Architect Shapiro outlines old fire station's history

Elizabeth Shapiro, one of the architects from the firm of Architem Wolff Shapiro Kuskowski, was at the Westmount Library on Thursday, Feb. 18 to explain how the firm restored and renovated the abandoned fire hall into an elegant living space.

The audience of nearly 50 was fascinated when Shapiro showed original architects floor plans indicating where horses were kept and where the haylofts were stored. Newspaper photographs depicted the horse-drawn wagon at the side of the Fire Hall with the first motorized Fire Truck in front.

Just who built the original fire hall remains a question. Was it designed by the architects Hutchison, Woods and Miller as is written in the Beaupre and Michaud 1987 report, or by the City of Westmount a surveyor named Currie?

Today, there are three condominiums, each with their own entrance and name — Le Victoria, The Boulevard and La Tour. A new arched window to match two existing windows was put in on the south side so that each condominium has a huge windows letting in light and providing views overlooking the St. Lawrence River. Each has a mezzanine floor overlooking a large living space.

When asked about the imposing square Tuscan-style tower that dominates that western border of Westmount, Shapiro said that was where the firemen hung their hoses to dry. This tower now has an entrance at street level leading into La Tour condominium. As a distinctive part of the landscape, it still acts as a gateway into the city from the west.

The WHA members were also able to ask questions and talk to Andrea Wolff, Magda Kuskowski, and Mira Katnick, the other architects who accompanied and supported Shapiro in her presentation.

The next lecture in the WHA's spring lecture series takes place on Thursday, March 18, when guest speaker Justin Bur looks at the old Westmount train station. • Doreen Lindsay is president of the Westmount Historical Association.