hello im looking for some old photos of the boardwalk ? i was told that there was wood planks all along there and i would love to see it 
THANKS for stopping by, I do my best to acknowledge when someone leaves a comment,you do not have to be a member here & everyone is welcome. Ps: This site is monitored but not actively posting on a regular basis. Mostly these are stories & some photos saved from a defunct site known as Verdun Connections which was on MSN Groups initially then on a social network called Multiply.
57 comments:
Here' you go lllllllfranticlllllll : I'll find some more and post them up when I can
Here's another I came across : Just found these too
wow ty thats amazing .my father was telling me about it for so long .ty so much i love looking at old ics of verdun
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very nice souvenir..to keep....wonder what year that
was...
John
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Good morning, Everyone: Does anybody know when the city dismantled the boards on the boardwalk and cemented it? Jack
I do not know the exact year but it was around the mid 40s
Just a little story about ,building the Boardwalk, these were all make work projects,during the 30's,........as to when they lifted the ctual 'boards' and paved the boardwalk,(I'm not sure) I will try to find out more about it's history,....perhaps Guy, would have access to old building permits ,or City of Verdun ,city yards work projects,....this may show when the city worked on the removal of the planks ??? they may have kept these records: However here's that story,I mentioned: What is needed is a return to the spirit that won us our victories in the past,
a spirit I will illustrate by telling a story an old-time Verduner told me
about being unemployed back in the Depression days.
Some guys on relief were working on the construction of the Verdun
boardwalk with pick and shovel, under the direction of a foreman who was
a relative of the mayor. The foreman was a bossy guy, always pushing the
workers to work harder and faster. So the guys talked to him, told him to
lay off because, after all, they were only working for their relief cheque.
But the foreman wouldn't listen. So one day, six of the workers grabbed
the foreman, shoved him into the tool chest, then rolled it down the
embankment, with him in it. "After that," said my friend, "the foreman
was just sweet as sugar.
..........if you want to read the whole transcript,then you can check it out @ http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/archives/Nov98/0018.html
It was not in the 40s, i think it was more in the 50s I will try to find out. Guy.
Hello Guy ,I was thinking along those lines as well,......Every picture I come across though seems to show pavement and most of the pictures were in the 50's but I was also trying to figure out what the lifespan of the original palnks would be ,.if laid in the 30's would tehy last 20 years?? Depending on the preservatives they treated the planks with,....I would think (assumming they were never replaced 'en masse') they might have lasted 10 years,....So the late 40's would be possible: I Hope you can find some info from the library archives,......Good Luck maybe we can also ask also ,that if any of our members have an old Boardwalk Photo,...that they can post them for us to see.......
I remember my father telling me that during the war
,they would not let him join because he had 9
children,( 7 girls, twin set of boys).He ended up
helping to buildng community projects and he was
part of it.
wow now i think ill be a nice boss monday when i roll into work
Yes llllfranticlllll I had to laugh when i read that story too!! Nothing like a ride in a rolling down the embankment to the river,locked inside a tool chest............hahahahahah
Well based on the year of that Front Page Photo,(45 ?),..Seems to support KW1727, thoughts that the boards did disappear sometime in the 40's, So early 40's wouldn't be out of the question I guess,.....Now we need to find a picture from the late 30's, or early 40's.............We must have some that old around,.I will look through my photo's here,....and maybe some of you out there can search those old shoebox's full of pictures one more time,.....
Hey that picture also shows those old Double (side by side ) ice cream cones,....I Remember those , Have a look at the two little girls, Mariette & Gisele,.........and if you look close enough ,it looks like they are holding one of those ice creams............ Remember we talked about those quite some time ago.........That's what is so great about old pictures ,(any old pictures) they can remind us of even the little things we had in our past,............ I hope we get a whole bunch more members ,who post any picture of Verdun/Montreal,or just growing up,..anf we may find somemore neat things,...We really have very similar upbringings,.....we all played in the parks,.lanes ,.schoolyards,streets.....etc etc. and we enjoyed some of the same treats as kids too,.........Ice Cream ,Fries,..Soft Drinks,..then later on Soft ice cream too///////////...................Great old picture ,...Thanks Guy for sharing that one
The only clue I had of the time frame the boards were replaced was I was just a young teenager in the 40s and I used to see the man across the street , who was a stone mason, cutting the stones to shape the pillars to hold the railings. I still dont know the exact year.
Les-F The photo you are referring to in my picture album of my sisters was taken in 1946 or 1947 and it does appear that the boardwalk was converted to an asphalt covering. There is also a pciture taken on the boardwalk in 1952 by Kitiara 736. Can you reproduce those pictures on this page so that we can continue this very interesting subject wich reflects our youth in Verdun. Guy
Sure ,why not ? Here 's the picture from Kitiara736's photo album .........both of these are listed as being taken in 1952, Thanks Kitiara736.......................Great Verdun memorabilia
That's my dad and sister Helen (kitiara) in the bottom picture. In the first is also Helen with our brother Dan. Not sure who the man is, though I guess I am supposed to know. We all went to VHS. Dad, if I am not mistaken, went the year it opened and Helen and Danny in the 50's and 60's I followed in the 70's! Maggie
Here's another from MaggieMck's album,.....don't know what year ? but ashphalt is down so I would guess 1950, .............What a good picture,...and they are all laughing........good shot the boardwalk really was a lot closer to the water in those days,a steep bank ,in this picture ,it shows one of the few spots where there was a little bit of 'shore,along the bank' .....most places along the boardwalk (with a few exceptions) the bank went right down to the water line,.with little room to walk along the shore,..the boat club(GranTrunk),...LeBlancs 2ndav,.....Woodland,.....Torchy ,were some of the only places that actuslly jutted out a bit from the bank......... Remember how steep ,the stairs were,and beside each stairway was usually a worn dirt path from runoff rainwater,but mostly used by us kids driving our bicycles in daredevil fashion,down those paths,towards the river............hahahahaah
Beautiful picture ......did you notice that 2 of the girls are wearing shirts with what appears to be VHS crest . Also, the girls hair looks as though they had perms, probably they did each others hair with a Toni Perm...remember those? Dianne
I noticed that the two girls who have the VHS logo on their shirts, are also wearing what appears to be a blazer and light slacks. I'm wondering if this was part of a uniform perhaps. Cheers.
Photo taken at the end of Allard Ave in the 50's. Notice the dirt road behind railing... This road led to Torchy Wharf Torchy Wharf.
wow ty everyone all the pics are amazing good to see people in verdun are so nice
That looks like a 53 or 54 chevrolet. Guy
Buick
Hi RCDAVE,.......these are great pictures,........very clear ,the boardwalk one really sparks the old knoggan,.........Great Stuff,.......glad you posted them up there,Torchy Wharf is a rarity(as far as having seen any good pics of it so far) Glad to see it posted ...............much appreciated
You know that Torchy Wharf ,seems larger than I'd Remembered it,....You can see two cars,a bench ,and plenty of room left over for more stuff,.... Remember the older guys (probably intheir 30's or 40's) would always commandeer the edges to use for casting their lines out (fishing lines),and they would kick all the kids off,........hahahahah they'd make the kids have to fish from the riverbank,........also Remember if you walked over to the edge of the wharf ,the fisherman would always seem to have a catch of fish,kept in the water ,till they decided to go home........
I'm pretty sure my mom's hair was always naturally curly. I'll ask her if she remembers what year this would have been taken. 1950ish sounds about right. Maybe some members recognize some of the girls?
Judging from RCDave1's photograph, Torchy wharf was at the foot of Woodland park, wich would be about facing the Pavillion, am I right ? We can see the covered roof in the background covering the "boardwalk" of the photo wich was facing the park and close to the Pavillion. Guy
Do you think they were cheerleaders....I just noticed the football? Cheers.
The covered roof was next to the Lawn Bowling Green.
You beat me to it RCDAVE,..... I was looking for that map,.. So in answer to Guy question,.the Redtop ,seen from Torchy Wharf ,.is at the end of Verdun Av where Verdun meets Lasalle Blvd,...and is it Godin ,Valiquette Allard,area (might be wrong order) ,but Guy it is not the Redtop that was closer to the Cement Downs ,or the Pav (that Redtop was at either Melrose or Argyle,...and the Cement Downs ran btwn those streets and Woodland:
The Redtop in the backfround in this photo (one of Maggiemcks), is the Redtop on the other end of Cement Downs (Woodland Park),......there is a store right in front of this couple at the corner of Argyle & Lasalle Blvd, ...the Redtop is essentially straight up from Melrose & Lasalle Blvd,....and just over the photographers right shoulder (looking towards the river,...would be Woodland (Bandshell & the Pav behind it) Here's a picture of the store (again one of MaggieMcks pics).as you can see it is 'right ' on the corner Argyle /Lasalle ..............Again some more great pictures ,Thanks to all the contributors
absolute, priceless pictures...keep them coming
Thanks
John
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If you look at the areal photo, the intersecting streets are Brault and Godin, therefore I estimate that torchy wharf was at the foot of Godin. As I previously reported, the City of Verdun has installed a floating wharf at the foot of Brault wich is one street north of Godin. There is also a floating wharf behind the nat. These wharfs will be removed for the winter I am told. Guy
Does this help?
Dave, if you had included the area just south a little more, it would have shown the new "dance floor" that is surrounded by a "moat".
Hi Dave those maps are good aren't they, Looking at it ,you can see just how much land has been reclaimed ,just look at the Natatorium ,there seems to be an extra pool added to it,.and a lot of land between the pools,& the actual river now,......When i was a kid the boardwalk of course ran immediately behind,the Nat. I wonder in terms of land mass,just how much realestate,has been gained by the City,.....this sure makes the waterfront look good ,and I can imagine it's very inviting for kids ,family's ,to go out & enjoy a walk or picnic,on that greenspace..........Thanks for posting the map ,
Like this!
Yup, just like that! Les, the boardwalk still is right next to the "Nat", there is just a lot of plush greenspace between it and the bike/walking path that is closer to the river.
Wow ,that's all new to me,.I've seen pictures of the dance area,but did not know their was a moat all around this place,.........I wonder if this is built(it's certainly close) to what we called 'the Hole' a teen hangout,or gathering spot,in the very late 60's ,& very early 70's.............it was a somewhat sunken area,all grass ,quite nice (we thought at the time),....and it seems to me it would have been roughly where this water area is ? Anyone out there know for sure?...........................Great Maps on Google Earth,
Oh Yes Ok Thanks MAggieMck,.......what is the new Pool,..is that the kids wading Pool? ..........
Yes!
excellent maps...1st time seeing the boardwalk from
the air.Think the pillars must be all gone now..
John
very intersting pictures
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Although we have established that this photo,in the Bilan de Siecle Sherbrooke,is of workmen working on building the boardwalk ,but in Lachine,.....(the Sherbrooke incorrectly identifies these men as Working on the Building of the Boardwalk in Verdun,,,,,,it is era correct,but I have found that the men who did build the boardwalk also continued on and did work in Lachine,......So these people you see in this picture are most likely some of the men who were working for their 'Relief' cheques,....... in any case I love this old photo,and thought I would post it again under this 'Boardwalk' thread......................... ............the tell tale id's ,are the Victoria Bridge in the background as well as the boats,this pretty much concludes that the area being worked on is right near the opening for the Lachine Canal......... Great Picture :
Les-F, I don't recognise the background on this picture, the island and boat does not fit. Are you saying that this picture was taken in Lachine ? Guy
Yes I beleive so Guy,..........you can make out the Train Bridge in the background,So the shot is obviously taken from the other side looking back towards the Bridge,........ I may have said the Victoria Bridge in the previous post,....but the Train Bridge which was built long before the Mercier,.......nowadays they would be considered the Mercier Bridge,......(you know what I mean),........and the opemning to the LAchiine Canal has a park there with railings and granite pillars similar to the ones used on the boardwalk in Verdun
Les-F, Sorry Les, I still have my doubts, could you do more research on this, if I knew about where this photograph was taken, I could go there and take a photo to see if we are on the right track. Guy
Try looking at the picture this way. Does it make any sense?
Cool , MaggieMck,...........very cool............... what program did you use to reverse it ,with the same amount of clarity ? Unfortunately ,'anyway you look at it' it can't be taken from Verdun,....using either picture's direction,.it can only be taken from either Lachine,or from the other side of the Lasalle Train Bridge,which would obviously be from Lasalle...........
Ah Guy another mystery,to be solved with all Our Collective efforts,..............I do look forward to solving this one ,as I hate to give up,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
I'd have to say it's Lachine somewhere between 6th avenue and the Dairy Queen
On my next trip to Verdun, I will take some photos in that area and we will then be able to compare. Guy
Here a the map of the area. Guy
Hey Baby Sis, That's your g-Uncle Dennis from NY!!
oops - forgot to add that you can clearly see in the pics that there was no greenspace past the railings - it dropped down quite steeply - there were some wooden wharves - and we could walk across the ice in the winter to the Island
wow thats a nice pic amazing
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