Hôpital Général des Soeurs Grises
Date: 1907
Hôpital Général des Soeurs Grises, Maison-Mere, 390 Guy St., Montreal.
The Grey Nuns (Sœurs Grises) were established by Marie-Marguerite d’Youville as the Sœurs de la Charité de l’Hôpital Général de Montréal in 1737. At first, they occupied a small house (Maison Verrier) in old Montreal. In 1747, they took over the management of the Hôpital Général de Montréal (a separate entity from the English Montreal General Hospital which began in 1821) where they were responsible for the elderly and infirm, the handicapped, orphans, and “filles tombées” (women who were pregnant out of wedlock). Their success in care and management was such that they expanded to a number of other cities, such as Ste-Hyacinthe, Quebec City and Saint Boniface (Manitoba), in the 1800s.
The Mother House (Maison-Mère), located on Dorchester Boulevard (now Boulevard Réné-Levesque), was built in several stages from 1869 to 1946. Although sometimes termed a hospital, it functioned as an administrative center and lodging for the Nuns themselves. The building was purchased by Concordia University in 2007 and has since been modified to function as a student residence. In 2012, the buildings were designated a National Historic site of Canada.
Date: c1930
B&W photo of winter scene, aerial view of entire domain.