Starting in 1745, the urbanized area of Montreal began to extend beyond its
fortifications. The Plateau-Mont-Royal was born when the Faubourg Saint-Laurent to the north became the main area of development. In 1792, Montreal expanded, with new official limits about two kilometres (1¼ miles) beyond the original fortifications.
Mount Royal and
Duluth Street formed its new boundaries. Farther from the centre, especially to the west,
English-speaking families of the era owned large houses surrounded by gardens, and the
Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph owned a large field which would later become the site of the future
Hôtel-Dieu. Even further from the city were large country estates whose farms were owned by the Montreal bourgeoisie. In 1850, a
reservoir was installed in what is today the location of
Saint-Louis Square. Its function was to supply water to Côte-à-Baron residents, who lived on the downward slope below
Sherbrooke Street. At that time, a farm on the site of the current
La Fontaine Park was converted into grounds for military exercises. To the north, other cities were formed following new economic activity, giving rise to the village of Coteau-Saint-Louis in 1846. A chapel was built two years later, then replaced in 1857 by the
Church of Saint-Enfant-Jésus du Mile-End. Nowadays, the
Mile End is a neighbourhood adjacent to the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, but it was only in 1878 that the village of Saint-Louis-du-Mile-End was born. By the end of the century, the mountain was purchased by the City of Montreal and developed into Mount Royal Park. La Fontaine Park took the place of the military field and the reservoir Côte-à-Baron became the Saint-Louis Square. The village of Saint-Jean-Baptiste took shape circa 1861. Its central point was also the location of its market (the first market was built in 1870 and replaced by a more modern market in 1933, which was demolished in 1966). The civic centre was located at the intersection of
Saint Lawrence Street (later Saint Laurent Boulevard) and Rachel Street. The villages of Coteau-Saint-Louis and Saint-Jean-Baptiste merged into Montreal in 1893 and 1886 respectively. As for Saint-Louis-du-Mile-End and DeLorimier, they would be annexed to Montreal in 1910 and 1909 respectively. At that time, the population of Montreal spilled over east of Papineau Road (today
Papineau Avenue), where elegant houses and avenues were located. In the early twentieth century, it was a
working class neighbourhood. Over the years, spurred by economic growth, the working class population gradually deserted the area. By 1900, Coteau-Saint-Louis had become very cosmopolitan, and included several
Protestant churches and
synagogues. Several Protestant traders opened shop on St. Lawrence Street (renamed St. Lawrence Boulevard in 1905). St. Lawrence was the linguistic border between the French-speaking east, and English-speaking west. At that time,
Saint Joseph Boulevard became the first tree-lined street in the city. In the 1930s, the
Great Depression slowed construction in the district, although some work resulted in the funding for the landscaping of
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park. The
Université de Montréal moved to the northern slope of Mount Royal in 1943, resulting in the relocation of both the English and French bourgeoisie to this neighbourhood. Immigrants settled increasingly in the neighbourhood in the post-war period.
Jews operated several boutiques on St. Lawrence Boulevard and moved into the adjacent neighbourhoods to the west.
Schwartz's Montreal Hebrew Delicatessen, established in 1928, is still one of the most famous shops in Montreal, renowned for its
Montreal-style smoked meat sandwiches.
Greek Canadians set up many businesses in the decades that followed, particularly along
Park Avenue and contributed to the local art of baking and pastry. More recently, Vietnamese and Portuguese settled in the area, as evidenced, for the latter, by
Little Portugal. Since the 1980s, the area's bohemian aura and proximity to
McGill University attracted young professionals, artists, and students. As rents increased, many of its traditional residents and businesses were dispersed to other parts of the city. The neighbourhood continues to gentrify, and it is now home to many upscale restaurants and nightclubs, and several trendy clothing stores are located along Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Saint-Denis Street. ==Geography==