ave. and St. Catherine St.

Westmount Park proposed expansion, 1910

In 1910, the City’s priorities included the development of today’s Westmount Park. In their design, the park was to encompass a frontage along St. Catherine St. Council purchased land between St. Catherine St. and Western Ave., most of which was resold to developers and a local school board. In 1935, the City sold more land west of Hallowell Ave., fronting St. Catherine St. to establish a new school.

Further plans to extend St. Catherine Street occurred in 1935 when A. N. Paxton offered his property to the City to allow the street to continue through Albert Place and connect with Prince Albert Avenue. Further changes came in 1956, when the street was widened and extended to Victoria Ave., and an entrance connecting Dorchester Ave. was constructed.

In addition, most of the Albert Place properties were expropriated. One year later, the street was extended to Claremont Avenue. Those properties expropriated and demolished included: 5 Albert Place, 4854 St. Catherine Street, 198-200 Albert Place, 8 Albert Place, and 84 York St. By 1958, the demise of Albert Place occurred with the City obtaining all rights to the remaining properties.

During that period, residents did benefit from one improvement: the 1957 construction of an artificial ice rink that fronted St. Catherine St. Its popularity raised concerns over the increased traffic. To minimize the risk of accidents, Jersey barriers were installed from the Glen to Victoria Ave. They remain in place to this day.

‘A Report on the Planning of the Southern Area proposed the expropriation and resubdivision of lots south of St. Catherine Street.’

The 1960s saw further changes to St. Catherine St., as well as other areas of Westmount. It began with a report by John Bland, whose distinguished career included 31 years as director of the McGill School of Architecture. City of Westmount: A Report on the Planning of the Southern Area proposed changes in street patterns as well as the construction of a new major east-west road south of St. Catherine St., north of the C.P.R. tracks. In addition, it proposed the expropriation and resubdivision of lots south of St. Catherine St. Despite its controversial proposals, it did result in the first architectural inventory of all buildings below The Boulevard.

“… One result has been a proposal to clear out an area of Lower Westmount now occupied by some solid old mansions, a number of attractive single houses, a few apartment houses of an earlier era and some housing units that could be reasonably described as substandard by Westmount standards. This type of building will be replaced by a shopping promenade, a parking garage, some commercial buildings and at least three high-rise apartment buildings of, presumably, the same expensive and deplorable appearance as those in other projects of similar nature recently taken in and around Montreal.”
– The Globe and Mail, 4 December 1963

RCMP building • Image: Andrew Burlone

Few of these proposals were implemented; however, it did result in several zoning changes in Lower Westmount. Developers, seeing an opportunity, seized on these changes. Their projects included Alexis Nihon Plaza and Westmount Square, both in 1965. The City reacted to these “mega-structures” by instituting heritage-preservation measures to prevent similar large-scale developments. Added to this, in 1965, the provincial government expropriated 222 families living on Selby Street for the construction of the Ville-Marie Expressway. The urgent need for homes for the displaced families was not resolved until 1974, with the construction of subsidized housing units on Hillside Ave.

In 1966, the city announced an urban renewal scheme that encompassed a 90.6-acre area bounded by Atwater Ave., St. Catherine St., The Glen, the Canadian Pacific right-of-way, and Hallowell and Saint Antoine streets. It was intended to regulate residential, commercial, and industrial zones. It resulted in several expropriations with few visible, lasting benefits.

In 1967, a further change to the street’s landscape occurred with the Government of Canada expropriating 44,715 square feet for the construction of the R.C.M.P. Quebec Headquarters.

‘In 1974, the City of Montreal’s western extension of the Metro system closed the street westward from The Glen for 18 months.

In 1974, the City of Montreal’s western extension of the Metro system closed the street westward from The Glen for 18 months. Surprisingly, the City paid a proportion of the construction cost based on land value, a gesture that greatly pleased Montreal’s Mayor Jean Drapeau. At that point, urban planners, developers and City Council had exhausted the street’s resources. As such, the street was left as it was, with a focus on maintaining the underground infrastructure.

That same year, as a final gesture, Council allocated approximately $5,000 to create a small park at the corner of Dorchester and St. Catherine St. The park, without an official name, is still maintained to this day with its handful of benches, white birches (blackened by vehicular exhaust) and bordered by invasive flame bushes.

Clarke Park, at St. Catherine Street and Clarke Avenue • Image: Andrew Burlone

Finally, a small, patio-stoned area near Olivier Avenue, comprised of two benches bolted to the ground, was constructed as a reminder that pedestrians have never been a priority throughout Ste. Cath Street’s many reincarnations.

With that behind us, let us explore an interesting question: Who was Saint Catherine? The short answer is that nobody really knows. There are, however, three theories that associate a specific individual or place with the street’s name.

The first theory, proposed by Cléphas Saint-Aubin, is that the name honours Catherine de Bourbonnais (1749-1805), who lived on the street. But this historical record is difficult to ascertain.

The second theory refers to a road named Chemin Saint Catherine that led to a convent of the Sisters of the Congrégation de Notre Dame. This is a more plausible explanation that one could support using primary sources from the congregation’s archival records.

‘L’origine de ce nom [Ste-Catherine] et, le cas échéant, sa signification n’ont pu être déterminées jusqu’à maintenant. La Commission de toponymie invite toute personne détenant une information sur l’un ou l’autre de ces aspects à lui en faire part.’

– Commission de toponymie du Québec

Finally, the last theory associates the name with Catherine-Élizabeth, daughter of Jacques Viger, the first mayor of Montreal, and his wife Marie-Marguerite de La Corne. An interesting theory and one that would most likely, in today’s world, not receive approval from Québec’s Commission de Toponymie.

In 1993, the Commission named the street Rue Sainte-Catherine. As for its toponymic origin, their researchers do not adhere to, nor publicize, any of the popular theories – this is made evident in the following statement:

“L’origine de ce nom et, le cas échéant, sa signification n’ont pu être déterminées jusqu’à maintenant. La Commission de toponymie invite toute personne détenant une information sur l’un ou l’autre de ces aspects à lui en faire part.”

Now that we are acquainted with rue Sainte-Catherine’s turbulent transformations and its uncertain toponymic origin, let us turn our attention to a sample of the approximately 160 homes, sports venues and businesses that graced the street – most are gone but should not be forgotten.

Montreal Baseball Grounds • Image: Public Domain

2837 St. Catherine
Montreal Baseball Grounds
Demolished in 1963 for the construction of Alexis Nihon Plaza.

4006 St. Catherine
Westmount Grill – destroyed by fire in 1974

4010-12 St. Catherine
Citroen Canada Limited, Motor vehicle showroom and rental service – 1964

Citroen showroom St. Catherine Street • Image: courtesy of citroenvie.com

4026 St. Catherine
Packard Motor Company Limited – 1930

“In a setting that suggests the interior of a comfortable club rather than that of a motor showroom stand the first productions of the new Canadian Packard motor car plant in Windsor Ont., now on display at the Packard Montreal Motor Company Limited, St. Catherine Street West… these cars are the best possible tributes to Canadian craftsmanship and mark a new era in Canadian automotive industry.”
– Montreal Gazette, October 1931

4084 St. Catherine
Champlain Oil Products (1969)

4095-99 Saint Catherine
Montreal Arena Company, Edward Shepard (president), William Northey (vice-president) – 1902
Damaged by fire in 1918.
Defence Industries Limited – 1942
Used as a tool shop during the Second World War.
Property transferred to His Majesty the King (War Assets Corporation) – 1942

Westmount Arena • Image: old postcard, Public Domain

4103 St. Catherine
Nils Ohman, watchmaker – 1902
Scandinavian Club (N. Ohman, president)
Scandinavian National Society (N. Ohman, manager)

4104 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme in 1965.
Miss M. Hansford M.D. – 1902

4110 St. Catherine
W. J. Furse, Druggist and Photo Supply Shop – 1902

4111 St. Catherine
Westmount Bazaar, Mrs. O. Demers, proprietor –1901

4124 Ste. Catherine Street • Image: Google Maps

4115 St. Catherine
Building demolished
Westmount Grocery, G. Boissonneault, proprietor – 1902
W. J. Chapman,  painter, decorator and picture framer –1911
Ferguson & Phillip Butchers – 1902

4120 St. Catherine
Dionne & Dionne, Grocers & Butchers – 1902

4121 St. Catherine
G. Boissonneault Grocer – 1902

4122 Ste. Catherine
Destroyed by fire – 1969

4123 St. Catherine
R. N. McCallum Stationary – 1902

4126 St. Catherine
Fred Westbrook, secretary-treasurer, La Prairie Pressed Brick and Terra Cotta Company – 1902

“The first mention of brick production in La Prairie was in 1872 in local archives. Entirely hand-made without a mold, the bricks were made in an artisanal manner. Due to the available technology, only the clay on the surface was used in the manufacturing process. To bake the bricks, coal-fired beehive kilns were used.”

“This type of production in La Prairie was no accident. On the one hand, the city of La Prairie was based on deposits of Utica and Lorraine shale, which had the advantage of being easily cut into thin layers. These types of shale were found in various locations in the St. Lawrence Valley, particularly in Delson, where brickyards were also established. The mixture of these two shale types, which were naturally gray in color, produced a red brick called Steel Brick, known for its durability. Furthermore, the town of La Prairie was connected to the Grand Trunk Railway network in 1872 and was also close to Montreal, the largest construction market in Quebec.”

Avenue Snack Bar Advertising Matchbook • Image: Public Domain

– Government of Quebec, Ministry of Culture and Communications

4132 St. Catherine
George E. Smart, inspector, Grand Trunk Railroad – 1902

4133 St. Catherine
Sam Wah Laundry Service – 1902

4151 St. Catherine
W. H. Kenwood Meat Market – 1902
J. McGillivray,John McGillivray & Company – 1902

4182 St. Catherine
Avenue Snack Bar

4184 St. Catherine
George E. Blackwell, House and Sign Painter – 1901
Charmacles’ Fruit Shop – 1906

4188 St. Catherine
City of Westmount Light and Power Department – 1910
British and Continental Motor Company, repair shop – 1948

4190 St. Catherine
Spearman’s Pharmacy – 1906

Royal Bank of Canada Westmount Branch

4192 St. Catherine
Royal Bank of Canada, Westmount Branch, D. S. Benvie, manager – 1910

4200 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1965
Westmount Post Office, Miss Mary T. McCall, postmistress – 1901

4201 St. Catherine
A. A. Perry & Company, grocers – 1901

4202 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1965
John Smith Meat Market – 1901

4203 St. Catherine
Misses Kirkman, residence – 1901

4204 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1965
W. A. Harries & Albert Love, accounting tutors – 1910

4205 St. Catherine
Albert Davison, druggist – 1901

4206 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1965
Samuel Smith Grocer – 1901

4208 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1965

4209 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1965
Bruce A. Savage Dry Goods – 1901

4210 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1965
William J. Ross – hairdresser – 1901

4212 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1965

4213 St. Catherine
John Smithers, boots and shoes merchant – 1901

4203, 4205 and 4215 St. Catherine Street • Image: Google Maps

4215 St. Catherine
Misses J. & A. Kinsella (1901) – Dressmakers

4218 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1965
Empire Electric Laundry, Stewart, Shaver & McKillop proprietors – 1901
The Crown Laundry Company – 1910

4219 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1965
Edward Williams, locksmith and carpenter – 1901

4221 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1965
Glider Club of Montreal – 1930

4222 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1965
C. Barrington, harness and trunks merchant – 1901
Foster Brown Company Limited, retailer of schoolbooks and supplies – 1905
William John Ross, hairdresser – 1901

4226 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1965
E. G. Hart, printer & publisher – 1901

4228 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1965
W. M. Knowles & Company, coal branch office – 1901
Charles J. Brown & Edward Riel, real estate, insurance, financial agents and general contractors – 1901

H. A. Lozier & Company ad – Image: courtesy of vintageccm.com

4230 St. Catherine
Bepco Canada Limited – 1948
Operated as a factory, for a brief period, in contravention of the City’s by-laws. They were forced to vacate in April 1949.

4232 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1965
R. & W. Kerr, agents for H. A. Lozier & Company, bicycle manufacturers – 1896
A. Holcomb – Hardware – 1901
George Lee Laundry – 1939

The Laing Packing and Provisions Company ad

4250 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1965
Jim Lee Laundry – 1901
Westmount Taxi Service Taxi stand – 1948
Reo-Montreal Motors, truck storage depot – 1948

4251 St. Catherine
Laing Packing & Provisions Company, retail store, J. Williams, manager – 1901

4253 St. Catherine
John Raper, clerk, Canadian Pacific Railway – 1901

4269 St. Catherine
Morkow Motors Service and Sales – 1920
Brake Service Registered – 1930
Town and Country Motors Ltd – 1956
Peugeot Westmount Inc. – 1988

4269 St. Catherine Street

4278-80 St. Catherine
Westmount Plumbing & Heating Company Limited, plumbers and roofers – 1911

National Steel Car Company ad, Canadian Machinery, September 7, 1916

4280 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1965
National Steel Car Company Limited, National Motor Trucks showroom – 1916
Emmett Motors – 1924
Montreal Locomotive Works Limited – 1912

4284 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1960
William Kenwood Butcher – 1906

Montreal Locomotive Works ad in Canadian National Magazine, 1952

4290 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1964

4292 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1959
George McGoun, commercial traveller – 1901

4294 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1964
David C. Robertson, Beique, Lafontaine, Turgeon & Robertson – 1901

4296 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City – 1959
Soloman Goltman – 1901

4298 St. Catherine
Expropriated by the City’s urban renewal scheme – 1959
Thomas A. Riddell, freight claims agent, Canadian Pacific Railway – 1901

Severe storm damage to HMCS St. Croix, December 1940 – Image: Public Domain

4304 St. Catherine
L. J. A. McMillan M.D. – 1901
Leading Stoker Robert J. Osborne, R.C.N.V.R., lost at sea in the sinking of H.M.C.S. St. Croix, 1943.

4306 St. Catherine
L. S. Lockwood, pipe organ tuner – 1901

4320 St. Catherine
Fred Hawsworth, assistant manager, Merchants’ Cotton Company – 1901

Illustration of the Merchants Cotton Co. (ca. 1903) from Montreal: A Souvenir of Canada’s Commercial Metropolis by Ernest Chambers

“Attracted to Saint-Henri by the tax exemptions offered by this formerly independent municipality and by local grants, the Merchants Manufacturing Company built a textile mill here between 1880 and 1906. The factory’s main building was built in 1880 and expanded in 1892, 1898, and 1916. New buildings were added in 1899 (north side) and 1906 (next to the railroad tracks). This cotton spinning mill employed mainly women to produce sheets, coverlets, and clothing of all kinds. In 1891, Montreal’s first textile strike was organized. The company then merged first with Colonial Bleaching and Printing, and subsequently with Dominion Textile in 1904. More strikes were staged in 1907, 1946, and 1952, with employees demanding better wages and working conditions. One of the leaders of this struggle was Madeleine Parent.”
– Héritage Montréal

4322 St. Catherine
E. Smith, principal, The Glen School – 1901
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Joseph Francis Murphy, awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1918.

King’s School (Glen School) • Image: old postcard, Public Domain

4324 St. Catherine
John Kirkwood, florist – 1901

4330 St. Catherine
Marie Blanche Hollinshead, soprano singer – 1896

“Born, St. Neots, Huntingdonshire, England… father, William Hollingshead, was a civil engineer of note. Came to Montreal in 1882… Educated at Mount St. Mary Convent… later studied with Profs. Couture and Wallard, and eventually in London… Has been soprano soloist at Douglas Methodist Church, Dominion Square Methodist Church… Gave a successful series of ballad concerts under vice-regal patronage. In 1904 left Canada for larger sphere of work in New York where has had engagements with Lotus Club, Eclectic Club, Canadian Society and many other organizations, and has taken part in special musical services for two seasons under Evangelistic Committee of New York – a class of in which she is recognized as having few rivals…
– Bernard Sandwell, The Musical Red Book of Montreal, 1907

4333 St. Catherine Street

4333 St. Catherine
Air Canada Building – 1964

4350 St. Catherine 
M. A. A. A. Grounds, Herbert Brown (secretary-treasurer), George Crawford (caretaker) – 1901
In 1935, the City purchased from the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association its property west of Hallowell, comprising 330, 300 superficial square feet for $185,000.
The clubhouse was rented by the Ministry of National Defence – 1952
In 1959, the City sold 118,587 superficial square feet, including the clubhouse, to the School Commissioners for the Municipality of the City of Westmount to establish a new high school for $250,000.00.

MAAA Athletic Grounds adjacent Hallowell Avenue (1891) • Image: The Dominion Illustrated, Public Domain

Westmount High School, 4350 St. Catherine Street • Image: Andrew Burlone

4360 St. Catherine
J. J. Welsh, clerk, Royal Electric Company – 1901

“With the support and collaboration of Senator J. Rosaire Thibodeau and Montréal financier and broker Rodolphe Forget, the Royal Electric Company, an American firm, established the foundations of its empire in Montréal. Against a background of intrigue and questionable maneuvers, the company succeeded in replacing gas with electricity for street lighting. By 1889, electric street lights could be found all over the city. Royal Electric became a monopoly and engaged in practices that soon made it very prosperous, but also hated by the public.”
– Hydro-Quebec

Artifact, former Quinlan Apartments

4400 St. Catherine
Angus Hugh Murdock Mackay, Advertising Head, Sun Life Insurance Company –1913

4410-4412 St. Catherine
Quinlan Apartments – 1916
Lieutenant Howard Stanley Nolan, Royal Flying Corps, killed in 1917.
Second Officer David Crombie, Canadian Merchant Navy, died at sea in 1943.

Their “fate” contains an interesting story. They were slated for demolition in 1976, however, the Quebec government stated that their porticos were “worthy of preservation”. During the demolition process, the building’s facade was found to be unstable and, as a consequence, was torn down. The building’s porticos eventually became a garden fixture, outside a house on Trafalgar Road close to Cote de Neiges.

Artifact, former Quinlan Apartments

Interestingly, the house on Trafalgar Road, at the time, belonged to the grandson of the original portico’s stone mason – evidenced by a beautifully sculptured stone facing the house’s driveway. The house is still standing, although currently undergoing major renovations. The bases of the porticos are largely forgotten, “parked” by the side of the house, their columns serving as driveway posts.

4424 St. Catherine
Charles E. T. Woodley, traveller – 1901
Westmount Youth Centre – 1970

4428 St. Catherine
Cliffside Garage Company Limited – 1942
Used by the Department of National Defence during the Second World War.

4434 Ste. Catherine Street

4434 St. Catherine
Romeo C. A. Carle, Anderson and Valiquet, law firm – 1940
George A. Cairns, Panther Oil and Grease Company – 1950
Maag and Company Limited, stationery and office supplies – 1960
Hermes Electronic Standard Typewriters – 1970

4451 St. Catherine
H. H. Regan & Son, grocers – 1901
Metcalfe Pharmacy – 1956

4467 St. Catherine
James C. McCormick, managing director, Dominion Wire Manufacturing Company – 1901

“The Dominion Wire Rope Co. Wire Rope For Hoisting Mining, Inclines Transmission of Power, Towing Ships, Rigging Guys, Etc., Etc. Also Lang’s Patent Wire Rope For Transmission and Colliery Purposes, Signal Strand Clothes Lines and Seizing Wire. James Cooper, Agent, 203 St. James Street, Montreal”
– Montreal Herald, June 17, 1892

Westmount War Work at Home and Abroad poster • Image: courtesy of McGill University

J. C. McCormick, real estate broker, his wife was the Westmount Library Trustee (1916) – 1912

4468 St. Catherine
Thomas Waterston – 1910
His son, Captain Douglas Waterston, was killed in action in 1916. His father, Captain James Butler Waterson, also residing in Westmount, had a colourful seafaring life:

“…(he) was in the transport service in the Crimean War, the Persian War and the Indian Mutiny… At the time of the gold rush to Australia, he sailed British “clippers” from London around the Cape of Good Hope to Sydney and returned by way of Cape Horn…”
– Montreal Gazette, May 22, 1916

4469 St. Catherine
Westmount Soldiers’ Wives’ League – 1917
Publishers of Westmount War Work at Home and Abroad

Salada Tea ad in Good Housekeeping Magazine, 1911

4470 St. Catherine St.
George Mann, Manager, Salada Tea Company – 1901
A little-known fact is that Montreal businessman Peter Larkin founded Salada tea in 1892.

4471 St. Catherine
Demolished 1995
W. Godbee Brown, real estate agent – 1901
Melville Wholesale Produce – 1950

4473 St. Catherine
John M. Ferguson – Advocate (1901)

4477 St. Catherine
George H. Church (1901) – Charles Church & Sons, lumber merchants.

4478 St. Catherine
Roosevelt Apartments – 1911

4486 St. Catherine
Albert Carvell, secretary, Montreal Water & Power Company – 1901
The company was formed in 1901 with the merger of the Royal Electric Company and the Montreal Gas Company. In 1944, it was nationalized, forming Hydro-Quebec.

4492 St. Catherine
Peter McKenzie, manager, Hudson Bay Company – 1901

4492 Ste. Catherine Street

4500 St. Catherine
Zenon Prezeau, grocer – 1901

4504 St. Catherine
R. P. McNamara (1901) – Henry Morgan & Company, today the Hudson’s Bay Company.

4515 St. Catherine
Ville Marie Social Services Centre – 1986

4525-29 St. Catherine
Family Welfare Association of Montreal – 1959

4540 St. Catherine
Ernest Varin, bank clerk –1901

4504 St. Catherine Street

4546 St. Catherine
G. W. Liddell, advertising agent – 1901

4548 St. Catherine
Lieutenant Clarence J. Dryden
Awarded the Military Cross in 1918.

4550 St. Catherine
Lindsay Pillar, lumber & commission merchant – 1901
Lieutenant H. M. Starke, awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1918.

4556 St. Catherine
Westgrove Apartments
Sergeant Gabriel P. E. Schoeler, killed in active service in 1942.

4560 St. Catherine
Apartment building
Captain Thomas Arthur Edge, lost at sea in 1942.
Company Sergeant Major C. G. Forrest, awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal in 1944.
Flying Officer John Darrell Armstrong, killed in action in 1944.
Private F. Buchanan, killed in action in 1944.
F/Sgt. Leslie Charles Pingel, awarded the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1946.

George A. Mann & Company ad

4602 St. Catherine
George A. Mann, George A. Mann & Company – 1901
Manufacturers of lithographic printing equipment and the first rotary printing press.

4608 St. Catherine
James P. Mackay, Confederation Life Association – 1901

4610 St. Catherine

Confederation Life Association ad, 1928

Lieutenant Christopher Frederick Leroy Baller, Royal Montreal Regiment, died on active service in 1943.

4612 St. Catherine
J. F. Quinlan (1901)

4620 St. Catherine
D. H. Ferguson, manager, Dominion Tobacco Factory – 1901

4630 St. Catherine
William Selater, president, Canadian Asbestos Company – 1901

4620 Ste. Catherine Street

4654 St. Catherine
H. Muehlstein and Company, manufacturers of polymers (plastics), warehouse – 1945

4666 St. Catherine
The Royal Montreal Regiment Armory – 1921
Land leased by the City of Westmount to the Westmount Armory Association, for ninety-nine years (at a $1.00 per year) for the purpose of erecting an armory for the 1st. (Westmount) Battalion, The Royal Montreal Regiment.

St. Catherine St. at Bethune Ave. Intersection
Ice Manufacturing Company Limited, ice manufacturing plant – 1910
Nicolson Construction Limited, contractors’ yard – 1921

The Royal Montreal Regiment Armory

Harrison Brothers Ltd. ad

4680 St. Catherine
Harrison Brothers Limited (POM), bakery – 1930

St. Catherine St. at The Glen intersection
Montreal Tramways Company waiting shelter – 1916

4795 St. Catherine
Quebec Federation of Protestant Home & School Association – 1964

4789 St. Catherine
Demolished 1970

4825 St. Catherine
F. E. Quinn, accountant, Canadian Pacific Railway – 1901

Watering trough used by delivery animals of the former POM (Pride of Montreal) bakery at St. Catherine Street and Lansdowne

4835 St. Catherine
A. G. McDonald, Canada Asbestos Company – 1901

4839 St. Catherine
James B. Mitchell, tea & coffee merchant – 1901

4841 St. Catherine
John Harland, principal of Glen School (King’s School) – 1901

1 Albert Place – Renumbered to 4864 St. Catherine – 1959
H. E. P. Bulmer, electrical contractor – 1901

2 Albert Place – Renumbered to 4866 St. Catherine – 1959
William C. Murray, commercial traveller – 1901

3 Albert Place – Renumbered to 4870 St. Catherine – 1959
J. W. Rathbone, Rathbone, McNeil & Company – 1901

4 Albert Place – Renumbered to 4872 St. Catherine – 1959
D. Campbell, commercial traveller – 1901

5 Albert Place – Expropriated 1957
T. C. M. Bulmer, contractor – 1901
Partnering with his father, T.C.M. Bulmer constructed nearly fifty homes in the western portion of the City.

Charles E. Goad Company map showing Albert Place, 1913 • Image: Public Domain

6 Albert Place – Expropriated 1956
F. G. Roe, dry goods manufacturer – 1901

Ad for Margasay Lines of Canada – Image: margasaycareers.com

7 Albert Place – Expropriated 1956
R. Madore, Travelers Insurance Company – 1901

8 Albert Place – Expropriated 1957
Gaston De Werthemer, Compagnie des Médicines Patentées Françaises – 1901

4848 St. Catherine
Charles E. Scarff, druggists – 1906

4850 St. Catherine
Demolished 1930
Samuel Price, cattle exporter –1901

Ad for asbestos roofing by Johns-Manville Inc. depicting the Detroit Public Library • Image: Architectural Forum Vol 35 Issue 1, 1921 (Public domain)

4854 St. Catherine – Expropriated 1957
Arthur Paxton, manufacturer – 1901

5000 St. Catherine – Formerly 1950 Claremont Ave. – 1959

5010 St. Catherine – Formerly 1980 Claremont Ave. – 1959

4999 St. Catherine
Commercial tenants:
Magsaysay Lines of Canada Ltd. – 1966
Mohawk Navigation Company – 1966
Canadian Marigor Ltd. – 1966
Universal Steel & Metal Company Ltd. – 1966
Tioxide of Canada Ltd. – 1966
Johns-Manville Company Ltd. – 1966
Canadian Citizenship & Immigration Resource Center (CCIRC) Inc. – 2021

Feature image: Andrew Burlone
Other images: Michael Walsh, unless indicated otherwise

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