Exploring Montreal: Verdun
I live in Verdun, a rather under-explored part of Montreal. Technically speaking, we’re a borough of the city of Montreal, though based on how tricky it is to get to Verdun from downtown Montreal by bicycle or car, some people think we’re (still) a city unto ourselves. We were amalgamated in the Great Montreal Merger of 2002 (”one island, one city”), and despite several boroughs that kicked up a big stink and were finally de-amalgamated (*cough*Westmount*cough*), Verdun remains a part of the megacity of Montreal.
I’ll let you in on a little secret, though: despite being rather difficult to access by private transport, Verdun is only 20 minutes from downtown Montreal by metro, and we’ve got far more green space than anywhere else on the island. Jealous? You will be!
St. Maria Mater Dolorosa Church at the corner of Wellington and de l'Eglise (photo by Flickr user -AX-)
We’ve also got great waterfront views of the St-Laurent River, fabulous bike paths that will take you all the way out to Lachine, and… a Natatorium?
Verdun's Natatorium (photo by Flickr user yayyoshimi)
Yup, that’s right: Verdun was a trendsetter way back in 1930, when the Art Deco style Natatorium was built. At the time, it was one of the largest public pools in Quebec, and it can currently accommodate up to 1,150 people. A large heated wading pool was added in 2005, and this pool alone can hold up to 250 kids at one time. Now that’s a natatorium!
L’École de cirque de Verdun, aka the Circus School of Verdun
Speaking of cultural oddities, Verdun is also home to a circus school. Although I’ve walked past the building many times, I never realized that this primary-colored structure was, in fact, the home of L’École de cirque de Verdun, aka the Circus School of Verdun. Both children and adults can take classes in the circus arts, and those who really want to run away and join the circus can take their professional training program to become certified circus performers.
That really helps explain all the clowns on unicycles I’ve been seeing lately. I was beginning to think I was going insane. Luckily for those who really are experiencing hallucinations and other mental problems (but which are hopefully not exacerbated by the clowns), Verdun is also home to a world-class mental-health facility: the Douglas Hospital. Originally dubbed “the Protestant Hospital for the Insane,” the name was changed in 1923 to honor its long-standing director, Dr. James Douglas. Currently, the hospital is affiliated with McGill University’s teaching hospital as well as the World Health Organization, and boasts a staff full of international authorities on a wide variety of mental health issues.
It may seem odd to list a mental health facility as a sight to see in Verdun, but as the Douglas takes up 170 acres of land and accounts for fully one-seventh of the borough of Verdun, it’s actually quite a nice place to visit if you’re in the area. The grounds are very picturesque and well-maintained, with a therapeutic sculpture garden on site, and the large grassy areas make great picnic spots. At one point the grounds even play host to an annual Celtic Festival, which was sadly retired in 2006 when the event’s organizer suddenly passed away. If anyone wants to pick up the reins and get it back on track, it would be a great way to treasure his memory.
Mies van der Rohe skyscrapers, Nuns' Island (via imtl.org)
Finally, though not technically in Verdun, there are some architectural oddities that may intrigue visitors. From the shores of the St-Laurent, where the bike path runs along the water, you can look across the expanse and see Île des Soeurs, aka Nuns’ Island, where there are several skyscrapers designed by modernist architect Mies van der Rohe. For the true van der Rohe fan, you can even visit a (now-closed) gas station designed by the Chicago architect!
........I can see this gal loves Verdun,but I don't think it was hard to get to Montreal by car,?? Seemed rather easy & several routes to choose from,at least in the 60's & 70's
but it's nice to hear people mention Verdun as a place they want to live ......HF&RV
26 comments:
well she didn't say it was "hard" - she said it was "tricky" - so being the weird person that I am, I looked up "tricky" in the dictionary and it says "requiring skill or caution" - maybe she flies down Atwater on a bike or a car with bad brakes???
Did they change the name of the church on the corner of Wellington and Church?
I clicked on the comment thingy at the top and she says she is going to report on eating in Verdun next week - she might be the one who threw the grenade into McDonald's.
Maybe .....should have pulled the pin though......
As for 'tricky' I like your thinking..........hahahahaha no brakes eh !! I can somewhat picture that. lol
hf&rv
I flew down Atwater hill many times on my bike, with no brakes. Had to use my foot on the front tire to slow down and be able to stop..... Makes me wonder, if I am still of this world or not.....I think I made it through my childhood!!!! Don't ask me how. Good info on Verdun. Something to share again with my family in Vancouver, Washington. A long way from Verdun. Needless to say, but have left part of my heart on 3rd Avenue....
Winston that also had a quick heating effect on the sole.......lol Foot on the Tire,, Did anyone have brakes lol hf&rv
We were so poor ( and that includes almost everyone in Verdun) that we could not afford brakes. Remember the days when you bought a car, and if you wanted a heater it was extra????? Who could afford that????
Where the h... (heck) did Laura Roberts get the name of St Maria Mater Dolorosa for the church at the corner of De L'Église and Wellington. It is still called Notre Dame des Sept Douleurs.
Guy
Tell you the truth. I never knew what the name of that church was...or is!!!! But is was beuatiful from the outside. Are there many people that go to that church?????
I never knew the name of that church either but I remember the Church bells. That’s one thing I haven’t heard in my neighborhood is the sound of Church bells. In Verdun we always heard St. Thomas More Church bells ringing on the half hour and on the hour, ding dong ding dong, ding dong ding dong (can you sing that)and if you walked to Wellington Street you would hear other Church bells on the way. Pauline
The word tricky really applies to the description of this guys bicycle trip from Atwater to Verdun Auditorium.I didn’t see him take the hill but he must have used his skills to negotiate his way from the Atwater market to Verdun without a stop along the way. Les and Winston your trouble back then you obeyed the rules of the road but today bikers just ignore them all. It saves so much time. Anyhow he makes it in one piece this time.
Did you recognize Magnans along the way? http://www.magnanresto.com/index.php?l=en
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knXud1f4hHk&feature=related
Pauline
I remember VIVIDLY the bells at the church at 4th and Verdun Ave. I think their clergy did not own a clock/watch since they were never very precise....and they were annoying with no theme or reason the the "tolling". They seemed to ring only when the waether was clement. Guess the priests did not want to get their "cassocks" cold
The church at the corner of 4th and Verdun ave. is Notre Dame de Lourdes.
Guy
We always new it as Notre Dame de LOUD
Tennis anyone? so the US Open est fini - lots and lots of drama - the Williams girl outburst - and Roger getting beat with so much class. The jerk in congress being so disrespectful and Kanye West making a fool of himself - I think the world is just out of control. So I think we should "call out" (as our Prez would say) Laura Roberts - #1 why is it tricky to get to Verdun and #2 why did she change the name of the church? Does anyone know her e-mail address? It would be fun to see what she has to say.
Here's some Church's from Verdun:
Using these symbols before the url code for any photo "<" or simply < before a photos url code,.then at the end of the photo's url code use "> or simply ">"
Now I'm just experimenting so far,so some of you more adept computer techs out there may be able to help us simplify ...were open to suggestions....
I belong to several different sites & so I will find out what works on each site,I suppose it's a little different on each one,but whatever... HF&RV
Boy do these photos take me back to another time many, many years ago. I remember the church on Wellington and sitting on the steps outside, waiting for my French boyfriend to finish attending confession. I think his biggest "sin" at the time was dating me...an English Protestant....at least his parents thought so!....Diane
Sandy ,here's the HotDog Line up,.I knew I still had this hanging around somewhere:
lol - I remember that pic - what was the occasion? The Pope visiting or something? I hope they passed the collection plate that day
Sandy , Guess what else I found:
.....I'm sure we used both of these.............lol HF&RV
aahh - a double strike :) I tried to do that yesterday and screwed it up. Do these pics you "embed" show up in your inbox as "for everyone"?
yes ,Sandy with any message posted it will show if posted it, it will say " by you ,for everyone'
and below that will show the latest reply,in this case it says /most recent by 'sandywest'
then of course you just open the thread & read the relply.
Sandy , 'right click on the lightning bolts' then 'save' them to a folder on your computer,as you would any other time to save a picture ,.then 'add that pictiure or photo to one of your photo albums on your own site.After you do that ,then click on the lightning bolts in your album & you will then see the choices below the photo ,Click on the 'Share' selection,you will then see the 'Embed Photo' hilight it,then copy & paste it in to whichever message you want ,then just save your post or comment as usual.......... You will see ,in your comment the 'code ' for the picture,but that will appear as the actual image once you post it.
Sandy , I was just going to use one of your photo's to show you the ease of this, but you didn't have any on there yet, So I will use one from VC photo album site:
Click on the City Hall Picture ,which should be showing on the opening page of Verdun Conncections right now. Once the album's opened ,click on the City Hall Photo ,look below it & click on 'share' then hilight the code ,.then 'copy & past ' the code in a comment window in this thread & You will have it show right here:
Now Remember when you copy & paste the code into the comment window it will show up as a bunch of mumbo jumbo letters & symbols,but that IS the picture & it will show as theh picture as soon as you hit ' Submit'
Les - I tried this again. I had the lightning picture on my site. I followed all the instructions. After I hit "paste", I see the picture for a second and then it just goes to what you see above. I'll try another picture and see what happens
this one I did from the VC site and it worked - the other one is from my site - and it only appears for a second then disappears. Maybe it's the pic?
OK Sandy, now you've got it,.The reason I think your photo didn't work is because if you pass your cursor over the bottom of your photo,you will see that it's showing up on what appears to be a video player or it's captured from a slide show. Keep trying with other photos which I'm sure you've already got down,& I'll check into the other......................Nice Work Btw: HF&RV
Ok Sandy ,when I just opened your post , I too briefly saw the flash,but I can't get it to play again....
where did you embed it from ? because I cannot find anything on your Site. I see the guest book but no photo albums ???
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