New City Gas

The New City Gas building sits in the heart of Griffintown, recognizable by its jagged, saw-toothed roofline and heavy, dark limestone walls. Constructed in eighteen fifty-nine, this facility once processed coal to provide gas lighting for the entire city of Montreal. Workers shoveled mountains of coal into furnaces here, creating the gas that flowed through underground pipes to illuminate neighborhood streets and private homes. The site eventually ceased operations in the mid-twentieth century, leaving behind this cavernous, blackened industrial shell.