There’s nothing left of the nearly 125-year-old building that stood on the grounds of Collège Sainte-Anne just a few months ago.
In late April, a fire tore through part of the elementary school, gutting the cafeteria, the administration offices and some classrooms.
The building was originally home to the Royal Montreal Golf Club when it was constructed back in 1896 and then Queen of Angels Academy in the late 1950s.
“When the images circulated online of the school on fire, there was a pretty big uproar amongst the alumna,” said Jennifer Frezza, of the Queen of Angels Alumni Association.
“There was a lot of crying, a lot of sadness — it was a bit of history that was erased.”
Though the tragedy hit home for a lot of people, today, Collège Sainte-Anne is business as usual.
After spending the summer renovating, the elementary school welcomed students and staff on time, at the end of August.
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But they have big plans on the horizon.
They hope to rebuild their elementary school, alongside the high school over the next few years.
“It will be Collège Sainte-Anne prèscolaire et primaire and high school,” said Veronique Lemieux-Boyer, the principal of the elementary school.
“It will be a campus — it will be a home — for students, staff and the community.”
By integrating the community, many hope they will also be incorporating the site’s past.
“I think the building has to sort of recognize that in the past it was that (golf club). With the time, it became a school, Queen of Angels, then Collège Sainte-Anne.”
The school says that’s exactly what they plan to do.
They’ll pay tribute to the institutions that were there before them, both in and outside of their new building.
“We’ll never forget Queen of Angels and Montreal golf club,” said Lemieux-Boyer. “It’s because of them we’re here.”
The school says construction of their new campus is set to begin in the spring.
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