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Turcot Bathhouse, 1920s. City of Montreal Archives, VM94-Z409<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
The decision to annex the Town of Saint-Louis to Montreal was made during the summer of 1908; it would come into effect on January 1, 1910. Mayor Napol\u00e9on Turcot decided to use the last months of independence to provide the residents of what would soon become Laurier Ward with one last major civic accomplishment, apart from the Saint-Laurent Boulevard underpass<\/a>: a public bathhouse. He announced his plans at a town council meeting held on August 18, 1908. It was a necessary public health measure, he said, one which would benefit the working-class population, \u201cgiven the great number of homes without bathtubs.\u201d This new, unexpected public expenditure surprised the town councillors, especially since Saint-Louis was heavily in debt. Turcot assured them: \u201cThe project won\u2019t be that expensive, given the coming annexation,\u201d implying that Montreal would absorb the costs.<\/p>\n The Turcot bathhouse on Saint-Dominique Street opened in October 1910. Designed by architect Zotique Trudel, the bathhouse has a Beaux-Arts fa\u00e7ade with an oversized oculus window, like a grand theatre. As such, the building is quite different from the utilitarian architecture used for public baths previously constructed in Montreal (though many other striking bathhouses were built during the following quarter-century). In addition to the bathtubs and showers for hygiene, the building included a pool, where neighbourhood children could take swimming lessons. Like many of the public baths of the time, it was given the name of the local city councillor \u2013 none other than former mayor Napol\u00e9on Turcot, who became the ward councillor after his town was annexed.<\/p>\n In 1937, the bathhouse was renovated from top to bottom at the initiative of city councillor Dave Rochon. It was then renamed in honour of the municipal ward, Saint-Michel (the name of the district, separated from Laurier Ward in 1921, refers to the Irish-Catholic parish of St. Michael the Archangel<\/a>).<\/p>\n