The Laurentian Store1 Principale Steet (corner of Saint-Vincent)……….The building in question here, empty and abandoned for years, was demolished in the fall of 2020 due to its advanced state of disrepair. However, its history, intimately linked to the development of the city, remains of some interest.This imposing two-storey brick building belonged to the Forget family and dates back to 1897. Among the residents of Montreal’s Golden Square Mile, there was a certain prestige in knowing Vincent and Euclide Forget, father and son. They were brilliant promoters, as one can judge by the size of their Sainte-Agathe store (otherwise locally known as “Chez Forget”).The Queen Anne-inspired architecture, more commonly seen in the villas around the lake, underlined the recreational spirit of this vast community of rich vacationers. Miraculously saved during the great fire of 1907, the building has been renovated many times since. These successive alterations have unfortunately done away with many of its most attractive architectural features, such as the brick cladding and inset doorway.
After years of neglect, the building was demolished and replaced by a modern commercial and residential building housing a brewery.PHOTOS(1) The Laurentian Store as it looked at the turn of the 20th century.(2) The building as it appeared in its last years.(3) The new building completed in 2023.