“Inaugurated in 1931, this Art Deco building, a rare style in Montreal, is, of course, located on Île Sainte-Hélène. With a total area of 7,145 square metres, the pavilion has two basements, a ground floor, an upper floor and a mezzanine. Its foundations were built into the side of the bedrock. The building is made of concrete slabs and walls and a system of steel beams and columns. Interestingly, the pavilion roof forms the Section 5 deck of the Jacques Cartier Bridge.” (The Île Sainte-Hélène Pavilion: a treasure from the past, Les Ponts Jacques-Cartier et Champlain)

“Built from 1925 to 1930 at the same time as the Jacques Cartier Bridge, the pavilion was built with two floors that could fit up to 6000 people. Originally designed to hold large social events like exhibits or balls, some people even thought it would be a good place for a museum or a casino.

However, the economic crisis of 1929 changed the pavilion’s fate, as the government ordered a halt to all large-scale projects due to the stock market crash. The pavilion’s fate was therefore put on permanent hold, and the building never even received an official name. Some called it the Île Sainte-Hélène pavilion, while others referred to it as the Jacques Cartier Bridge pavilion. Although the building is currently unoccupied, it has great heritage value for Montrealers.” (Hugh Griffith Jones, Les Ponts Jacques-Cartier et Champlain)

In 2023, archaeological excavations were carried out on the site as part of the pavilion restoration work. However, no plans for occupancy have been determined.