Peck Building
Peck Building | |
---|---|
Édifice Peck | |
textile factory | |
Location | Mile End, Montreal |
Address | 5505 Boulevard Saint-Laurent, Montreal, QC H2T 1S6 Canada |
Coordinates | 45°31′34″N 73°35′54″W / 45.52611°N 73.59833°W |
Current tenants | Ubisoft Montreal |
Completed | 1904 |
Cost | $50,000 (equivalent to $1,797,812 in 2023) |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 5 |
Floor area | 251,000 square feet (23,300 m2) |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) |
|
The Peck Building is a repurposed
The workshops were gradually repurposed. The animation software designer
The presence of the Peck Building in the heart of the
John W. Peck Shirt and Clothing Factory
In 1902, John W. Peck (1849-1920), president of the John W. Peck & Co. shirt manufacturer, offered to open a new factory in the city of Saint-Louis (annexed into the city of Montreal in 1910) in exchange for a bonus from the municipality.[1][2][3] At the time, John W. Peck & Co. was the second-largest clothing manufacturer in Montreal, where the company was headquartered.[1] On 13 May 1903, Peck signed the contract for a five-story red brick building costing $50,000 (equivalent to $1,797,812 in 2023).[1]
Supposedly completed in the spring of 1904, the Peck Building is located in the
In 1907, Peck submitted a request for an expansion of the factory, with the goal of increasing its workforce to 800.[1] Despite local opposition to further subsidization from the city, the new wing along Rue Saint-Dominique was approved and financed.[1] Costing $135,000 (equivalent to $3,350,156 in 2023), it was one of the largest construction projects of 1912 in Montreal.[1] It opened in 1913.[1]
In 1916, 415 workers of John W. Peck & Co. went on strike to protest reduced wages and an alleged breach of contract. They obtained a pay raise and better working conditions.[1] Another strike in 1925 was less successful: the 181 striking workers were fired and replaced.[1] On 26 May 1920, John W. Peck died from a heart disease.[1]
Building subdivision
Beginning in the 1930s, the Peck Building was subdivided between multiple tenants, mostly other clothing manufacturers.[1] Rothstein Pants occupied the top floors of the building for 45 years.[1] In the 1950s, at least two workers died in elevator shaft accidents: in 1950, 16-year-old Jean-Claude Lamoureux was crushed to death under an elevator and in 1953, 26-year-old Jean Paul Pierson mistakenly stepped into an empty shaft and fell.[5][6] That same decade, John W. Peck & Co. ceased activities.[1]
Between 1964 and 1973, numerous large concrete buildings were built in the Peck's surroundings, housing hundreds of clothing manufacturers and contributing to make the Mile End one of the most important sectors for textile in Canada.[1] The textile industry was then the largest employer in Montreal.[1]
With the rise of
Ubisoft Montreal
In the mid-1990s, Quebec lobbyist Sylvain Vaugeois convinced
Ubisoft Montreal grew rapidly.[11] In 2000, it had 350 employees.[9] That decade, it released successful franchise-spanning games such as Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (2002), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003), Far Cry (2004) and Assassin's Creed (2007).[9][12] American competitors followed Ubisoft to Montreal, including Electronic Arts in 2004 and Warner Bros. Games in 2008, making the city a gaming capital.[13][12] In 2009, Ubisoft Montreal had 1900 employees, making it the largest video game studio in the world.[12] In 2013, it employed workers of 55 nationalities.[13]
The company grew into occupying all five floors, or 251,000 square feet (23,300 m2), of the Peck Building.[10] In 2011, it considered moving its headquarters to other neighbourhoods of Montreal.[14] CEO Yannis Mallat eventually decided against it, citing the quality of life in the Mile End and an "emotional attachment" to the Peck Building as key factors.[14] Ubisoft and the Peck's owner invested millions of dollars in the building's renovation, including the modernization of its plumbing and air conditioning and the reimagining of its interior design.[14] The company later released other successful games such as Watch Dogs (2014) and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege (2015).[15] In 2022, it was still the largest gaming studio in the world, with more than 4000 staff.[15]
Ubisoft Montreal is the largest employer in the Mile End, as was John W. Peck & Co. a century before.[1] Its presence in the Peck Building has been credited with the significant redevelopment of the neighbourhood.[10]
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Wagner, Valérie (21 November 2016). "Édifice Peck". Mémoire du Mile End (in French). Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- ^ a b c Historical Buildings Committee (6 February 1984). "33 PRINCESS STREET : PECK BUILDING" (PDF). legacy.winnipeg.ca. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- ^ Lovell's Montreal Classified Business Directory. Lovell. 1908. p. 330. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- Montreal Gazette. 15 March 1950. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- Montreal Gazette. 30 April 1953. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- ^ a b Avery, Simon (12 September 2006). "A company saved, a culture cast away". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- ^ a b Mercure, Philippe (31 May 2007). "Ubisoft est arrivée dans l'enthousiasme et la controverse". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g Brousseau-Pouliot, Vincent (15 July 2012). "L'heureux malentendu à l'origine d'Ubisoft". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d Brousseau-Pouliot, Vincent (15 July 2012). "Au coeur de la renaissance du Mile-End". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- ^ Bennessaieh, Karim (8 July 2017). "Ubisoft, deux décennies de transformation". La Presse+ (in French). Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- ^ a b c Hurt III, Harry (7 February 2009). "Turning Whimsy Into a Video Classic. Maybe". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- ^ a b Kelly, Caitlin (27 April 2013). "Where the Artists Are the Superheroes". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- ^ a b c Bergeron, Maxime (22 June 2011). "Ubisoft a envisagé Laval... mais reste dans le Mile End". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- ^ a b Dupuis, Stéphanie (8 October 2022). "25 ans de succès vidéoludiques pour Ubisoft Montréal". Radio-Canada (in French). Retrieved 29 April 2024.