Place de la Douane

An Era of Port Development

With the growth of trade, the arrival of travellers and rising immigration, the small, rudimentary 18^th-century harbour was completely transformed. Through the efforts of the new Harbour Commission, created in 1830, the port became a more structured space, with wooden wharves and piers. A stone wall now protected the shoreline from spring ice, while carriage ramps linked Rue de la Commune (formerly Rue des Commissaires) to the port facilities below.

By the late 1830s, the first Custom House dominated the square, replacing the market that had occupied the site for 160 years. Work carried out by the Harbour Commission cleared its south side, opening up a direct view of a rapidly expanding port. All around, shops, hotels and inns multiplied, adding to the bustle of a neighbourhood in the midst of development.