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.
To me the nicest bridge in the whole of Montreal is the Knox bridge at Bishop Power boulevard in LaSalle and resembles the european architecture. I took this photo in 2007 when photographing the 10 bridges over the aqueduc and which are shown in my album no. 3.
Judge for yourselves:
I just read Jeanette McDonald's biography which states that she made her Grand Opera Debut at the His Majesy's Theatre in 1943 singing the role of Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet".
The His Majesty's Theater was situated on Guy street just above Ste Catherine street.
Only the old timers will remember these events.
Guy
The new residential project that will be built on the Blue Bonnets land will accommodate 5000 to 8000 flats or condos. Since each flat will accomodate at least 2 people, you can double these figures to give you an idea of the amount of people that will inhabit this project.
The provincial government bought this land in 1998 for 37 million and will be given to the city of Montreal free of charge but the income of the sale to the promoters will be shared by both.
The land is the size of 80 football fields and is larger than the Lafontaine park. The city wll take 5 years to develop the area so as not to compete with the exhisting projects.
The sale of the land is squeduled for 2017 and the profits from the sale of the land will help to recuperate the 50 million that the government has invested since buying the land in 1998. The sale of the land will be at least 100 million and maybe 125 million and the city will pay the decontamination costs.
Horse races have been held there from 1907 to 2009. The city bought the land from Blue Bonnets in 1991 for 46 million from Robert Campeau then resold to the goverment in 1998. The government announced that it is disolving the Société Nationale du Cheval de Course, created to manage the Quebec Hippodromes. The debt of 50 million is to be assumed by the government.
Guy
From La Presse, Saturday 24th of march 2012 (translated by Guy Billard)
Photo from book by Jacques Pharand "à la belle époque des Tramways"
Here are more photos from the book by Jacques Pharand entitled: À la belle époque des Tramways on the Craig Terminus:
Guy
This photo is from the book entitled: à la belle époque des TRAMWAYS by Jacques Pharand who passed away a few years ago, He was an authority on tramways in the province of Québec.
Some old timers will no doubt remember the Ice Follies which made a yearly visit at the Forum in the 50s. This photo really brings back memories of that era.
Guy
Molson's Brewery, now called Molson Coors is celebrationg it's 225th anniversary this year. John Molson, who was an orphan emigrated to Canada in 1782 and was a formidable entrepreneur as proves his accomplishments.
He had built the first steam boat to ply the St Lawrence river. He financed the construction of the first railway in the country, the Champlain & St Lawrence Railway. He exploited a luxurious hotel and a lumberyard. He opened a bank with 125 branches until it was purchased by the Bank of Montreal in 1925. Today, we can still admire the Molson Bank building on St James street, a masterpiece of architecture of the Second Empire. He financed the first theatre in Montreal as well as an hospital. And of course we all know about Molson's involvment with the Montreal Canadiens hockey club.
Guy
(Exert from La Presse article by Sophie Cousineau of La Presse September 20th 2011)
While we are on the subject of airports, the Montreal-Trudeau Airport is celebrating it's 70th birthday this year having been founded officially the first of september 1941. Do you know what was on the lot prior to the building of the airport. You will have to visit the following site to find out:
http://aprpr.org Section History - West Island - Varia
Guy
This is the Dr Norman Bethune statue situated at the corner of Guy and De Maisonneuve wich my confrere Gilles Lepage took recently. I had trouble locating it but Gilles finally succeeded. With all the traffic in the area, it is difficult to find a parking spot. If members are not familiar with Dr Bethune's accomplishments, I suggest you get a copy from your local library to learn about this famous Canadian hero. I am sure you will be fascinated.
I have also included a short article in our (SHGV), "Les Argoulets" on the life of Dr Bethune wich I recently I wrote for our magazine. It is interesting to note that Dr Bethune held a clinic at the YMCA on Gordon in the 30s wich I mention in the article, thus my interest on the subject.
Guy
Here is a photo of my kids, Michel, Patricia, Jeannette (my wife) and Marc at the 1967 Expo 67 World Fair. Would you believe 43 years ago, the years really went by fast.
Guy
Here is another Aerial view of the old LaSalle Power wich is from the book by Denis Gravel: LaSalle Then & Now. We can clearly see The Bronx on top, the dam in the middle and the Lachine Rapids on the Bottom. I have added this photo to my collection on the power dam in Album no. 38.
Guy
Les,
Reading your post on the Griffintown Horse Palace, reminded me of this article by Kristian Gravenor wich appeared in the 17th of November 2004 Montreal Mirror and wich I translated for our (SHGV) magazine in the automn of 2008. Unfortunately, I am missing the second page but if I can find it, I will post it as it shows at the end of the article the Lament of Griffintown. As we well know, it is difficult to translate poetry and have the same meaning but odly enough, it didn't turn out too bad. Just another nostalgic event from Montreal.
I may have posted this article previously.
Guy
Last thursday evening was held the inauguration of the Dr Norman Bethune exhibit at the Centre d'Histoire de Montréal in the old converted firestation at Youville square. I represented our society as a contributor to the eshibition. Our connection with the exhibit was due to the clinic that Dr Bethune held in 1934 at the YMCA on Gordon. Very few Verdunites are familiar with this fact and our society is in the forefront of informing Verdunites of this honor. The mayor of Montreal, M. Gérald Tremblay was there as well as a delegation from the chinese consulate. Our society as well as myself were invited by Stéphanie Mondor of the Museum to attend this important exibit wich will last till the 29th of August of 2010.
The museum is in the center of old Montreal and a walk around the area is a must to see where it all started at the beginning of the colony.
Guy
There's a lot of great photos available through the CNR archives,from all over the country,but here's some from the Montreal area,I'll include the whole album from my page,in the first post/comment under this blog heading/topic.
I'll start with this one,then post the whole album,use 'Full Screen' to View .....& select whatever speed to view them as quickly or slowly as you like. HF&RV
During a game against the N.Y. Rangers in N.Y. on the 1st of November 1959, 50 years ago, Jacques Plante was hit by a puck shot by Andry Bathgate requiring 7 stitches. Jacques told Toe Blake that he would come back to continue the game providing he could wear his practice mask and Toe accepted. There were no back up goalies at the time. The rest is history.
It was not considered matcho at the time to wear a goaly mask but Jacques persisted and revolusionized hockey.
Actually, Jacques was not the first goaly a wear a mask during a regular season This honor goes to a woman, ELIZABETH GRAHAM who was a goaly for the Queen's University, Toronto, on February 1927, who wore a mask under the insistance of her father after receiving dental treatment.
On the 7th of January 1930, goaly Clint Benedict of the Montreal Maroons, during a game against the Montreal Canadiens, was hit by a puck shot by famous Howie Morenz, results, a broken nose. He returned to play on the 20th of February wearing a leather mask.
I have skipped many details from this fine article in yesterday's "La Presse" and wich I have translated.
Guy
Looks like there are some people interested in preserving old Montreal landmarks as you can see from this photo wich appeared in this morning's "La Presse".
SAUVONS LA PINTE - SAVE THIS QUART
There may be hope afterall although the bottle may not end up at the same place.
The old milk bottle saga continues. To be continued.
Guy
Tzigane
On the morning of June 14 1901, Montrealers awoke to shocking news.
The night before, the sound of gunshots had disturbed the normal tranquility amongst the gracious mansions of the city's Square Mile. In the Redpath manor, servants rushed to the master bedroom to find their employer, Ada Redpath, the niece of powerful sugar baron Peter Redpath, shot dead. Her son was clingingto life on the floor beside her, with a gunshot wound to his head. He perished hours later.
Early newspaper accounts suggested that the troubled Ada had shot Clifford when he tried to stop her from committing suicide. The coroner, however, believed Clifford had killed his mother while in an epileptic fit. The newspapers reported two shots, yet three bullets were recovered from the bodies.
What really happened that night?
One hundred and six years later, architecture professor Annmarie Adams, BA'81, is turning that question over to the public.
"It's a real whodunit!" she declares. The cast of characters includes at least one fabled McGill professor. Thomas Roddick, MDCM1846, who introduced antiseptic practices to Montreal's hospitals, had been treating Ada for melancholia, prescribing her a bed rest that amounted to months of solitary confinement.
As part of a research team that prepared the case for the award-winning Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History website, Adams unearthed some little-seen evidence for the benefit of history-minded sleuths, including diaries, photos, the coroner's report and condolence letters received by the Redpath family.
Users of the site can access these and other documents to explore the mystery.
Adams collaborated on the project with School of Architecture research associate David Theodore, BA'91, BSc(Arch)'94, BArch'96, MArch'01, McGill history student Brenton Nader and Concordia University adjunct history professor Mary Anne Poutanen, BA'83, MA'86.
"As a researcher I have always jumped at doing analysis and interpretation; this has been an eye-opener because in this project we leave that for students and site users," Adams says. They'll have some help, though. A number of experts — including McGill forensic psychiatrist Renée Fugère — contribute their thoughts on what happened that fateful night.
The award-winning Great Unsolved Mysteries site — launched in 1997 by one-time McGill professor Ruth Sandwell (now at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education) and her colleague John Lutz from the University of Victoria — presents students with primary source documents connected to real-life mysteries. The site probes such puzzles as who wiped out Ontario's notorious "Black" Donnellys in 1880 and who really started the Klondike Gold Rush.
These often-sanguinary tales reveal much about the societies in which they occurred. Adams explains that the secrecy of the Redpath killings had a lot to do with class and the architecture of the scene of the crime. The very design of the Redpaths' mansion (and similar abodes) discouraged prying, with "filters" of an imposing portico, a large front lawn and a long front hall — a far cry from the street-level rowhouses of the working class.
For more information, visit www.canadianmysteries.ca.
Some of Our members will feel some nostalgia ,for this story,.Murray's Restaurant is closing for good........ (even my Mom worked there a long time ago,) Oh Well time march's on,perhaps it can be replaced by a nice McDumpy's or something equally as tasteful(or tasteless)
........maybe they can tear it down & make something usefull out of it..............lol
Please share your Murray’s memories in the box at the end of the story.
MONTREAL - Although many had been hoping for a comeback, it appears the city’s last Murray’s Restaurant, in Town of Mount Royal, will not reopen.
Facing bankruptcy, owners of the landmark restaurant in the Lucerne Shopping Mall have applied to a Quebec court for creditor protection.
Among the creditors are TD Canada Trust and First Capital Realty, the corporation that owns the strip mall where the restaurant is located.
“There will be no reopening of Murray’s,” said Mike Ouellette, a Montreal accountant representing Mounir Yassa and his wife, Alice, the restaurant’s owners since in 2007.
Since the restaurant closed at the end of July, Ouellette said, there has been interest from two potential buyers.
But, he added,“it didn’t work out.”
“It’s very unfortunate,” said Louis Voizard, a vice-president with First Capital Realty, one of the restaurant's creditors.
“It was a popular restaurant for many years."
Voizard said the restaurant owes First Capital $36,141 for “rent-related items.”
TD Canada Trust, a second creditor, is owed $211,422, according to court documents.
This summer, Mounir Yassa said, he was well aware of the restaurant’s storied past and, for that reason, he had tried to keep it afloat.
But it was a losing venture that was costing him between $8,000 and $12,000 a month, he said.
After the Murray's restaurant on Sherbrooke St. W. in Westmount closed in 1999, the Murray's eatery in T.M.R. became the last one standing in the city.
The chain, which got its start in the 1920s, once served diners in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto.
ccornacchia@thegazette.canwest.com
Tell us your Murray's restaurant stories using the comment box below or send us your photo memories by clicking this link.
A little article from a couple of years back re: Hogg Family ,....originally from the Westmount Examiner
Article online since October 4th 2007, 8:26
Comment on this article
Without missing a beat, the diminutive Brousseau checks his watch, shoots back, "Sixty-five years," then continues making a vodka martini for an appreciative patron at the ornate L'Autre Saison bar in downtown Montreal.
It's safe to say, there are few 65-year-old bartenders in town, let alone those with 65 years' experience. Now, I haven't canvassed every saloon in the city - although it's not for lack of trying - but I've never run into a bartender about to turn 80 and still mixing with a vengeance.
Math geniuses will have deduced that Brousseau started plying his trade when he was just 14. Evidently, liquor laws were looser then, or Brousseau got his hands on some forged ID. His first place of employment was a restaurant called Drury's, all the rage in Montreal in the 1940s but long since defunct.
The secret to his longevity: "Women and vodka," Brousseau says with a big smile. "I really cannot tell a lie at my age," says the man who is as diplomatic as he is dapper in his formal bartender attire. And the secret to a good martini: "No vermouth. If a customer requests vermouth, simply touch the glass with the bottle."
Brousseau confesses that he never appreciated vodka until his 12-year stint at the Troika, a (local) Russian resto.
"That's where I learned to enjoy vodka and I developed an addiction to caviar. And that's why I continue to work and will never retire, because I have to pay for my caviar habit," he says with a wink.
Brousseau has been behind the bar at L'Autre Saison for the last 12 years. Over the decades, he has served just about every major politico, celebrity and athlete, not to mention a who's who of rogue's gallery patrons. Not surprisingly, his most loyal customers today, not counting the adoring women, are restaurant owners. George Lau, proprietor of the popular L'Orchidee de Chine, is a regular at Brousseau's bar when not making the rounds at his own place.
"Omer used to tend bar at Roma Antiqua, which is where L'Orchidee is now. I begged him to come work with me," Lau recalls at the L'Autre Saison bar. "I would have made a million with him. He has the touch. There's not a drink he doesn't know how to make. And he knows just about everyone in town. He is a true Montreal original."
Dotting the bar are photos of Brousseau with everyone from baseball star Sammy Sosa to Paul Newman: "One of the finest gentlemen I ever had the privilege of serving."
Brousseau also remembers mixing drinks for late Quebec premier Maurice Duplessis and film star Dorothy Lamour. "Those were the days bars never closed in Montreal," Brousseau reminisces, his eyes twinkling. "If the walls could have talked, what stories they would have told.
"People think Montreal is wild today. Hah! They have no idea what wild is.
"Those were the days Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis would show up regularly and play clubs like the El Morocco. Then there was Lili St. Cyr, the classiest stripper of them all, at the old Gayety Theatre.
"What I always liked about actors and performers is that they spent their own money," Brousseau says. "Politicians have a habit of spending the money of others."
Ron Blair, another of Brousseau's regular customers, asks if he has a philosophy. Brousseau replies: "They say, ‘Drink to forget,' but I say, ‘Don't forget to drink.' " Pause. "But the real key to working this trade is to leave your problems at home. A good bartender listens and only talks when asked a question. Not unlike a psychiatrist."
Brousseau has been married twice. The first, nearly 60 years ago, lasted six months. The second is still going after 11 years. The math-savvy will note there is a huge gap in between. "Let's just say I was having fun then."
Brousseau was one of seven kids. His family left their native Windsor, Ont., for better prospects in Montreal when he was 3. His mother passed away when he was 6, leaving the family in disarray and compelling him to start working before he was a teen.
"There was no question about that," he says. "My oldest brother became a missionary. Another brother became a priest. Someone had to help pay for food and rent.
"But as tough as those days were, they were still better for me. Montreal was considered one of the world's great cities in those days. Then, around 1970, everything seemed to come to a standstill. Politics got really intense. People moved away..." His voice tails off.
Kazim Toural, co-owner of L'Autre Saison, recalls being served by Brousseau in the mid-1970s at Montreal's Tour Eiffel.
"I was so impressed with his style," Toural says. "I was determined to get him to be bartender at our place. It took about 25 years. I told him I wanted him to retire happy with us. He said maybe he'd do a year here. That was 12 years ago. Now he's got a fan club. And he'll outlast us all. They just don't make them like Omer any more."
The cabaret music of Jean Gabin wafts ever so gently in the background as more customers head for the bar. Time nearly stands still. The scene could almost pass for Montreal of a half-century back. When Edith Piaf would shuffle in for a martini. When Charles Aznavour would warble a few tunes.
"Those were the days," Brousseau says with a sigh. "But we can't look back at what was. We have to move forward and make the most of what we have now. That's life."
Have Fun & Remember Verdun..............................Cheers !!!
.Here's a neat story that appeared in Concordia's newspaper / website, called 'The Link'
Some of you may find it interesting,Montreal Btw: had plans for a Subway System way back in the early 1900's ,.but of course as we know now,the idea never took flight until the mid-60's..............here's the story:
“Montreal is a big metropolis and the tremendous expansion of our city creates problems. Mass transportation being one of these daily problems,” stated Mayor Jean Drapeau, at the groundbreaking ceremony for Montreal’s underground transit system.
Almost 50 years in the making, the metro system that came about in 1966 changed the way Montrealers got around in their day-to-day lives, and its growth has continued to shape the city’s landscape.
Having expanded with every passing decade of its existence—aside from the 1990s due to the moratorium, which the Quebec government had put on proposals to expand the transit system—recent statistics now estimate that in one year the Montreal transit corporation’s clientele took over 433 million trips. Many of these utilized the underground network of highly stylized stations that crisscross the core of the island—which we affectionately call the metro.
People travel these tunnels daily without really questioning their creation; they have no idea how the metro system came about or what could have been.
The Metros that never were
The first proposal for a subway occurred in 1910. The Montreal Subway Company drew up plans that called for a single line running underneath de Bleury Street and Parc Ave., and from Craig Street—now St-Antoine Street—all the way to Mont-Royal Ave. Railway companies placed significant pressure on Montreal’s public officials, seeing a subway system as an active threat to their livelihood, and put an end to these plans.
The next mention of a subway came up in the mid 1940s. The Montreal Tramway Company first proposed a network that had an initial two-line, 15-station launch, running east-west along Ste-Catherine Street and north-south along St-Denis Blvd. The north-south line was to continue down, then westward beneath St-Jaques Street, looping up to meet again with the east-west line at Guy Street.
Proposed extensions included a network running to Verdun in the southwest, Sherbrooke Street O. and Girouard Ave. to the west, and Queen-Mary Rd. and Décarie Blvd. in the northwest. To the east, an eastern extension to the corner of Ontario & Viau Streets was proposed, as well as an offshoot of that line which would have travelled up north to de Lorimier Ave. and Rosemont Blvd.—these plans were tabled as more immediate war-related concerns were dealt with.
In 1951, the Commission de transport de Montréal was created in order to properly take care of the public transportation situation in Montreal. Two years later it delivered a report to the City of Montreal that detailed a similar network to that proposed in the ‘40s.
The 16-station, single-line network would start on Atwater Ave. travelling eastward along Ste-Catherine Street for three stations before dipping down to St-Jacques Street for three more stations, then veering northwards beneath St-Denis Street up to Cremazie Blvd.
Extensions from the western end included a nine-station route that went west along Sherbrooke Street before travelling north along Decarie Blvd., an extension that added two stations to connect the Ste-Catherine Street route, and then an eastern extension towards Ontario and Viau Streets, with a line snaking out on D’Iberville Street that headed north and to the east to Jean-Talon and Pie-IX Blvd. This plan was abandoned due to a lack of funds.
The Quiet Revolution that started at the end of the 1950s continued to spread all over Quebec—particularly in Quebec’s biggest metropolitan centre, Montreal. Talk of a new metro network heated up the 1960 Montreal mayoral election. Mayor Jean Drapeau used it as a platform point and managed to convince the citizens of Montreal to vote for him again, securing a second term.
The original network suggested by the CTM in 1961 showed a two-tiered metro system that provided both under- and above-ground service. The under-ground service retained the same geographical locations of the earlier plans and similar extensions, only this time an above-ground network ran north-south right through Mount Royal to Cartierville, with an eastern extension to Sault Street in the east.
The Montreal Metro system
LINE 1 – Green
Began operation: October 1966
The original metro line was depicted as a straight line on the inaugural metro map from Atwater Ave. to Frontenac Street, utilizing Berri-de-Montigny—now Berri-UQAM—to switch over to the Orange line (2) and the Yellow line (4). It then extended eastward to Frontenac in ‘67 and then towards Honore-Beaugrand, officially opening the stations from Préfontaine to Honore-Beaugrand in 1976. Finally, it extended eastwards with the stations from Lionel-Groulx to Angrignon opening in 1978.
LINE 2 – Orange
Began operation: October 1966
This was the first-planned metro line, as well as the longest running from Henri-Bourassa to Bonaventure. Originally, the portion from Berri-de-Montigny to Bonaventure was supposed to go to Longueuil instead, creating a solid north-south line, but this was scrapped as concerns over reaching downtown were voiced. The line continued westwards from Lucien-L’allier to Lionel-Groulx (making the station the second transfer station, after Berri) in 1978. Then the rest of the stations that continued west- and northward were opened from 1980 to Cote Vertu’s opening in 1986.
In 2002, construction began on a three-stop extension including Cartier, de la Concorde and Montmorency, heading north from Henri-Bourassa. The stations were opened in April 28th, 2007, finally linking the metro to Laval.
In July 2007, Laval mayor Gilles Vaillancourt voiced his desire to loop the Orange line from Montmorency to Cote Vertu, with the addition of six or seven new stations—half in Laval and half in Montreal. Talks are ongoing between the two cities.
LINE 3– Red
Began operation: Never
Originally conceived as a partially above-ground network of 15 stations that would’ve ended in Cartierville, it was cancelled due to the above-ground nature of the line, which would have to have winterized trains and use steel instead of rubber for the trains’ wheels. Because of those and other logistical and bureaucratic factors, including Canadian National Railway’s refusal to allow the metro access to its tracks running beneath Mount Royal, the red line would never come to be. The other large contributing factor was the opening of the 1967 World’s Fair—Expo 67—which made the Yellow line that reached to Ile-Sainte-Helene the main focus. The tunnel and tracks are now used by the AMT for their Montreal-Deux-Montagnes commuter train line instead.
LINE 4 – Yellow
Began operation: April 1967
A late arrival to the initial metro plans, the Yellow line was added on years after construction had begun on the Orange and Green lines when Montreal was chosen to host the 1967 World’s Fair. The line opened in late April to coincide with the beginning of the summer-long Expo 67.
There are three stations on the line—Berri-UQAM is the northern terminus, with Ile-Sainte-Helene—now Jean-Drapeau—and Longueuil—now Longueuil-Université-de-Sherbrooke—being the southern terminus. The Yellow line was the first line to leave the island of Montreal and to travel underwater.
LINE 5 – Blue
Began operation: 1986
The last of the four existing stations was created in the early 1980s to service the eastern portion of the island as well as service the Université de Montreal. Originally conceived to run far into Montreal North, with a terminus on Amos Street along Jean-Talon Blvd., with plans proposed to reach west into Montreal West on Sherbrooke Street, beyond the current western terminus of Snowdon and as far east as Ville-d’Anjou. The original metro line was composed of De Castelnau on the west and St-Michel station on the east in ‘86, then Parc was added to the line in 1987, and finally the line was extended westward to Snowdown in 1988.
A CTV News investigation in 2007 revealed the fact that there is an unused station in Hampstead that would connect to Snowdown, continuing the Blue line westward. The station was built, complete with tracks that would connect it to the already in-service station, but due to political reasons no aboveground entrance has been created.
LINE 6 – Colourless
Began operation: Never
A proposed east-west metro line that would’ve run above ground on the northern shore of the island. Unlike line 7, line 6 never got very far in the planning stage and was quickly dropped.
LINE 7 – White
Began operation: Never
First conceived in the early 1980s as a north-south line that would run below Pie-IX Blvd., this line was meant to bring service to the boroughs of St-Leonard and Montreal-North. The white line would have had 10 stations from Pie-IX on the Green line to a never-created Léger station to the north. The plan was scrapped and reintroduced in 1984 as a 12-station line travelling from Pie-IX to Langelier. It appeared on official STM literature and metro network plans from 1983 to the early ‘90s uncoloured, leading to its unofficial “white” name.
It was dropped when the Quebec government placed a moratorium on all expansions, citing budgetary concerns in the late 1980s.
—with files from Sebastien Cadieux
