“The street ends here! You have to take a detour to get to the mountain.”

Until the late 1880s, the houses on the neighbouring street block the view of the mountain. Pine Avenue picks up again west of Saint-Urbain Street. This section of the avenue is, at the time, called Hôtel-Dieu Street. Soon, municipal authorities begin expropriating land and razing residential buildings to join the two ends of the avenue.

Imagine men armed with pick axes, shovels and wooden ladders demolishing houses and sheds with their bare arms. Archaeological digs carried out in 2021 confirm the presence of these buildings. The photo shows an outhouse, or latrine, made of barrels.

Design and writing credits for historical panels: Pirogue in collaboration with BCK design