Opened in the early 1910s by Maurice Pollack, a young Jewish immigrant from Ukraine who had recently arrived in Québec City, the Pollack department store first offered men’s clothing before adding departments for women’s and children’s clothing. Pollack was the first of the big department stores to close in 1978. The building’s first floor now houses the Place Cartier shopping centre.

1922 - 2010

Department stores

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 Pollack department store

Auteur inconnu Opened in the early 1910s by Maurice Pollack, a young Jewish immigrant from Ukraine who had recently arrived in Québec City, the Pollack department store first offered men’s clothing before adding departments for women’s and children’s clothing. Pollack was the first of the big department stores to close in 1978. The building’s first floor now houses the Place Cartier shopping centre.

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Depicted period: 1922

Source: Ville de Québec Document in the public domain (free of copyright) - Date: after 1922

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