Sciences Participating with Arts & Culture in Education

Transforming the Griffin

trans•for•ma•tion

Noun- a thorough or dramatic change in form or appearance, as in "its landscape has undergone a radical transformation."

Synonyms - change, alteration, mutation, conversion, metamorphosis, transfiguration, transmutation.

Above are the results I found after typing in a search inqury into the long grey rectangle which occupies a tiny place at the top end of my tablet, yet seems to hold all the answers. All it took was a "define Transformation" and there, my friends, arrived our definition.

Though this word won't be the main focuse of our article, but instead will act as a thin foundation for a series of articles I plan to write.

My article won't be on the etymology of the word TRANSformation– as facinating as that subject could be. Neither will we be looking at grander topics which would seemingly try to tackle the constant flux and unrest of our little planet, such as the transformation of our earth's environment, or the transformation of our everyday lives with the advent of robotics, or even the transformation of global power in our constanstly changing world. No, those topics seem to be too grand for me at the moment. Instead I'll be focusing on a topic which is much closer to me. That is the grey, dreary, paradise– of Griffintown.

Located in the South-West of Montreal, its southern most part bordering the Lachine Canal, and cut off to the north by rue Notre-Dame. Well known to be a working class, Irish, neighbourhood. Or at least that's what it once was. A trendy, up and coming neighbourhood might be a more fitting description now for the once old, decaying, industrial area of a temporarily forgotten piece of Montreal.

Overflowing condos have slowly replaced the abandoned factories. Lower class locals have slowly been replaced by ambitious youngsters. New businesses are looking to uplift a once poor, empty but interesting wasteland. Griffintown has been churning out new restaurants, boutiques, and bars. All new d evelopments, which seemingly attract a new, young, urban, and increasingly professional crowd. These developers seem to know what they're doing.

However, there's one thing that's not been mentioned. Griffintown isn't just another part of Montreal for me: it's the neighbourhood I grew up in. Raised in an isolated loft, on an unknown street called L'aqueduc, I haven't just heard of Griffintown's transformation; I've experienced it. I've grown as it's changed. It's evolved as I've matured.

This series of articles won't be an impartial take on that transformation but a personal one, likely to hit notes of nostalgia and longing, one hand reaching back into the past while I also keep an eye on the future. This article will pay tribute to the changing, industrial wasteland that has been my home.