Another symbol of Saint-Roch’s renewal, the Saint-Roch Gardens, was completed in 1993. This urban park was built on the site of the defunct La Grande Place project. Cet immense projet immobilier et commercial était bien avancé avant d’être abandonné après presque 20 ans de controverse. Archaeological excavations had even been carried out on the site.

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.

Place Saint-Roch (Jardin Saint-Roch)

Jean-Marie Villeneuve Another symbol of Saint-Roch’s renewal, the Saint-Roch Gardens, was completed in 1993. This urban park was built on the site of the defunct La Grande Place project. Cet immense projet immobilier et commercial était bien avancé avant d’être abandonné après presque 20 ans de controverse. Archaeological excavations had even been carried out on the site.

Chronoscope Do you have any knowledge to share about these digs? (unilingual French for a limited time)

Depicted period: 1993

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