John Little depicts in this work the Petit Champlain district in Quebec City. A prime location in the Old Capital, this street is the oldest in Quebec and in addition to French America. Originally, this street was a gateway to the fountain erected by Samuel de Champlain. This district was very animated until the turn of the last century, where following the decline of port activities, the street of Petit Champlain falls completely disuse. It was only in the late 1970s that the Quebec government undertook a major revitalization of the neighborhood.

John Little painted this work in 1967, when the neighborhood was not yet commercial. At that time, the buildings were mainly residential. The street was not the tourist attraction we know today. By the time the painting was painted by John Little, the name Petit Champlain Street was newly used. Named rue des Meulles under the French regime, the English then nicknamed Little Champlain Street to differentiate with the new Champlain Street along the river. It was only in the 1960s that francophone Quebecers translated this street to  rue du Petit-Champlain.

At the bottom of the composition, John Little painted the "casse-cou'' staircase that connects the lower town to the upper city of Quebec. Sityscpae of Quebec in Winter.

Source: http://www.ameriquefrancaise.org/fr/article-662/Quartier_Petit_Champlain_%C3%A0_Qu%C3%A9bec.html#.WxAXHanA_uQ

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