Laval, the third largest city in Quebec, authorizes the destruction of a heritage building located next to a 1694 house on Mille-Îles Boulevard. The house and the places, in spite of their importance, were never protected by the municipality, nor by the State.
The municipality simply observes, in an official decree, that the building in question is not in good condition. This causes, still according to the municipality, a “deterioration of the quality of life of the neighborhood”, insofar as the building in question is “visible from the street”.
Despite opposition to this demolition project formulated by Fédération Histoire Québec and the Society for the History and Genealogy of Île Jésus, Laval indicates that it “accepts the demolition request for an accessory building of heritage interest”. The population still has thirty days to oppose it. No plan, moreover, has been announced by the City to protect and restore the heart of this site: a rare house dating from the French Regime, the oldest in Laval and one of the oldest in the entire region.
An abandoned heritage
The house has been abandoned for years.The photographs taken just a few days ago by The duty as shown by. The Quebec History Federation and the Society of History and Genealogy of Jesus Island are sorry. According to them, the residence “should be at the top of the list of buildings to be protected on the territory of Laval”, and the protection of its immediate environment should be taken very seriously.
The Fédération Histoire Québec and the Society of History and Genealogy of Île Jésus cannot explain this lack of enthusiasm in ensuring the protection and revitalization of “this essential building of Laval heritage”. It has been left to itself for several years, deplore the two organizations. And now its owner obtains, after several steps, the right to demolish an adjacent building, recognized as heritage, but for which no assessment has been made.
However, the 1694 house has long been considered of great interest. As early as 1927, in a pioneering inventory of the oldest buildings in Quebec, archivist Pierre-Georges Roy noted the importance of the residence and its surroundings. He explains it in a book, Old mansions, old housesa reference work, still today, for anyone interested in Quebec’s architectural heritage. A period photograph also shows the house in good condition, although it has been modified, probably in the 19th century.1e century, under the influence of British ways.
Typical
In 2016, in an expert report produced by the firm Patri-Arch, the authors point out the great value of the place and the importance of protecting it. It also underlines “an excellent development potential”. Since then, a series of newer houses has grown nearby. They put the heritage residence under high pressure.
”This French-style house is typical of the first stone houses built in Quebec by the French colonizers who borrowed from the ways of building in their country of origin, north of the Loire”, support the Fédération Histoire Québec and the Société of history and genealogy of Île Jésus. “There is an almost square floor plan, a solid and massive stone structure, with little clearance from the ground, equipped with fewer windows, particularly in the gable walls, two fireplace-chimneys embedded in the gable walls and a steeply pitched roof. »
The house and its immediate environment need to be restored and enhanced. But specialists agree that nothing is lost. On the contrary. “It is remarkable that after more than three hundred years, this house has very solid masonry, impeccable chimneys and a roof structure without visible deformations. The addition of inappropriate dormers, gallery awnings and windows of different types represent reversible transformations. »
Does the demolition permit granted by the municipality risk reducing the value of the place? The Fédération Histoire Québec and the Société d’histoire et de généalogie de l’île Jésus believe in any case that the creation of a protected area must absolutely be considered in order to ensure, for the future, the integrity of all the site.
Is this 1694 house in danger of disappearing too, in another advance of the housing project that is colonizing the surroundings? In the meantime, even the heritage value of the building which will be destroyed in the next few days remains “unevaluated”, by the municipality’s own admission, even if we know that it is very old, as indicated without flinching by the city demolition committee.
A previous version of this text erroneously indicated that Laval is the second largest city in Quebec.