5. Police and Fire Stations

Police and Fire Station 23

New Art Deco police and fire stations were another part of Montreal’s public works response to the Depression. Ludger Lemieux designed Police and Fire Station 23 (1931), another distinctive building with a tower, which also features reliefs by Joseph Guardo apropos to the building uses.

Police and Fire Station 10

Located close to downtown, Police and Fire Station 10 (1932) by Harold Edgar Shorey and Samuel Douglas Ritchie has a restrained limestone facade. A relief depicts symbols of Montreal: ships, a church dome, and, the pièce de résistance, an Art Deco skyscraper.

Police and Fire Station 48

Emmanuel-Arthur Doucet demonstrated his mastery of brickwork and stone trim, which he later executed on a larger scale at the Montreal Botanical Garden, with Police and Fire Stations 31 and 48 (both 1931) and Police Station 41 (1932). Ironically, the Unemployment Commission occupied Station 48 after its completion and the fire department only moved into its intended area in 1948.

Police and Fire Station 31

Police Station 41

Today, these Art Deco stations are still used by the Fire Department, though the police spaces are now occupied by stores and community organizations.

Police and Fire Station 23 Reliefs

Police and Fire Station 23: Tower

Police and Fire Station 10: Bas-relief