Moving to Maisonneuve

To address issues of funding at Montréal’s Radium Institute, the provincial Government granted the centre $25,000 a year, on the condition that it officially became a hospital specialized in cancer treatment. This transformation was accompanied by a change in administration, which would now be headed by an independent corporation of the Université de Montréal. Very quickly, the management and supervision of care were entrusted to a religious community: the Sisters of Charity (or “Grey Nuns”) of Montréal. In the end, the Department of Public Assistance accepted to reimburse cancer treatments provided by the Institute to patients who could not afford them (wich were called “indigents”).

Plan with several inscriptions, such as the names of streets Ontario, Desjardins, Pie-IX, Place Hôtel de ville. In the center of the plan is a colored rectangle indicating

Fire insurance plan of the Radium Institute in Maisonneuve and its surrounding area, 1946

To address the overcrowding problem, the City of Montréal suggested the Institute move to Maisonneuve’s old Town Hall building, which had fallen in disuse since the merger of the two cities.

Black and white photograph of an imposing Beaux-Arts style building with a concrete path leading to the stairs and central doors. In the foreground is the brick-paved street.

The Radium Institute’s building in Maisonneuve, between 1926 and 1967

Black and white photograph depicting about forty girls arranged in four rows on the stone steps leading to the main door of the stone building.

A group of girls on the steps of Maisonneuve’s former Town Hall, 1921

This magnificent Beaux-Arts style building stood at the heart of Maisonneuve’s working-class neighbourhood, in the eastern part of Montréal. Maisonneuve had first developed as an independent town in 1882. Tax exemptions had drawn many factories to it, quickly turning Maisonneuve into a prosperous industrial town. Based on the 1911 census, the price of manufactured products in Maisonneuve was the second most important in Québec, and ranking fifth in Canada.

“Maisonneuve, le Pittsburgh du Canada,” 1913

Black and white pictorial representation of a bird's eye view presenting a summary plan of a neighborhood. It includes streets, although not named, railways, major institutional buildings, and important factories. At the top of the image, more detailed facades of important buildings such as the town hall, public baths, post office, and market are depicted. At the bottom of the image is the Saint Lawrence River, crossed by boats and factory docks.

Aerial view of the town of Maisonneuve, 1915

Starting in the 1910s, a new generation of the local bourgeoisie launched a vast urban beautification project. In just five years, a new Town Hall, market, public bathhouse and fire station were built. But Canada’s economic downturn during the First World War put an end to the boom, striking a major blow to Maisonneuve’s finances. Bankrupted by crushing debt, the town ended up being annexed by Montréal in 1918. This change did not alter the makeup of Maisonneuve, which remained an industrialized working-class neighbourhood. For the Radium Institute, however, relocation to the eastern borough marked the beginning of a new era.

Photographic montage of five drawings and postcards. The first in the top left is in color and represents a large building inspired by Second Empire and Beaux-Arts styles. To its right is a black and white drawing of a brick building with modern features inspired by American modern architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright. The last three have similar appearances and are all inspired by Beaux-Arts architecture.

A montage of drawings and postcards of Maisonneuve, between 1915 and 1931

A Victim of its Own Success A New Era for the Radium Institute