View of the Merchants Manufacturing/Dominion Textile Building from across the
Lachine Canal. The Merchants Manufacturing Company based in Massachusetts
started building this sprawling complex in 1880. In 1905 Merchants Manufacturing
became Dominion Textile Co. An addition was built across the street at 4035
St-Ambroise in 1899 and a seven story brick warehouse at 3970 St-Ambroise was
constructed in 1906.
I'm not sure if this was part of the Fantasy Club that rented here in the mid-1980's or extra inventory belonging to antique dealers in the building, but it makes for an interesting surprise in an old cotton mill, however this building is full of surprises! see more pictures from SPEK
Montreal Gazette, Sept 22, 1966
The site even has some political history. On 14 July 1966, Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) courier Jean Corbo died from an bomb he was depositing at this site on behalf of the group during a strike. Corbo, a Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf student, was the son of a well-known Outremont notary.
From the 1960's to 1989, the main building buildings was occupied by the Connecticut Leather Company best known to baby boomers as COLECO. COLECO was best known for their tabletop hockey games, ColecoVision video game consoles, Adam home computers, and the Cabbage Patch Kids kids. Some of these products were produced on St-Ambroise Street. In 1989 Coleco went bankrupt and sold out to Hasbro Toys. As late as 2004, if you looked carefully, old Coleco trailers could still be seen strewn along the waterfront.
Employees of Merchants Manufacturing (Dominion Textile) 1905 and maybe the same space in 2004. (Rollover the image with your mouse to see the old view)
Happily the building has been carefully renovated leaving much of the old wood floors and old fixtures intact. Here is a detail of the staircase in the West Wing of the building.
former Merchant Cotton Company (view from across canal) before and after latest renovations, 1990's and 2004. (Parcs Canada)
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