Saturday, November 15, 2008

The Pavillon - New Discovery

Going through our archives (SHGV) today I found this photo in the June 19th 1931 Guardian of the inside of the Pavillon. I've been looking for such a photo for a long time . I saw this bnuilding in my youth and I did'nt realise how big it was. This is a big addition to our archives. I am including other related photos.
Guy
 
 
 

18 comments:

les__f MSN said...

Terrific find there Guy,.....it must be neat to look through all the different collections at SHGV........ Up until a year or so ago We couldn't dind many pictures of the Pav,.otherthan the one you've posted a few times from 'cessnakid's photo album,......of the gang in front of the Pav. He also posted some wrtiiten info along with that photo. All you Verdunites who were wondering what the Verdun Pavillion looked like in 1947. This is the V.P. Football team, remember the nickel cokes and the ten cent hot dogs, as long as you remember to go home when the lights come on. In the middle of the front row is Sonny Starke. He was behind Marty Lacey the day of the fatal accident.Sonny got banged up pretty bad. In the middle of the second row is Vernon Roberts.another J Roger. The first player in the second row beside the waitress is yours truly. The Pavillion sponsored our team and supplied sweaters, of course it was free cokes and hot dogs on game day.The man on the left was the owner of the Pav.Restaurant he looked like he would have made a good funeral director.The man on the right in white was a counterman.I see big Al Swinton in the back sitting on the counter, and Roddy Brousseau in the front row.I thought we ball players were the only ones to call Woodland Park ,Concrete Downs. J&J sure sold a lot of Band Aids after one of our games.    ...............Thanks Again to 'cessnakid' for getting the Pav ball rolling...........................& f course Thanks to all the other pics we've found............................have fun & remember Verdun

onesmac0 MSN said...

Les did you say you were the guy beside the waitress.......you were pretty cute.
What year was that?
I don't think I was too old then for I don't remember hot dogs being 10 cents.
Smac

football19610 MSN said...

Hey Les:   What category was that team? i.e., Bantam, Midget, Juvenile,etc?   Also, was it 8 -man football or 12 man?   George

les__f MSN said...

Hi onesmac no it's not me beside the waitress, although I have over the years often been seen near one.........hahahahaha The Photo was from 'CessnaKid's ) album & He's in the photo his name is Stan .    How's the transit -biz going these days, I heard on the radio here someone mentioning that some of the newer bus;'s are a different colour scheme ( aside from the red/whit/blue) and they resemble the old days when Hydro owned the transit copmany,apprently it's their old colours???                                                                HF&RV  

les__f MSN said...

Hi George ,.I don't know what category/level of play this was,or the number of players on the team in those days,.That question may be answered by some of the guys on the team,.maybe Stan (who posted this photo originally,will see this post & could answer for us)                       CessnaKid / Stan are you out there ?                                                                                   HF&RV      Also another helpful person to ask would be Miles Liddell           AKA:   'Coach Bim'  he knows alot about Verdun Sports History ..and may have the answer to this question also.                    Coack Bim / Miles  are you out there ?

guy5479 MSN said...

It would be interesting to hear from someone who actually went to those dances at the Pavillon and who can give us interesting facts about their experiences. These persons would be over the 70s today. Also like to know about the orchestras and  musicians who played there. We already know that Billy Monroe played there with his orchestra but I would like to have confirmation that Maynard Ferguson played there as I heard that he started playing the trumpet at 15. We already heard from one VC member who's father played the saxophone in the band. I am documenting all these historical facts for our archives. Guy

kw10110 MSN said...

Iam pretty sure we were 12 players per team.   Ken

les__f MSN said...

Hi Guy  a few generations did dance in there,but from the mid50's to '68 it was generally the jukebox palying the tunes, but I would think that any of teh people who did catch the live shows there ,also danced in Woodhall ( the old CHVL building beside the lane on Gordon,....     Maybe some of the members will mention this to their older siblings or parents ? & be able to help you with the info your looking for,.I wonder if there was any kind of 'permits' required ,that would have been issued by the City of Verdun ,although I suspect it would only be one permit ,that being a business licence of course,.but you never know maybe they had to list the bands that would be playing in there,as it was public property & leased out.  Good luck       HF&RV

les__f MSN said...

Guy I'm not certain ,but I remember the book called 'City Unique' and it seems to me that some you may find some interesting facts about Montreal & maybe some of the bands that played the area. Seeing nightlife is featured in the book as well as other details of Montreal...... It may be worth having a look, I would think the SHGV has a copy of this book.here's some details to help you find it: William Weintraub.
City Unique: Montreal Days and Nights in the1940's and '50's. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Inc., 1996, 332 pages, $32.50, cloth. ISBN 0-7710-8891-0   .................................................................................HF&RV

kw10110 MSN said...

There was a band leader during the 40s by the name of David, pronounced in French. I do not remember his first name but I think he lived around Woodland and Wellington. This might stir someones memory and remember some more memories.

les__f MSN said...

We can't forget this great Verdun picture from 'mags' Margo's Memory's photo album  It's a perfect shot from behind the Pav & the old stairs leading to the boardwalk which ran directly Btwn: the Pav & the back of the old Bandshell,                                Thanks Again for this photo .HF&RV

fresco750 MSN said...

Hi Guy, I was seven years old when 1950 arrived but in the book "City Unique: Montreal Days and Nights in the 1940s and '50s" by William Weintraub it ststes that the Johnny Holmes Orchestra was very popular in Montreal during the forties. Johnny's Orchestra played a lot at The Pavilion and at Victoria Hall in Westmount. Maynard Ferguson and Oscar Peterson were both in Johnny's Orchestra for parts of the forties. Maynard joined the orchestra at age 16. Although the book does not state that Maynard played at the Pavilion I would tend to think that he must have. Maynard was from Verdun, Oscar from St Henri-Walter

fresco750 MSN said...

Hi Guy, I was seven years old when 1950 arrived but in the book "City Unique: Montreal Days and Nights in the 1940s and '50s" by William Weintraub it states that the Johnny Holmes Orchestra was very popular in Montreal during the forties. Johnny's Orchestra played a lot at The Pavilion and at Victoria Hall in Westmount. Maynard Ferguson and Oscar Peterson were both in Johnny's Orchestra for parts of the forties. Maynard joined the orchestra at age 16. Although the book does not state that Maynard played at the Pavilion I would tend to think that he must have. Maynard was from Verdun, Oscar from St Henri-Walter

guy5479 MSN said...

Les, WOW, fantastic, I now have the boardwalk side,  part of the street side and the inside of the Pavillon. Amazing , you never know what will turn up when you do research. Thanks a lot Les, your determination sure pays off. I will continue to search in the old Guardians at our society and I no doubt will make other interesting discoveries. Guy

guy5479 MSN said...

Fresco, I will see if we have that book, City Unique in our archives. There are many adds in the old Guardians showing advertisements for the Pavillon also on the Wood Hall wich had dancing there as well. Of course, we all know that Wood Hall then became CKVL radio Station on Gordon street.. Guy  

les__f MSN said...

Hello Guy I wonder if Wood Hall also showed any movies ? Like the Bandstand did,.this would bring us right up to the amount of 7 theaters in Verdun, that you said was advertised..... They may have being a well known spot for people to gather,and it did have a stage in there too. Just a Thought !!                                                                                      HF&RV

fresco750 MSN said...

Guy, How I miss CKVL. I especially liked the CKVL Request & Dedication Show on Friday and Saturday Overnights. What a great Radio Station-Fresco

fresco750 MSN said...

Les, If you think about how life was back in the forties and fifties we really had it all. We lived in the best place on earth. I have yet to see any other kids anyplace else have as great a hometown as we did. The thrill of sneaking in to a Movie Theater at age 13 was fantastic. The age 16 rule kept us kids quiet once we got in to the movie. We didn't want to get thrown out. In other places in Canada kids would be noisy in theaters. There's no place like home and we had the best-Fresco