Hôtel-de-Ville Street

The building in the foreground is Farnham's first town hall built in 1872. The public market was at street level with the town hall above it.

The Princess Theater used to be a little further on, on an adjacent street.

La Bolduc appeared in Farnham on at least three occasions in the 1930s, including once at the Princess Theater in 1932 where she gave two performances.For a sum of 35 or 50 cents, you could attend the spectacle of the famous jigger, who was very popular throughout French-speaking North America.

The Rialto entered into operation in June 1946 and was destroyed by fire in 1982. It was the last cinema established in the Town of Farnham.

Photo : Poster announcing an evening reminiscent of the good old days with Madame Édouard Bolduc, Jean Grimaldi, Simone Roberval, Boniface, Narcisse and Paméla at the Princess Theatre in Farnham.

Source : Musée de la Gaspésie. Fonds Madame Édouard Bolduc.

Another poster advertising a Madame Bolduc show at the Princess Theater in Farnham.

Source : Musée de la Gaspésie. Fonds Madame Édouard Bolduc.

Our oldest poster announcing a Madame Bolduc show presented at the Princess Theater in Farnham.

Source : Musée de la Gaspésie. Fonds Madame Édouard Bolduc.

NARRATOR (female voice)
In front of you, you can see the rue de l’Hôtel-de-Ville, which has been known by this name since 1953. It was renamed three different times before being given the name it goes by today. Since 1822, this street was known as rue Foster, then rue Dépôt and later Rue de la Gare. These designations seem, however, never to have been officialized by the City of Farnham. The justification for this new appointment states:

NARRATOR (male voice)
“This street takes us from the rue Principale to the Canadian Pacific Railway train station and passes mainly by properties belonging to the City of Farnham, notably the town hall. Therefore, the street previously known as Rue de Dépôt will from now on be called rue de l’Hôtel-de-Ville.”

NARRATOR (female voice)
In July 1911, a violent fire started inside a building neighbouring town hall. Since most of these buildings were primarily made of wood, the fire spread quickly.

Because of the magnitude of the flames, it became necessary to call for reinforcements from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Sherbrooke, and even Montréal. Can you imagine the great metropolis fire fighters arriving here by train?

NARRATOR (male voice)
The scene was a total disaster; several buildings were destroyed by the flames: town hall, the Wonderland Theater, many stores and businesses, hotels, as well as private residences.
In the area that burned, only the Eastern Townships Bank (ETB), the Montcalm Hotel and the Maison Meigs were spared. These buildings are still standing today.

NARRATOR (female voice)
A little further down the street, on your left, you’ll also notice the Ruelle des Théâtres referring to the four theatres that succeeded each other on this same space, the Wonderland, replaced by the Princesse, then the Cavalcade, and finally the Rialto.