Hommage à Gérard Paris et Jacques de Blois

In 1976, entrepreneur Gérard (Gerry) Paris and architect Jacques de Blois joined forces to renovate a group of dilapidated buildings on rue du Petit-Champlain, launching a major urban revitalization project. They adopted an approach unique in Canada: restoring the buildings while preserving all traces of the past, even the most recent, then reviving the area by inviting artisans to establish workshops there and settle with their families. By 1983, after work extended to neighboring streets, the Quartier Petit-Champlain contained about thirty homes, shops and workshops, café-restaurants, a theater, and a park. In 1985, organized as a cooperative, artisans and merchants bought the buildings, helping secure the long-term future of this major project for the vitality of Old Quebec.

Quebec · Canada