Churches of Westmount, Qc. – 150 years of History

The early churches in Westmount were missions for congregations from downtown Montreal.

As parishioners moved westward, some churches opened up small venues to accommodate them in the sparsely settled municipality

Westmount Baptiste Church |1923-1924

Baptist work commenced in Montreal with the building of First Baptist Church on St. Helen’s Street in 1831. Montreal Baptist College was founded one year later.

1902, members from First, Oliver and Grace Baptist Churches joined to found Westmount Baptist Church.

Services were initially held in the Queen’s Theatre on St. Catherine Street.

On 1924 the cornerstone was laid where the building presently stands on Sherbrooke St.

St. Matthias Anglican Church, 1857 (1912)                           Anglican Diocese of Montreal

St. Matthias’ Church is a parish within the Anglican Diocese of Montreal, Anglican Church of Canada .

Anglicanism has its origin in England and was introduced into British North America with the establishment of American and Canadian maritime colonies

Many beautiful Parishes now grace the City of Westmount.

Westmount Park United Church, 1929-30                          (Founded c.1885)

In 1885, Methodists built a small, clap-board tabernacle chapel at the corner of what is now de Maisonneuve Blvd. and Lansdowne.

St. Stephen Church, 1903

The Anglican Parish of St. Stephen’s was established in 1848.

Ascension of Our Lord Church, 1926.                                     English Catholic

The Ascention of our Lord has one of the most rare Casavant Organs in the World.

City of Westmount – Heritage Council Study | Value Statements

Houses of Worship

This innovative ongoing project related to the Houses of Worship aims to find new uses for underused portions of the Houses of Worship (community uses or other).

The main objective of this project is to determine an appropriate future for the Houses of Worship in Westmount.

Each church or synagogue within the city has been inventoried and visited by members of the Local Heritage Council (LHC).

A Value Statement (Statement of Significance) is crafted in collaboration with each congregation, to identify the heritage values and their associated character-defining elements (ex. woodwork, stained-glass windows, etc.).

After this information gathering phase is ended, the LHC will provide recommendations to City Council for zoning changes to encourage community and revenue-generating uses, which will be complementary to the religious institution’s mission and acceptable to the surrounding community.

House of Worship

•https://westmount.org/en/heritage-2/houses-of-worship/

• House of Worship – By-laws for a sustainable future (Press release – May 2019)

Plan of new zones around places of worship

• Plan of new zones around places of worship

• Consultation on Westmount’s houses of worship: results of the online survey

• The Houses of Worship Project (Press release – July 2018)

• Planning of the Houses of Worship Project