UQÀM – St-Denis Street near Ste-Catherine, Montréal, Québec

The Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM) is a French-language university and is the largest constituent element of the Université du Québec (UQ), a public university system. UQÀM was created on April 9, 1969 by the Government of Quebec, following the merger of the École des beaux-arts de Montréal, the collège Sainte-Marie and three colleges.

In mid 1970, construction on UQAM's campus began in the Saint-Jacques neighbourhood. The old St. Jacques Church was condemned and the worshipers were moved to the Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes. The architect of the university, Dimitri Dimakopoulos, chose to graft the new construction around the wall of the nave of the church overlooking Saint Catherine Street and highlighting the bell tower and its gateway. These remains are classified as historic monuments by the Quebec government. The new campus of UQAM was inaugurated in September 1979.