History of the Belgo
A century-old heritage building
Designed in 1912 and completed in 1913 by architects Finley & Spence, the Belgo Building is part of the Cultural
Heritage of Quebec. The Belgo takes its name from the Belgo Canadian Pulp & Paper Company, a Brussels-based
pulp and paper company whose main mill was located in Shawinigan, seeking to have its headquarters in Montreal.
The luxury department store Scroggie's, established in 1913, was replaced by Almy's in 1915, which remained
at this location until 1922.
Following the exodus of the fur trade district to the Chabanel sector in the 1980s, artists gradually began to settle
in the Belgo, organizing temporary exhibitions, then setting up their studios, eventually converting them into galleries.
Other galleries quickly followed suit, progressively securing the building's reputation as an art hub.
The Return of the Galleries
Belgo's coordination and revitalization efforts, initiated in 2021—through a comprehensive list of exhibitions, followed
with the belgo.art website, designed by Louis-Bernard St-Jean, which presented to the public a bilingual, concise,
up-to-date list summarizing all current exhibitions, and openings—combined with the success of the Rentrées culturelles,
have reaffirmed the Belgo's position as a true hub of contemporary art and an essential cultural pillar of Montreal.
These joint efforts have borne fruit, with the number of galleries more than doubling over the past four years, jumping
from 12 galleries, art centres, and artist studios in 2021, to 28 spaces in 2025.
An International Artistic Reputation
The Belgo Building has an international reputation built over decades—notably as the largest concentration of art
galleries in Canada, and as a hub for contemporary visual arts in Montreal and Canada.
The Belgo remains a renowned tourist attraction, featured in numerous tourist guides for the city of Montreal,
the province of Quebec, and of Canada.
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