More than 70 years ago, at the height of the railway era, the landscape of Little Burgundy could not have been more different than it is today. As the terminus of two national trains, land use here was densely packed with industrial, commercial, and residential properties. As the home of Montreal’s englishspeaking Black community, neighourhood organizations such as the NCC, UNIA, and Union United
Church flourished. This history was overhauled by waves of urban renewal in the 1960s. In the span of a decade, the train tracks were removed; residential buildings demolished blocks at a time; and the Ville Marie expressway erected on top of the neighourhood known as Plymouth Grove. The built forms of times past now only exist as ghosts, having formed the urban fabric of today, but invisible to those
unaware. Past Bodies seeks to provide a window into history, to invite residents old and new to glimpse into the previous lives of the neighbourhood and come to an understanding of how the ghosts of industry have shaped, and continue to shape, the landscape of the community today.