At the time, the neighbourhood was developing around Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Mile End, the former name of Mont-Royal Avenue. ("Mile End" because it was one mile from the city limits.) In 1860, a tollbooth was set up at this intersection to control access by market gardeners from Île Jésus and the areas north of the city. The nearby hotels on Mile End and Park Avenues were reportedly very popular.

Because the neighbourhood was far from the city at that time, it also attracted religious communities wishing to avoid the risk of epidemics. The Soeurs hospitalières, for instance, located their new Hôtel-Dieu hospital on Pine Avenue in the 1860s, which in turn led to middle-class homes being built on Jeanne-Mance, St. Famille and St. Urban Streets.

In 1876, a railway linking Montreal and Saint-Jérôme, and passing by the corner of Bernard Street and Saint-Laurent Boulevard, gave the area a considerable economic boost. The village of Saint-Louis-du-Mile-End was established. The railway also brought quarries, ice warehouses and industries. When Saint-Louis-de-Mile-End was annexed by the City of Montreal in 1909, it numbered 37,000 inhabitants. Its beautiful town hall is still visible today, serving as a fire station at the corner of Laurier Avenue and Saint-Laurent Boulevard.