With the economic crisis, the neighborhood was transformed and lost its prestige. The French-Canadian bourgeoisie moved to Outremont in the 1920s and institutions such as the Université de Montréal (1940s), the École des Hautes Études Commerciales and the École Polytechnique (1958) were transferred to the other side of the mountain. The area was more or less maintained and rooming houses now occupied the sumptuous Victorian residences.
In the early 1970s, under the leadership of Mayor Jean Drapeau, the neighborhood was given a new life with the installation of the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and the Cégep du Vieux Montréal.
The construction of the central campus downtown reflects the desire to develop a popular and accessible university.
The student and cultural aspect of the area, with its bistros, boutiques, and restaurants, is reborn!
The Berri-UQÀM station (1966), with one of its exits on Saint-Denis Street, is one of the major junctions in Montreal’s underground network, at the intersection of three metro lines.
