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11 October 2008

Windsor Station to Obtain Quebec Heritage Protection


Windsor Station Montreal from the Notman Archives.
 
 
Montreal Quebec - For Michael Fish, now 75, it started more than half a lifetime ago.
 
In 1970, at the age of 37, the young architect was appalled that Canadian Pacific Railway proposed to tear down Windsor Station on Peel St.
 
It's taken 38 years and unrelenting dedication by heritage activists, notably Fish, but now the neo-romanesque building is about to receive Quebec's permanent seal of protection from the wrecking ball.
 
The Gazette has learned that Minister of Culture Christine St. Pierre sent a notice of intent dated 18 Sep 2008 to classify the train station as a cultural site - and hence out of reach of bulldozers.
 
As a result of pressure by heritage conservationists, the 119-year-old building was already safe from destruction under the federal Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act.
 
But CP Rail put the station up for sale last year, and Dinu Bumbaru, policy director of Heritage Montreal, said yesterday when a rail company divests itself of such a building, that protection becomes null and void.
 
"What this notice of intent by Quebec does," Bumbaru said, "is ensure a seamless regime of protection." Provinces are "the real protectors of heritage, and the nanosecond" that federal protection runs out, it will be reinstated by the province - and this time on a permanent basis.
 
Bumbaru credited Fish with "getting the ball rolling 38 years ago and staying on the issue unswervingly for many years.
 
But informed of the minister's notice of intent, Fish himself was modest in his reaction. "I'm delighted and I congratulate them for it," he said.
 
But he emphasized he was helped by others, including former mayor Jean Drapeau, who exerted considerable influence with CP.
 
Fish also recalled the great sway that CP Rail had over many institutions, including McGill University and Universite de Montreal.
 
"I called the universities for their expertise, but they were too frightened to take it up themselves, he said.
 
They said "we'll help, but you do it. CP gave money to everyone back then and was very, very aggressive," he said.
 
 
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