literarypost-industrial

Saint-Henri: the south-west and the canal edge

Gabrielle Roy's working-class south-west — the square, the antiques, the canal, the new cafés.

Photo: Guilhem Vellut / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Drafted by Claude — the editor hasn’t walked this one yet. We’ll update this notice once it’s been verified on the ground.

Distance

4 km

Time

~ 90 min

Difficulty

Easy

Start

Place-Saint-Henri (Orange)

End

Lionel-Groulx (Orange/Green)

Best at

afternoon

Right now

17°C· Clear

Open in Maps for turn-by-turn, or take it offline as GPX.

Saint-Henri is the south-west Montreal grew up working in, and the one Gabrielle Roy made literature out of: her Bonheur d'occasion set the whole quarter against the railway and the want. Four kilometres from the square she wrote about, along the antiques row, down to the canal that ran the factories.

Start at Place Saint-Henri, where the metro leaves you beside the church spire and the tracks. The square is the founding fact of the place; stand in it a moment. Then walk Rue Notre-Dame Ouest, the spine, lined with the antique and second-hand dealers the street is known for — brass, old radios, furniture nobody builds now. The dealers expect you to browse. Among them, the new cafés have moved in, and the two Saint-Henris share a block without much comment.

Cut down to the Lachine Canal, the green corridor that once carried the quarter's coal and grain, and turn east along the towpath with the old brick on one bank. It delivers you to Marché Atwater, the 1933 market under its deco clock tower. Buy something for the road; Lionel-Groulx is a block north.

The route

On the map.

A soft dashed line, numbered stops. It’s a suggestion, not a turn-by-turn.

Elevation

↑ 10 m·↓ 11 m·18–23 m ASL

Stops along the way

Things to notice.

01
1
Place Saint-Henri
Start at the old heart of the quarter, the square Gabrielle Roy set her 1945 novel Bonheur d'occasion around. The metro spills you out beside it; read the place first, the railway and the church towers, before you walk.
01
Place Saint-Henri
Start at the old heart of the quarter, the square Gabrielle Roy set her 1945 novel Bonheur d'occasion around. The metro spills you out beside it; read the place first, the railway and the church towers, before you walk.
02
2
Église Saint-Henri / Place Saint-Henri church
The neighbourhood church anchors the square — its spire is the one you saw from the platform. You don't have to go in; the point is how the whole working-class quarter was built to face it.
02
Église Saint-Henri / Place Saint-Henri church
The neighbourhood church anchors the square — its spire is the one you saw from the platform. You don't have to go in; the point is how the whole working-class quarter was built to face it.
03
3
Rue Notre-Dame Ouest — the antiques row
The long commercial spine, and the run of antique and second-hand dealers it's known for. Drift east; the windows are the walk here, brass and old radios and furniture nobody made after 1960. Browsing is expected.
03
Rue Notre-Dame Ouest — the antiques row
The long commercial spine, and the run of antique and second-hand dealers it's known for. Drift east; the windows are the walk here, brass and old radios and furniture nobody made after 1960. Browsing is expected.
04
4
A Notre-Dame café
The gentrifying end of the street has filled with coffee places among the antique shops. Pick one for a flat white and a window seat; the new Saint-Henri and the old one share the same block, which is the whole story.
04
A Notre-Dame café
The gentrifying end of the street has filled with coffee places among the antique shops. Pick one for a flat white and a window seat; the new Saint-Henri and the old one share the same block, which is the whole story.
05
5
The Lachine Canal towpath
Cut south to the canal that powered the quarter's factories, now a green walking-and-cycling corridor along the water. Turn east on the towpath; the old industrial brick lines one bank, joggers and herons the other.
05
The Lachine Canal towpath
Cut south to the canal that powered the quarter's factories, now a green walking-and-cycling corridor along the water. Turn east on the towpath; the old industrial brick lines one bank, joggers and herons the other.
06
6
Marché Atwater
End at the 1933 market hall with its art-deco clock tower over the canal — produce, cheese, a butcher or two, and a lawn that runs to the water. Buy something for the walk home; Lionel-Groulx is a short block north.
06
Marché Atwater
End at the 1933 market hall with its art-deco clock tower over the canal — produce, cheese, a butcher or two, and a lawn that runs to the water. Buy something for the walk home; Lionel-Groulx is a short block north.

Saint-Henri: the south-west and the canal edge

On the map.

Things to notice.

Place Saint-Henri

Place Saint-Henri

Église Saint-Henri / Place Saint-Henri church

Église Saint-Henri / Place Saint-Henri church

Rue Notre-Dame Ouest — the antiques row

Rue Notre-Dame Ouest — the antiques row

A Notre-Dame café

A Notre-Dame café

The Lachine Canal towpath

The Lachine Canal towpath

Marché Atwater

Marché Atwater

Two more, on similar days.

Griffintown: the Irish quarter and the canal

The McGill Ghetto: greystone and the student quarter