Downtown St. Albert's history runs deeper than most people realise. Before the First World War, the downtown core was already a bustling hub with a bank, hotels, general stores, farm implement dealers, a blacksmith, liveries, a drugstore, a butcher shop, a clothing store, and restaurants. Housing development followed in the 1940s, layering a residential community onto that commercial foundation.

Perron Street, the spine of Downtown, carries a name with real significance. Originally called Piron Street in honour of the Piron family of France, who donated the bells for the St. Albert Mission, it was renamed in 1967 for Fleuri Perron. Perron opened the first commercial industry in St. Albert, the Perron Brickyard, which provided employment for 20 men and operated until 1932.

Perron's influence on St. Albert stretched well beyond brick. He served on Town Council in 1904, was elected Mayor in 1908, and during his time in office a large flour mill was built in the city. He is also remembered for operating a 30-foot excursion boat on the Sturgeon River and Big Lake in 1912. His home, built in 1901, still stands today on Mission Avenue. Fleuri Perron passed away in St. Albert in August 1931, but his name lives on every time someone walks down the street he helped build.