While in Verdun yesterday I took some photos of Verdun's 2 favorite watering holes across the De L'Église (Church) avenue bridge. To my surprise, the former tavern on the right as we cross the bridge is now, are you ready for this, BAR ISTANBUL, that's correct, BAR ISTANBUL. What's the world coming to.
Of course, to the left across the street it is now the brasserie named BRASSERIE CÔTE ST PAUL. As we all know, taverns are now called Brasserie and women are allowed. On my way back to my car, I photographed the Montreal skyscrapers from the De L'Église (Church) bridge. What a view.
My car was parked on Hickson at the corner of Cool and I noticed how shabby the houses looked. Garbage bags half opened and junk all over the place, in the yards and galleries. Next time I will take photos and send them to city hall and I will tell them to clean up their act.
I lived on Evangéline (formerly Bond) in my youth and I don't think it was that bad .
Guy
25 comments:
Don't forget though Guy, when we lived there ,Garbage pick up was in the lanes, but ever since they started making the trucks bigger & bigger ,they wouldn't fit in the lanes,so garbage is now picked up on the street allowing for poor optics to passerby's ...... on the flip side , years ago on a visit to Verdun, I was amazed at how well lit the lanes are now ( of course ,with no sheds,this allows a lot more light,& generally looks way better than it did,)So now lanes are clean,streets are dirty.Remember when Verdun had a steel mesh type garbage cans chained to a pole on every block ( at least they did along Wellington,also we had men from the city of Verdun sweeping the streets,and collecting garbage.
Montreal in general was always a very clean city ,(for the most part) as far as big city's go......Too bad that is no longer the case.............
I was just in Montreal myself, last week. I, too, noticed the name of the Brasserie across the bridge. I was driving, so did not take a picture.
I did not get to spend any time in Verdun on this trip, other than to drive the length of LaSalle Blvd. While it looks the same, it also looks different. When I have some time, I will try and post some photo's from around Mtl that I took.
I will have some up on Facebook eventually, so I will then post them here.
Guy, as always, thank you for your commentary and postings - you too, Les. Oddly enough, I even thought of Guy as I drove through Verdun, wondering if you were working in with your group, at the library.
Les,
I'm sorry if I left the impresseion that Verdun is a dirty place. It is only at the end of HIckson near the aqueduct that it is a problem. However, I did notice that the small front lawns are not kept clean in front of many houses elsewhere in Verdun. There is always room for improvement there.
Glenn,
I am a volonteer at the SHGV 2 saturdays each month.
Guy
I guess 'Constantinople' would have been too long to put on the sign...........lol
the other strange thing is ,Istanbul is in Turkey & is predominatly Muslim isn't it ? and Muslims don't like alchohol (or at least say they don't)
No Guy that wasn't my total impression at all, I could imagine that the possibilty is that some garbage bags can be ripped open by dogs ,birds cats etc etc .....& that could contribute to some of the mess,& since the garbage is picked up out front,then it's easy to see . I never thnk of Verdun as a dirty place,but those lanes(at least in the 60's) were not exactly featured in Better Homes & Gardens........hahahahah
Montreal indeed was at one time a very clean city,as I mentioned,but there is always room for improvement,regardless of which city we are in. HF&RV
There is another tavern or brasserie in Pte St Charles on Wellington wich caters to the Verdunites who inhabit the eastern end of the city. I think it is at the corner of Butler,am I right ?. Can someone tel me the name ?. I will take a photo of that one also when in the area.
Don't think that I am a drinker as I only take a beer or glass of wine ocasionally but the subject interests me as it affected the life of many Verdunites.
Guy
Wasn't the tavern at Butler called Pall Mall? I used to go there often as a teenager. In those days if you were physically tall no one would bother you for ID. However if you got rowdy after a few then they weren't very nice to you.
Yes at the end of Verdun (just past May Street ,which was the last street in Verdun at the time) you went under the train bridge & came upon Butler ..the Pall Mall Tavern was right on the corner ,1st business on your lesft as you headed into the Point.
Now as you crossed the Church Avenue Bridge into Ville Emard/Cote St Paul,...you had the Drake Tavern (Istanbul today) on your immediate right side.....Now across the street on your left side was the 'Churchill' then to become the Laverendrye,.....then to become the Cote St Paul Brasserie, where years ago on a visit ot Verdun ,we spent an afternoon sitting in ther with friends ( a Sunday ,and their kitchen wasn't open,so we ordered a Pizza from Woodland Restaurant,..& it was the Shits.....no kidding a terrible example of what they were supposed to be,.......burnt to a crisp,......& Although I have never been a proponent of Woodland Pizza ( & I've had some real good ones there) I was very disappointed on this night ,but put it down to a late order which they had to bring to a bar on a Sunday night..........Truth be known I always had good Pizza's from Rex's or Trevi's or DaMichelle's (formerly Mikes) ...........but over time I constantly hear about Woodlands ( formerly White's Restauarnt) although I liked & still like Woodland Restaurant,I still think there was an era where they were not & were no where close to being the best Pizza in Verdun..........(again JMHO) & I've eaten Pizza everywhere you can think of..................... HF&RV
i was at woodland yesterday and packed as always, line up outside to get inn
i found lots of new cafes and restaurants along wellington street, i find in time wellington street will become like a st denis. i'll be living in verdun the next few months so i'll be posting the pictures
on those new cafes and restaurants.
Guy:
Here's a short note to pique your interest in Verdun's Favourite Watering Holes. Ever wonder why there weren't all that many, if any, bars and taverns in Verdun while we were growing up? I got a short blurb in the 1970's about it while researching the history of St. Willibrord's. I'm curious if anyone had the same story as the one that I'd received.
Tom
Tom,
You bring up a good subject on why Verdun never permitted taverns or bars on its territory. No doubt the religious groups, either catholic or protestant, had something to do with it even up to today. These groups had/have a strong influence on city hall although to a lesser degree today.
I wonder if anybody made some research on the subject if not, it would make for some interesting reading. If I find anything on the subject, I will post it.
We all know what alcohol can do to our health, our family and our community. It is one of those pleasures of life and like anything else, should be consumed with moderation.
Guy
Something to do with Scott's law. The law was repelled in Quebec except for 7 communities by referendum.
I would imagine that law does not exist now, as Verdun is nomore than a borrough of the socalled 'megacity' of Montreal,so wouldn't Montreal's laws apply ? hf&rv
Les,
As far as I know, there are no brasseries or bars in Verdun today. However, liquor is available in super markets, gorceries and restaurants. It is strange that this situation has not changed despite the fact the the borough of Verdun is now part of the City of Montréal.
Guy
Hi Guy, I had a beer on an outdoor patio on VerdunAvenue, late one evening many years ago,I'm guessing it was around or close to Brown Blvd area.on the river side of Verdun Avenue ,it looked like an old grocery store that was opened up ,and obviously had a license to serve liquor,I would say it was around the late 90's or early 2000's.? I not sure exactlly the location, but I was surprised at of course the selling of booze . Although it was being sold at the Prince of Wales ,even back in the 70's ,but you had to sit in the dining room area of the restaurant then. HF&RV
Les,
When they first started to relax the liquor rules, maybe 30 or 40 years ago, restaurants could serve liquor providing you had lunch with it so they would put the same old stale cheese sandwich on your table and you could then order liquor, remember that period ?. What a stupid law.
Guy
Yup , The old 'rubber' sandwich they called it.............Many restaurants did sell beer & wine in Verdun,and a late night Pizza at Mike's (later Da Michelles) Hickson & Wellington would serve you beer with it,no problem ,well after the bars had closed,they were open until 3:30 am or 4.
Here's a shot of the corner & the entrance to DaMichelle's
I wonder is this place still here, or is it called something else now...? HF&RV
Check out their sign "Fully Licensed" and that's and old sign, although I believe this picture to be from the early 80's ??? I didn't take this one, so I'm not certain on it's year.........& I've learned not to trust the year written on any museum piece ,as they are way too often incorrect.........as we've learned
Les,
There are a lot of old Verdun photos on that site, some wich werre previously posted but many new ones I have not seen before. Here are some of them:
Photo no. 25, showing the Verdun Odeon. Can you tel me what theatre this was, possibly the Savoy ?
Photo no. 40, LaSalle Hydro dam.
Photo no. 50, Auditorium 1961 (the Denis Savard Arena was not built then.
Photo no. 53, Corner Church and Wellington, Date 1900 ?
Can you tel me what site these photos are on ?
Guy
Another favorite on Butler was, as Lawrence Welk would say ..."A One and a Two" i.e. the One and Two. Anyone remember??
Hello Guy, I will try & find more info on some of the photos you want to know about, as for the Odeon ,I believe that would be a re-creation or resurrection of the old Park or Palce the one on Wellington street btwn Church & Hickson,.....I would think that the name of the movie may help determine the year, but the archives call it 1980ish,....It however is not even possible to be the Savoy , as thie Savoy ceased operations in the 60's & became a Consumer Distributors ,for a few years, then a Pharmaprix I think ? I would look into the Lovell's Directory for the early 80's and see what address Laurentide Finance was at,.or any of the other stores immediately in view.......... Good Luck ,let us know what you come up with........ HF&RV
ps: just had a huge dinner & thought I'd check the site......... HF&RV
Yup definetly know the 1&2,.............Roddy Diamond used to 'tend' the door there for a while. HF&RV
Hope everyone had a chance to spend some Thanksgiving time with the family this year! As for the situation with the watering holes, here's what we dug up, back in the 70's.
At the turn of the century, (18 into 19 that is) the city of Montreal was stringing up electric lines and lights all over the place. They approached the Town of Verdun at the time, and asked them if they wanted to continue the project. The Town would be responsible for paying for the lines, men, horses, etc to string the wires and install the electric lights all over town. They couldn't come up with the money, and someone had the idea of approaching the Archdiocese for a loan.
Archbishop Paul Bruchesi, I believe, was in charge at the time. The Town had to agree to not have any bars, taverns, or watering holes for a period of 100 years from the onset of the loan. And that's why when you crossed into the point at Wellington and May (from Verdun) or the other side of the line into Lasalle, or the line that took you close to the Drake Tavern, that there were all these bars etc. but none in Verdun. The law was amended later to allow alcohol with a meal in a restaurant, something similar to why chicken wings were so popular in Ontario.
I'm told that the clock ran out on the deal with the church, but nobody's gone out of their way to put in a bar from what I saw on my last trip to the ol stomping grounds this August.
I don't seem to have all the sources you do, Guy, and have enjoyed all your posts. Have you heard of this story before? Scouter Tom
I remember the 1&2. I liked to go there because they had live entertainment.
Tom,
No I have not heard that story but I would'nt be surprised that the clergy had something to do with it considering their influence in the past. The subject is interesting and deserves a flollow up. I will keep an eye out on the subject.
Guy
Les, was the Drake tavern ever called the Park tavern? North on Church Ave on the same side were Latour's (great draught) and La Barina. First pizza I ever had was from Orlando's (very good) on Wellington around Hickson. Trevi was always very good.
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