Saint-Roch, Quebec City

Saint-Roch is a neighbourhood in the borough of La Cité in Quebec City, Canada. Once a working-class neighbourhood, it has been redeveloped in recent years.

Saint-Roch was first settled in 1620 by the Recollects, who built a small church dedicated to Saint Roch. Today the Église Saint-Roch is the largest in Quebec City. Later, a few houses were built near what is now the Gare du Palais. In the first half of the 19th century, Saint-Roch was a shipbuilding site. Later, the district saw the development of retail and manufacturing activity. From the mid-19th century to the 1960s, the rue Saint-Joseph was the principal commercial street in Quebec City. In the 1960s, with shoppers attracted to suburban shopping centres, a good part of the street was covered with a roof of concrete and plexiglass in 1974. Demolition of this mall began in the 1990s and was finished in 2007 which led to increased commercial activity. Since the year 2000, 380 million dollars have been invested in the district to renovate and reconstruct most of the buildings in rue Saint-Joseph.