Geographic Coordinates:
45.503863250909, -73.56879683910705
Beginning in about 1840, rich merchants like Thomas Phillips (1771-1842) a construction entrepreneur and city councillor, sub-divided rural properties in what is now downtown Montreal, creating a suburban neighbourhood for the wealthy.
When Phillips died in 1842, his widow donated the park to be used as a memorial to her late husband, writes historian and former Gazette journalist Alan Hustak in Downtown Montreal: An Opinionated Guide to the City’s Squares, Churches, & Underground City (Vehicule Press, 2004).
Source: Scott, Marian“Redesigned Phillips Square will be forested oasis, Montreal mayor says : The square will have 75 trees, up from just a dozen now, under a renovation plan announced by Mayor Valérie Plante on Tuesday. “ The Montreal Gazette, January 22, 2019. ( Source: https://bit.ly/3zG7dwa )
The square has undergone changes, since its inception with a renovation in 1995. The square became a hub for commercial enterprises. Such as Henry Birks & Sons, established in 1879 and moving to this location two years later.
Directly across from Phillips Square stands the Henry Morgan Building, which housed the Canadian department store colloquially known as Morgan’s; which Henry Morgan founded in 1845. It is now the flagship store of the Hudson’s Bay Company a large Canadian merchant. To the south of the square, behind the Memorial to King Edward VII, on Cathcart Street, stands the Canada Cement Company building built in 1922. This building was the first one in Montreal to have an under ground parking garage. If you are interested in the history of the automobile in Montreal here is a little venture into the past from the city's archives:, in French: https://bit.ly/3A4DmO9
It has only been during its latest renovation in a two-year 50-million dollar project that the square acquired the small installation of water jets. These jets will add a nice touch once all the trees added to the square’s renovation become more mature, the square will definitely become more of an oasis in the centre of our city.
The project is part of a municipal plan to green the downtown core. Montreal’s Mayor Valérie Plante, said during the inauguration of the renovated square on Monday June 27, 2022: “Our objective is to make downtown Montreal the greenest downtown in North America!”
The square now has an aqueous element where none has existed since Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau shut down Montreal’s public rest rooms for a number of dubious reasons. From claims they were gambling dens to places for sexual encounters, though their closure was most likely a cost-cutting measure.
The public restrooms were part a make work project during former Montreal Mayor Camillien Houde in the mid-1930s.
From this archival photograph from the Conrad Poirier collection at the Bibliothèque et Archives National du Québec one can clearly see sets of steps descending underground on the east and west sides of the square. The photograph was taken from the 17th floor of the University Tower Building on June 9, 1937.
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Virtual Montreal Fountain Tours is released weekly, on Thursdays, with a short appearing on Mondays.
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