At the time, Villeray was surrounded by quarries that provided material for the construction of many of the buildings in the area, as well as for several of the city's major landmarks.

The original Jarry Farm covered 64 arpents (approximately 22 hectares, or 54 acres) and stretched as far north as the present-day Metropolitan (highway 40), south to Villeray St., east to St-Hubert and west to Foucher.

Presently the district of Villeray is enclosed between Avenue Casgrain in the west, Boulevard Jean-Talon in the south, Rue Garnier in the east and the Metropolitan (highway 40) to the north.

From 1915 to 1930, Villeray saw a boom which brought with it the need for schools, churches, a public bath and a fire station, built at the corner of Jarry and St-Hubert in 1912.

This in turn, along with the new Université de Montréal campus in the neighbouring Park Extension, has caused gentrification issues to affect the area gradually and steadily since around 2010.