The department stores on Saint-Joseph Street in downtown Québec City were inspired by those in Paris and in the United States, in the 1850s. This brand-new concept ushered in the era of large-scale consumerism by offering a wider variety of manufactured products in a single location. The phenomenon intensified in the 1950s with the development of the suburbs and shopping malls. Three of the four flagship stores on Saint-Joseph Street—Pollack, Compagnie Paquet and Syndicat department stores—disappeared when the shopping centres arrived. Only J.-B.-Laliberté stayed open until 2020.
The Maison Simons at the Place Ste-Foy shopping centre
Chantal Gagnon
The Maison Simons store on Laurier Boulevard was the first branch to be built in the suburbs of Québec City. It was established in 1961, more than a century after the first store was opened by Scottish immigrant John Simons in 1840 in Old Québec City. The store was also one of the first occupants of the Place Ste-Foy shopping centre. Today, this store is one of Simons’s busiest branches.
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