Michael Fish | |
|---|---|
 Montreal architect Michael Fish | |
| Born | 1934 (age 88–89) |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Awards | "significant contribution to heritage preservation in Quebec"; Montreal city medal |
Michael James S. Fish (born October 23, 1934) is a Canadian architect and urban conservationist, best known for his attempts to preserve heritage buildings in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Michael Fish began his career in Montreal in 1956, mostly involved in new apartment building construction. Soon, he developed an interest in renovating established buildings rather than constructing after demolition. He noted that it was less expensive and less disruptive to the cohesion of neighbourhoods. He became involved in community groups that advocated to save structures such as the Van Horne Mansion. [1]
In 1970, Fish co-founded Friends of Windsor Station with architect Peter Lanken and urban-planning professor Jean-Claude Marsan. In 1974, he co-founded Save Montreal. He has been credited with playing a major role in saving, or preventing major transformation of, such buildings as the Dawson College building at Sherbrooke and Atwater Streets, the Collège de Montréal on Sherbrooke Street, the Grey Nuns' quarters and church at René Lévesque Boulevard and Guy Street, and the patriotes' prison near the Jacques Cartier Bridge. [2] In the mid-1980s, he served as vice-president of the Canadian International Council of Monuments and Sites, a United Nations affiliate. [3]
After becoming more involved in political lobbying for marginalized groups, he found less and less work available to him from private developers, who saw conservationists as "a threat", according to him. In the latter part of his career, his firm worked only on social housing projects. He has stated that a highlight of his conservation work was saving a row of greystone houses on Jeanne Mance Street, south of Sherbrooke Street. [1]
In 1989, he advocated for the preservation of Rockcliffe Airport hangars. Earlier in his career he had designed hangars for Canada's air force, and for Trans-Canada Air Lines. [4]
In 1987, he received acclaim for his "significant contribution to heritage preservation in Quebec" and was presented with a lieutenant-governor's award from Heritage Canada. [1]
In 2003, he was presented with a Montreal city medal for his work with Save Montreal. [5]
Jean Drapeau was a Canadian politician who served as mayor of Montreal, Canada for 2 non-consecutive terms from 1954 to 1957 and from 1960 to 1986. Major accomplishments of the Drapeau Administration include the development of the Montreal Metro entirely underground mass transit subway system running on 'whisper quiet' rubber wheels, a successful international exposition Expo 67 as well as the construction of a major performing arts centre, the Place des Arts. Drapeau also secured the hosting of the 1976 Summer Olympics and was instrumental in building the Olympic Stadium and then world's tallest inclined tower. Drapeau was responsible for securing a Major League Baseball franchise, with the creation of the Montreal Expos in 1969. Drapeau's main legacy is Montreal's attainment of global status under his administration.
The architecture of Montreal, Quebec, Canada is characterized by the juxtaposition of the old and the new and a wide variety of architectural styles, the legacy of two successive colonizations by the French, the British, and the close presence of modern architecture to the south. Much like Quebec City, the city of Montreal had fortifications, but they were destroyed between 1804 and 1817.
The Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec or BAnQ is a Quebec government agency which manages the province's legal deposit system, national archives, and national library. Located at the Grande Bibliothèque in Montreal, the BAnQ was created by the merging of the Bibliothèque nationale du Québec and the Archives nationales du Québec in 2006. The Bibliothèque nationale du Québec had previously merged with the Grande Bibliothèque du Québec in 2002.
Phyllis Barbara Lambert is a Canadian architect, philanthropist, and member of the Bronfman family.
The Golden Square Mile, also known just as the Square Mile, is the nostalgic name given to an urban neighbourhood developed principally between 1850 and 1930 at the foot of Mount Royal, in the west-central section of downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The name "Square Mile" has been used to refer to the area since the 1930s; prior to that, the neighbourhood was known as 'New Town' or 'Uptown'. The addition of 'Golden' was coined by Montreal journalist Charlie Lazarus, and the name has connections to contemporary real-estate developments, as the historical delimitations of the Golden Square Mile overlap with Montreal's contemporary central business district.
Preservationist is generally understood to mean historic preservationist: one who advocates to preserve architecturally or historically significant buildings, structures, objects, or sites from demolition or degradation. Historic preservation usually refers to the preservation of the built environment, not to the preservation of, for instance, primeval forests or wilderness.
Ross and Macdonald was one of Canada's most notable architecture firms in the early 20th century. Based in Montreal, Quebec, the firm originally operated as a partnership between George Allen Ross and David MacFarlane from 1907 to 1912. MacFarlane withdrew from the firm in 1912, and Robert Henry Macdonald became a partner.
The Van Horne Mansion was a classic greystone house on Sherbrooke Street at the corner of Stanley Street in Montreal's Golden Square Mile. It was built in 1869 for John Hamilton, President of the Merchant's Bank of Montreal, Quebec.
Save Britain's Heritage is a British charity, created in 1975 by a group of journalists, historians, architects, and planners to campaign publicly for endangered historic buildings. It is also active on the broader issues of preservation policy. SAVE is a registered charity governed by a board of trustees.
Overdale was a small residential district in downtown Montreal that became a famous symbol of the struggle between urban conservationists and land developers.
The Montreal Masonic Memorial Temple is a historic masonic temple in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on the corner of Sherbrooke Street and St. Marc Street, in the Golden Square Mile district. Dedicated and officially opened June February 12, 1930, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2001, as an example of one of Canada’s most elegant buildings in the Beaux-Arts style.
René G. Lépine was a Canadian real estate developer and philanthropist. Lépine was the chairman of Groupe Lépine, a real estate development and investment firm he founded in 1953. He is widely considered one of the most influential French Canadian real estate developers of his time. His companies developed over $5 billion of real estate in Canada and the United States since the 1960s. He also owned a portfolio of multifamily and retail properties in Montreal and Ottawa. Lépine developed many buildings considered landmarks in Montreal, including the Olympic Village and Le Sanctuaire du Mont-Royal. Lépine is also credited with having developed the first condominiums in Montreal in 1981.
Heritage Montreal is a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the architectural, historic, natural, and cultural heritage of Greater Montreal. Architect Phyllis Lambert founded Heritage Montreal in 1975. It was preceded by Save Montreal, a volunteer group co-founded by Michael Fish after the controversial demolition of the Van Horne Mansion by developer David Azrieli in 1973. Heritage Montreal played a key role in efforts to halt demolition and redevelopment in the McGill Ghetto, also known as Milton Park.
In Canada, heritage conservation deals with actions or processes that are aimed at safeguarding the character-defining elements of a cultural resource so as to retain its heritage value and extend its physical life. Historic objects in Canada may be granted special designation by any of the three levels of government: the federal government, the provincial governments, or a municipal government. The Heritage Canada Foundation acts as Canada's lead advocacy organization for heritage buildings and landscapes.
The Westmount station is a disused railway station in the city of Westmount, Quebec, Canada. Its address is 4848 Saint Catherine Street West at the bottom of Victoria Avenue in the Victoria Village neighbourhood. It was designed for the Canadian Pacific Railway by the company architect, W.S. Painter, and was completed in 1907.
Sir Andrew Thomas Taylor, JP, RCA, FSA, FRIBA was a British architect and councillor. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and practised architecture in Scotland and London before emigrating to Montreal, Quebec, in 1883, where he designed many of the buildings of McGill University. He retired from architecture in 1904 and returned to London, where he served on London County Council from 1908 to 1926. He was knighted for his political services in 1926.
Maison Alcan is a building complex located on Sherbrooke Street in the Golden Square Mile district of Montreal, Canada. The complex was used to house the world headquarters for Alcan, now part of Rio Tinto Alcan, until 2015. Completed in 1983, the complex's integration of new construction with restored or renovated buildings marked a turning point in corporate Montreal's approach to development.
Notman House is a historic building at 51 Sherbrooke Street West in Montreal, Quebec, near the Golden Square Mile. Completed in 1845 for Sir William Collis Meredith, the house takes its name from the celebrated photographer, William Notman, who lived there with his family from 1876 until his death in 1891. The house is the only surviving residence of its era on Sherbrooke Street, and one of Quebec's few residential examples of Greek Revival architecture. It was classified as an historical monument and added to the Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec on December 8, 1979.
Susan M. Ross, OAQ, MRAIC, FAPT, is a Canadian architect, educator, and academic who has held positions in multiple Canadian universities and worked nationally and internationally. She is known for her publications and teachings in sustainable Heritage Conservation in Canada. Her research into sustainable heritage conservation is expansive and ranges from understanding historic urban infrastructure landscapes to discerning the intersection of heritage and waste through deconstruction and reuse. Ross was inducted into the College of Fellows of the Association for Preservation Technology in 2013.
Brian Jackson Merrett was a Canadian photographer and architectural activist known for his contributions to the preservation of Montreal's architectural heritage. Through his photographs and actions toward saving threatened buildings, he played an important role in the preservation of Montreal's historic structures, including the Shaughnessy House, which later became the Canadian Centre for Architecture, and the Windsor Station. He was one of the founding members of Heritage Montreal, a Canadian non-profit conservation organization.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
