Bain Généreux, rue Atateken

Bain Généreux on rue Atateken (formerly rue Amherst) in the borough of Ville Marie in Montreal

 

This public bath was inaugurated 31 August 1927 and named for Damase Généreux, a local city councilor and veterinary surgeon. It was originally built in large part for hygienic purposes. However, over the years as baths in private homes became a standard feature, its role shifted to a more purely recreational one. But, that aspect was part of its function even in the beginning, as symbolized by the distinctive relief on the front facade of a man wearing a swimming cap.

 

Bain Généreux remained in operation until 1992 and is now home to Écomusée du Fier Monde. As the Montreal Gazette noted when the museum opened in 1996: “Bain Genereux's eye-catching, yellow-brick facade possesses a grandeur that belies the modest size of the building. This remarkable structure - a quixotic mix of Beaux-Arts classicism with Art-Deco detailing, stamped with architect Joseph-Omer Marchand's own distinctive style, has fortunately survived the changeover without alterations.” Marchand knew his way around French architectural influences; he was the first Canadian architect to graduate from the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. (For the record, he is more commonly referred to as Jean-Omer Marchand.)

 

More from that Gazette article: “The most exacting and interesting work, however, has occurred in the transformation of the large, open pool area which Marchand modeled on a Parisian bath constructed in 1924, the Bain Butte-aux-Cailles. Ribbed with a series of reinforced concrete arches curving upwards to a clerestory 45 feet above the floor, Marchand's design for the hall has been carefully preserved in its essential forms, including the original window and door openings. The space now functions impressively as the museum's main exhibition area.”

 

In her 1999 Master’s thesis on Marchard, Johanne Pérusse notes that the relief of the swimmer is one of several elements that “marks the influence of Art Deco” at a time when the style was arriving in Montreal after the 1925 Art Deco Exhibition in Paris.

 

Another Art Deco connection is with the Montreal Botanical Garden Administration Pavilion of the 1930s, one of the city’s architectural masterpieces. That building’s architect, Lucien Keroack, was a draftsman for Marchand on Bain Généreux. Marchand’s building also keeps company with the fully Deco St. Jacques Market of 1931, located across the street.

 

Until 2019, the street the building is located on was named for Gen. Jeffery Amherst, who conquered French Canada for Britain in the French and Indian War but who is also notorious for the distribution of smallpox infected blankets to Native Americans as a form of biological warfare in an earlier conflict. The new name, Atateken, signifies brotherhood, sisterhood, and equality in Mohawk. Amherst remains the namesake of several places in Canada and the US. In fact before the Généreux name was adopted for this building it was provisionally referred to as the Amherst Public Bath. But, the practice at the time was to name public baths after local politicians; Généreux, which means generous in English, turned out to be a better name. He was known for promoting animal welfare in his work as a vet and leading a milk pasteurization program while in elected office. The Association of Veterinary Physicians of Quebec gives an award in his honor each year.

 

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For information on other Art Deco Gems of Montreal, please see my article for Untapped New York at:

 

untappedcities.com/2019/11/14/a-guide-to-the-art-deco-gem...

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