Saturday Photo: A City is a Palimpsest

Once upon a time, the Plateau district of Montreal was on the edge of town, in the country in fact. The house on the left bears witness to that nearly-countrified past. It is now in the heart of the action, but still boasts the graceful galleries that made summer here liveable particularly on the edge of town.

But after the Plateau became the center of the economic action, many houses were built for the workers who lived not far from the places they were employed. Some small manufacturers even provided (for a fee, of course) housing right next to the work place. These houses--now nearly all gentrified--once were homes to people who worked in a nearby bottle factory.