Lowertown, Quebec City, 1988

Lowertown, Quebec City - I used to live there! It was a place to live very cheaply - diners would sell five course meals for a couple of bucks, although drug deals would be going on next to you.

The first place on the right is a convenience shop - in Quebec City, these were often called "Accomodations" - on the hand lettered sign in the window, it was shorted to 'Acc. Louis' ( I think). The next shop is a casse-croute (snack bar). 

Here's how it looks today - big change!:

https://www.google.ca/maps/@46.8149097,-71.2238913,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s4j8zxQWuvOF083SEGHWnOQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

This was about the time the Gabrielle Roy library opened - I think it helped to revive the neighbourhood - there used to be few public libraries in the predominantly French speaking areas of Quebec. In 1901, the Catholic Archbishop of Montreal, Paul-Napoléon Bruchési, stopped Montreal from having a library donated by Andrew Carnegie, even after the municipal council accepted it, because books that the church disapproved of would be available.