John Adams, a military surveyor, prepared an exceedingly precise map, showing every building in the city. Its accuracy has been verified by comparing certain details with census information taken the same year. Nevertheless it does contain some discrepancies; for instance, the old parish church had not yet been demolished in 1825, and ought to appear on the Place d'Armes. The suburbs had developed considerably, and now had more inhabitants than the old town. Besides the opening of the Lachine Canal, the most important changes were undoubtedly the demolition of the fortifications, the leveling of the citadel mound and the installation of the garrison on St. Helen's Island. In 1801, a committee was set up by the Legislative Assembly to rule on the fate of the fortifications which had fallen into a very bad state of disrepair and had no further military significance in view of the city's expansion beyond the walls. It was not just the destructive effects of the weather but also depredations by Montrealers, who thought nothing of helping themselves to the stones, which weakened the city walls. Finally in 1817, the committee decided to demolish the walls or what was left of them, and to sell the land thus released. At both ends of the old city, the bastions were replaced by squares: City Councillors' Square (later to become Victoria Square) on the west side and Dalhousie Square to the east. The creation of Dalhousie Square involved leveling the citadel mound and carting the soil a little further to fill in the Champ de Mars. On the site of the walls facing the river, Commissioner's Street was built, making the shore easier to reach. The demolition of the fortifications reduced the distinctions between the old town and the new city.
