
Guy Lessard, Pointe-à-Callière.
Sainte-Anne Market broke new ground by renting out cellar spaces by the month, diversifying both its services and its income. These half-basements, accessible from the street but not directly connected to the market, had floor hatches that made it possible to toss waste into the cellars on either side of the collector sewer—to the great delight of archaeologists, more than 150 years later!

Guy Lessard, Pointe-à-Callière.
Among the businesses set up in the cellars was a canteen, where light meals and refreshments were served.

“Cellars under the Saint Ann Market let by Auction”, City of Montréal, CA M001 VM001-10-D013, p. 216-217.
These manuscript pages list the tenants of the cellars at Sainte-Anne Market, including a hairdresser, coopers, shoemakers and a leather merchant.

Guy Lessard, Pointe-à-Callière.
Reconstruction of one of the cellars, showing the floor hatch used to dispose of waste into the building’s deep basement vaults.