From Bakery to Condominium
Constructed as the most modern bakery in Montreal, the Harrison Brothers’ POM Bakery opened in September 1930. POM stood for “Pride of Montreal” in English, and “Pain Orgueil de Montreal” in French. In 1985, the bakery had outgrown its capacity at the Glen location, and relocated to more modern quarters in eastern Montreal.
The site was purchased by Ronald Pickering, and in 1988, construction was started on converting the bakery into its present day form as Westmount Park Towers, retaining as much as possible the front architecture of the original POM Bakery.
To this day, Westmount Park Towers is often affectionately referred to as “the POM”.
Interested in learning more? Read the full story below.
Westmount Park Towers
A Brief History
by Laurence Lewin
A plot of land was purchased in 1930 near “The Glen” for $42,500. Architect Sydney Comber, who had designed the Dent Harrison Bakery, was appointed to create the Harrison Brother-owner Bakery. He styled the Spanish-roofed building after the Lyons family in London, which was called Cadby Hall.
The new building was called “POM HALL”. And the word POM was shown with three jolly bakers holding up each letter at the front of the building. POM meant “Pride of Montreal” in English and “Pain Orgueil de Montreal” in French.
Constructed as the most modern bakery in Montreal, the Harrison brothers’ POM Bakery opened on September 22nd, 1930, the first bakery in Montreal to make such a boast. The bakery offered two daring innovations: fist was the use of malt and pure fresh milk in all bread – fifteen gallons of milk to every two barrels of flowers, and second – deliveries totally by motorized vehicles. POM was the first bakery in Montreal to make such a boast. Incidentally, the postal address was always 4680. St Catherine Street and somehow, mysteriously, the address changed to 4700 in 1986.
At the peak of its success, when 300 employees were working at the POM Bakery, the management decided to move to more modern premises in the East end of Montreal and they made the announcement in June, 1985.
By October of that year, The Westmount Examiner published a story stating that the now surplus building was to be sold, and converted into a seniors’ residence and nursing home, and would house 250 older residents.
By December 1985, plans were announced that Westmount developer, Mr. Ronald Pickering was to open a 200-unit seniors’ apartment building, which would open in 1986, and a second phase would open for a further 200 older people by 1988. The initial project would cost $10 million. Mr. Pickering paid the Harrison family approximately $2.5 million for the building and land.
Mr. Pickering stated at the time, that he could have put up condominiums on the site, but he believed that rather than “just make money, there was a need for a seniors’ residence in this area.” It was expected that the name of the new development would be “Westmount Park Village”
As we all know, somehow the original plans changed, and we are now residents of an eighty unit condominium complex – perhaps the nicest one in Montreal.