Over the years, Mail Saint-Roch deteriorated even further. Repair, heating and security costs stirred discontent among shopkeepers and shoppers alike. A covered mall may once have been a temporary solution to revitalize the neighbourhood, but it was no longer relevant. The roof was dismantled in two stages, ending in April and May 2007.

1974 - 2012

Decline and revitalization of the downtown Saint-Roch district

The Saint-Roch district in downtown Québec City faced the same destiny as many other North American urban centres. At the end of the 1960s, the commercial artery in the Saint-Roch district gradually emptied as new shopping centres sprung up in the suburbs. To counter the decline of this downtown area, an open-air mall, the Mail Saint-Roch, was inaugurated in 1968 on Saint-Joseph Street. In 1974, more than a kilometre of the mall was covered with a roof. However, popular preference for suburban shopping soon made the area obsolete. In the 1990s and 2000s, a new effort of innovative architectural and social initiatives was made to revitalize this neglected downtown area.

Saint-Joseph Street after the shopping centre was demolished

Chantal Gagnon Over the years, Mail Saint-Roch deteriorated even further. Repair, heating and security costs stirred discontent among shopkeepers and shoppers alike. A covered mall may once have been a temporary solution to revitalize the neighbourhood, but it was no longer relevant. The roof was dismantled in two stages, ending in April and May 2007.

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Depicted period: 2012

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