Montreal’s oldest urban stable torn down, advocates promise to rebuild
MONTREAL — A living piece of Montreal history was relegated to the past on Thursday as the oldest urban stable in the city — some say in the country — was finally torn down.
The stable at the Griffintown Horse Palace, which was built in 1862, was deemed too decrepit to save, according to a member of the foundation that rallied to save the site.
But while it was heart-wrenching to see the 150-year-old structure come tumbling down, Juliette Patterson said there are plans to reconstruct the building she calls “the soul” of the rapidly gentrifying Griffintown neighbourhood just west of Old Montreal.
“Now we associate Griffintown with new condos and towers, but what it used to be was a very working-class area,” she said.