If buildings could speak… - A historical and architectural tour of Vaudreuil-Dorion

 

DORION GARDENS

Harwood Elementary School (186 8th Avenue). © Sébastien Daviau – Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2017.
Dorion Gardens on the corner of avenues Curé-David and Duffy. © Sébastien Daviau – Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2017.
Example of a bungalow on 4th Avenue in Dorion Gardens. © Sébastien Daviau – Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2017.
Curved road, lined with trees in Dorion Gardens (Curé-David Avenue). © Sébastien Daviau – Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2017.
Bungalow on 4th Avenue. © Sébastien Daviau – Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2017.
Row of trees on Caron Street. © Sébastien Daviau – Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2017.
Dorion Gardens, on the corner of 5th and 6th Avenues. © Sébastien Daviau – Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2017.
Ad of Dorion Gardens’ residential project. © La Presqu’île, August 24, 1956.
Plan of streets of Dorion Gardens from a detailed map of Dorion (1977). © Centre d’archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, section régionale, 5.2.
Street in Dorion Gardens in 1991. © Yvon Latreille - Centre d’archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Centenaire de Dorion Fund, M01b17,30.

Interesting places nearby

This sector of Dorion was created between 1956-1958 with the implementation of a vast innovative residential project. Originally, this vast strip of land, located between the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railways, was part of the Vaudreuil Parish1. It consisted of fields and agricultural properties mainly accessible through Valois Street. The latter bore several names including Montée des Français and Montée des Renards2. It was annexed in 1949 to the City of Dorion in exchange for $6,0003, and underwent a major transformation under the vision of entrepreneurs Roméo Pratt and François-Xavier Brock Fuger (Pratt & Fuger), who developed a residential neighbourhood of over 1,200 houses4. Inspired by the English concept of Garden Cities, Dorion Gardens stood out because of its curved, tree-lined streets, offering a peaceful and beautiful quality of life to its residents.