Former Dorion City Hall

Detail of main entrance of 190 Saint-Charles Avenue. © Bernard Bourbonnais – Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2017.

Facade of city hall in 1960 and partial view of the fire pump station and its drying tower. © Centre d’archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Ville de Vaudreuil-Dorion Fund, P-130.1.

Left side of city hall a few weeks before its modification. In the foreground, architect Joseph-Eugène Perron taking measurements. © Centre d’archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Ville de Vaudreuil-Dorion Fund, P-130.2.

Inauguration of city hall in December, 1927. © Centre d’archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Archives photographiques de la Ville de Vaudreuil-Dorion, D-2.

Groups of bricklayers working on city hall during winter in 1961. © Centre d’archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Ville de Vaudreuil-Dorion Fund, P-130.5.

Architect Joseph-Eugène Perron (left) in front of Dorion City Hall in 1961. © Centre d’archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Ville de Vaudreuil-Dorion Fund, P-130.7.

Employees inside the offices of city hall in 1966. © Centre d’archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Archives photographiques de la Ville de Vaudreuil-Dorion, D-3.

Dorion’s fire pump station drawn by architect Siméon Brais in 1923. Upon the city’s request, he modified the plan in 1945. © Centre d’archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Centenaire de Dorion Fund, M01.

Plan by Siméon Brais for the new drying tower in 1930. © Ville de Vaudreuil-Dorion, CT 10-1-3.

Dorion City Hall and the fire pump station in 1991. © Centre d’archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Centenaire de Dorion Fund, M01.

place DORION AND VAUDREUIL-STATION

Current name The 190 Saint-Charles

Original vocation City hall, police station, municipal court

Address 190 Saint-Charles Avenue, Vaudreuil-Dorion

Construction date 1927

Architect, Firm or Contractor Siméon Brais, architect (1927); Joseph-Eugène Perron and Julien Perron, Perron & Perron Firm, architects (1961 modification)

Architectural type Institutional and non-residential

Status Institutional property (City of Vaudreuil-Dorion)

A BUILDING OLDER THAN IT LOOKS

This building’s story is much older that its modern look lets on. After having held meetings in the village school classroom since 1893, council members of the Dorion Village¹ corporation wanted to possess their own municipal building². After purchasing the lot in 1913, they waited 14 years for the municipal hall to be built (1927)³. The plans for the building were drawn up by architect Siméon Brais (1886-1963)⁴. Completely redesigned in 1961 by the architects Joseph-Eugène Perron (1899-1969) and Julien Perron (1931-2019) (Perron & Perron architects), the municipal hall officially became Dorion City Hall⁵. In 1994, after the merger of Vaudreuil and Dorion, the building lost its primary purpose. However, it remained useful to many municipal services. Today, the former city hall houses the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion’s human resources department as well as various community organizations⁶.

Test your knowledge

In what year did the City of Dorion purchase its first fire truck?

1890

1900

1916

1923

People

Siméon Brais (1886-1963)

Siméon Brais (1886-1963) was a Montréal architect who contributed to the architectural landscape of Vaudreuil-Dorion for over 50 years.

Lawrence Alexander Wilson (1863-1934)

Lawrence Alexander Wilson (1863-1934) was a thriving businessman, respected politician, philanthropist and patron of the arts who generously shared his wealth with the public, mainly in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region. To this day, we can see the evidence of his actions in the region’s parks, churches, and buildings.

Joseph-Eugène Perron (1899-1969)

Originally from Pointe-des-Cascades, Joseph-Eugène Perron (1899-1969) was an important architect who built many religious and institutional buildings, mainly in the Haut-Saint-Laurent, the Laurentians, Lanaudière and Montréal.

Julien Perron (1931-2019)

Julien Perron (1931-2019) was a prolific architect whose achievements left their mark on the landscape of Vaudreuil-Dorion, the West Island of Montréal and the Haut-Saint-Laurent.

References

To facilitate reading and to respect Vaudreuil-Dorion’s historical development, the text in this heritage tour uses the names of Vaudreuil or Dorion for events prior to 1994, year in which the cities merged.
Also, when citing this heritage tour, please do so as follows: Sébastien Daviau, Jean-Luc Brazeau, and Édith Prégent. If buildings could speak. A historical and architectural tour of Vaudreuil-Dorion. Vaudreuil-Dorion, City of Vaudreuil-Dorion / Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2017, <https://www.circuitvd.ca>, accessed [insert date].
City of Vaudreuil-Dorion, archives, Minutes of the Corporation of the Village of Dorion, July 5, 1911 to December 22, 1915, meeting of June 18, 1913 and Claire Sabourin et al. Dorion, au fil des ans. Livre souvenir du Centenaire de Dorion 1891-1991. Dorion, City of Dorion, 1991, Mun 15.
Bureau de la publicité des droits de la circonscription foncière de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, registration no. 35774, m. not., Joseph-Bénoni-Alexandre Favreau, July 8, 1913. Sale by Jonathan Whitesell, Montréal manufacturer, to the Corporation of the Village of Dorion, represented by Charles-Edmond Ranger (1852-1939), Mayor of the Village of Dorion between 1907 and 1913 and the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Archives, Minutes of Proceedings of the Corporation of the City of Dorion, June 9, 1926 to December 6, 1933, meeting of October 5, 1927.
City of Vaudreuil-Dorion, archives, Minutes of the Corporation of the City of Dorion, June 9, 1926 to December 6, 1933, meeting of June 1, 1927.
Anonyme, « Un nouvel hôtel de ville et un garage municipal à Dorion! », L’Écho de Vaudreuil-Soulanges et Jacques-Cartier, November 16, 1960, front-page and p. 6.
City of Vaudreuil-Dorion website. Accessed May 13, 2017, <https://www.ville.vaudreuil-dorion.qc.ca/>.