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The Smith Shop-House

A classical-style stone house stands at the centre, its façade featuring two large ground-floor entrances. It has three storeys, including a first floor with a window framed by columns supporting a decorative pediment, and smaller windows on the upper level. Two four-storey stone buildings with large windows flank the house.

Mathieu Gagnon, Pointe-à-Callière.

Around 1845, this shop-house was built for merchant Hosea B. Smith. As was often the case in Montréal between 1820 and 1850, it had a shop on the ground floor and living space on the upper floors. At Smith’s store, fine porcelain and glassware were sold. Later, the building changed purpose: owned by the Canada Screw Company from 1927 to 1944, it then became a popular snack bar that served customers until 1977.

Then-and-Now

The interactive feature lets you compare how a place’s architecture and urban setting evolved over time. It works by dragging a vertical bar in the centre of the image, moving your mouse from left to right—and back again—to reveal the changes between 1848 and 2025. When the bar is positioned all the way to the left, you see the 3D reconstruction of 1848. A classical-style stone house stands at the centre, with a façade featuring two large ground-floor entrances. It has three storeys, including a first floor with a window framed by columns supporting a decorative pediment, and smaller windows on the upper level. Two stone buildings flank the house, also three storeys high, with large windows.The interactive feature lets you compare how a place’s architecture and urban setting evolved over time. It works by dragging a vertical bar in the centre of the image, moving your mouse from left to right—and back again—to reveal the changes between 1848 and 2025. When the bar is positioned all the way to the right, you see the contemporary 2025 photograph. A classical-style stone house stands at the centre, with a façade featuring two large ground-floor entrances. It has three storeys, including a first floor with a window framed by columns supporting a decorative pediment, and smaller windows on the upper level. Two four-storey stone buildings with large windows flank the house.

1848 image: Guy Lessard, Pointe-à-Callière. / 2025 image: Mathieu Gagnon, Pointe-à-Callière.

Compare the Smith shop-house, then and now, at 207 Place D’Youville. Its architecture has changed very little!