One of Montreal’s most iconic greenhouses closes

One of Montreal's most iconic greenhouses is closing – the Concordia greenhouse. This greenhouse has existed on the roof of the Henry F. Hall Building in Concordia University's downtown campus since 1966. After more than 50 years, the greenhouse will be closing its doors. The reason for its closure is due to renovations in the Hall building to remove asbestos from the drywall. This requires the greenhouse to be temporarily moved alongside many plants. However, many plants can't make the move and will have to be dismembered, including a decades old prickly pear cactus.

Outreach and Communications Coordinator Dominique Smith spoke with Local 514 about the move, why the Concordia greenhouse is one of Montreal's most important greenhouses and how greenhouses benefit Montreal.

Smith says the greenhouse brought people across communities, even outside of the Concordia community. "We all learned a lot of what we learned about plants from the greenhouse," he said. He said the Concordia Greenhouse offered a lot of services to the Montreal community, including houseplant rentals, houseplant sales, hydroponic workshops, merging artwork with plants and offering internships for youth.

He cited the seedling sale as an important event the Concordia Greenhouse would host. Smith said this is a low cost and sometimes free source of seedlings which allow Montrealers to purchase seedlings to create their own garden. He said a lot of people would come for the seedling sale, including older people, even former graduates, who would bring their children.

He says the Concordia greenhouse has a place in many peoples heart. He recounted a story where a visiter to the greenhouse pointed at the wood structured pot containing the prickly pear cactus and said he had built it in the 60's.