Westmount gained official city status in 1908 after being the Town of Westmount for 13 years, and it was that pivitol period in our history that was the focus of last month's lecture organized by the Westmount Historical Association.

Caroline Breslaw and Ruth Allen-Rigby of the WHA passed on the extensive research they had done surrounding 1908 to about 45 attentive members of the WHA in the Westmount Room of Library on May 21. The image they painted of what Westmount was like 100 years ago showed a rapidly developing, pleasant suburb of Montreal on a treed hillside.

Allan-Rigby began the evening by concentrating on administration. The population at that time was nearly 12,000. Only 16 per cent of the 906 acres of land was built upon. This mix of urban and rural areas was administered by Mayor William Galbraith with eight aldermen representing four wards. They believed in providing good municipal services such as high quality streets, cheap lighting, and reliable public transportation so that people would be encouraged to live here while continuing to work in Montreal. An electric power and lighting plant had already been installed in the Glen in 1906 to become the first municipally owned utility in Canada and power was supplied by burning local garbage waste.

Of particular interest was her reference to the “City Beautiful” movement at the turn of the century, which influenced the development of our City. The Library and the first Victoria Hall were situated in a corner of Westmount Park. In 1907, in preparation for becoming a City, the “City Beautiful” concepts gave direction to the landscaping. Trees were thinned, a pond developed and a bandstand was installed.

Caroline Breslaw then stepped up to the microphone and continued the evening by providing an illustrated overview of the great architectural variety of homes in 1908. She showed her audience the three original stone farmhouses on Côte St. Antoine Road that still existed as well as the early villas — Weredale Lodge and Selby Grange in the southeast with Rosemount, Forden, West Mount, two Metcalfe terrace houses, Hazelbrae and Braemar all north of Côte St. Antoine Road, plus the smaller villas that had been built on the driveways of these early estates.

Breslaw explained that the majority of the 12,000 residents lived in newer homes built between the escarpment and Côte St. Antoine Road. The first Terrace houses were built on Dorchester. Brick row houses were built on the short streets near the first train station at the end of Abbott Avenue, but in 1907, when the new CPR train station was completed at the foot of Victoria Avenue, many semi-detached houses were constructed as affordable housing for middle class families between Claremont and Mount Stephen.

Throughout the evening, the audience also learned about the various churches and schools, which fulfilled the needs of the families with young children who were living here and the businesses that flourished along Greene and Victoria Avenues.

The WHA's series of monthly lectures will return in the fall.

• Doreen Lindsay is president of the Westmount Historical Association

Photo: Doreen Lindsay