WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBOURHOODST-ZOTIQUE WEST

In 1992, I was looking for a studio space. I found an abandoned factory through a source connected to the Oboro Gallery in Montreal: 202 Saint-Zotique West, once had housed a commercial printer, then The Lawson Lithographing And Folding Box Company moved out of the area and a new owner, a dentist, took its place. The dentist had big dreams of converting the once thriving factory into a creative hub for a dying industrial neighbourhood known as, Marconi-Alexandra. He along with his sales representative took me on a tour of this giant, over 202,000 square feet, structure! It was almost empty, except for a few rag-tag small businesses. I was struck by the beauty of the concrete columns, standing like centurions along a vast concrete floor bordered by windows covered over with plastic. As we toured the building’s inside, it was obvious 202 St-Zotique was indeed on the cusp of renewal.

 After some negotiation I signed a lease on a 1200 square foot space on the 3rd floor. My studio would encompass a corner view, overlooking Jeanne-Mance & St-Zotique streets. It was hard to visualize because the post-industrial feel still inhabited the building’s character. How would my studio look? One funny detail and part of the bargain was that I supply my own toilet and bathtub! I have lived there ever since.

 It took over 2 months to complete my space and in June of 1992, I finally moved into a new reality. It was challenging being in a building with no lights or neighbours. By day, construction workers were busy on other studios, come night-time however, it was deserted except for a strange caretaker who seemed to live at the end of the 3rd floor, over a 100 yards away.

 One evening after 9pm, I heard a strange noise. I thought it must be part of the building’s character, perhaps coming from outside my 8 foot high windows? The noise sounded like a muffled tap, tap, tapping on the floor. Over the evening, it increased in volume, echoing throughout the vast unoccupied floor. 

At times, it seemed to be just outside my door then, would move around the dark corner of the 3rd floor. In my imagination, an individual had broken into the building and was now walking about banging a steel bar on the concrete floors and walls for fun. I telephoned a friend in a state of absolute fear. As the noise persisted over the next few hours, he tried to persuade me to just run for it down the dark open space to the exit and safety. His efforts were in vain however, since I was having nothing of this idea. By 11pm the noise kept reverberating, so I finally called the police. 

The outside door onto the street was locked at night, so the police had no way to enter the building. When they arrived underneath my window, I called out to alert them that I was up here! I was hanging out of my window. I threw keys down from my 3rd floor studio, a 45 foot drop onto the sidewalk. Two burly cops eventually arrived a few minutes later at my front door, flashlights in hand. I explained the loud noise that seemed to be coming from out there, pointing to the dark space. A few minutes later they returned with the culprit. 

While working on my neighbour’s studio space, workers had forgotten to secure the door. They had also left the windows wide open. It was the wind that was causing the door to flap intermittently, making the mysterious noise. Inside my mind, it became the stranger inside the building! The cops did a tour of my brand new studio space. When they walked down the long hallway, one of them knocked on the walls, and said “Artist hmmm... you may want to secure your door, Miss.”

 A couple of months later more brave artists, mostly women moved onto the floor thus cementing an artist’s community from inside, for years to come.

Frances Foster

Local Artist

Co-Founder of Les AmiEs du Parc des Gorilles