Montreal Book of Everything. Everything You Wanted to Know About Montreal and Were Going to Ask Anyway

195 Pages·2011·2.47 MB·English

by  Jim Hynes

Copyright 2011 by MacIntyre Purcell Publishing Inc.
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Cover photo istockphoto©.
Photos: pages 6, 96, 184 Brendan Murphy, pages.16, 34, 56, 74, 122, 148, 164 istockphoto©.
Cover and Design: Channel Communications Inc.
Printed and bound in Canada by UGS.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Hynes, Jim
Montreal Book of Everything /
Hynes, Jim
ISBN 0-9738063-7-3
Montreal (Quebec). 2. Montreal (Quebec)--Miscellanea. I. Title.
FC2947.18.H95 2007 971.4’28
C2007-905133-2
Introduction
I wasn’t born in Montreal, but rather in a small town on the city’s South Shore.
For the past 40 years, though, I have driven over the Champlain Bridge, linking
the South Shore and the Eastern Townships beyond it with the island of
Montreal, hundreds of times – first as a boy with my dad visiting his family in
the city, now with my own family, heading home after spending a day with my
parents.
Every time I have made that drive, day or night, summer or winter, I have
never failed to be amazed at just how beautiful a city I live in. From the top of the
span I can see the small, sprawling bump of a mountain that gives the city its
name. I see the powerful St. Lawrence River that made the location so perfect for
commerce.
From the bridge I can see rising out of the mostly French East End, the
Olympic Stadium, where I danced a goofy, improvised jig in the aisles and sang
“Valderi, Valdera” with 50,000 other people, French and English, back in the
days when the Expos were packing ‘em in. I also see the more Anglo West End
and I remember a summer morning pushing my then one-year-old son on the
swings in beautiful Westmount Park.
The history books and online archives will tell you about language strife, and
a boulevard that divides us both geographically and sociopolitically. What they
won’t tell you is that you can go spelunking in St. Leonard, that the long gone
neighborhood called Griffintown used to flood so badly you could row a boat up
and down its streets, or that Old Montreal was once destroyed by fire… and that
a black slave woman was blamed and executed for it. For that you’ll have to
consult the Montreal Book of Everything.
I’d like to extend many thanks to all of the contributors and editors. Tim
Lehnert lent his time and skills writing many sections of the book with his
trademark accuracy and promptness. Paul Waters tackled the culture section
with great skill. Samantha Amara, Lynn MacIntyre, Brendan Murphy, and
Elizabeth Johnston all performed research and writing. Kelly Inglis deserves
special mention for her editing skills and attention to detail.
To know everything about Montreal is a lofty goal, perhaps one that is never
attainable. It’s a big, complicated city with a long, complicated history. We have
had a lot of fun trying. We hope you have as much fun reading about it.
— Jim Hynes
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
TIMELINE
From 2000 Before Present to 2007 … First Permanent Settlement … New
World … St. Lawrence Seaway Opens … Montreal USA … Francine
Lelievre’s Five Sites Providing a Window Into Montreal’s Past … Summer
Olympics … Super City …
ESSENTIALS
Population Trends … Margaret Somerville’s Five Things She Loves About
Montreal … You Know You’re From Montreal When … Ethnic Origins …
Cussing, a French Lesson … David McKnight’s Five Essential Reads …
Higher Learning … Health Care …
URBAN GEOGRAPHY
Take Me to the River … Mount Royal … Dinu Bumbaru’s Top
Architectural Achievements … “Old” Montreal … Habitat 67 … Five
Things to Do for Free in Montreal … Work of Art … Two Wheelin’ …
Tallest Buildings … Play it Again …
WEATHER AND CLIMATE
Monthly Average Temperatures … Geeta Nadkarni’s Top Five Weather
Tips … Ice Storm of ‘98 … Victorian Era Winter Carnivals … Build an Ark
… Earthquakes …
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
Crime Line … The Headless Hooker … Wide Open Town … Wiseguy
Wally’s Top Five Underworld Characters … Machine Gun Molly … Little
Kingpin … West End Gang … In the Line of Duty … Policing Montreal …
Brother Andre’s Heart …
CULTURE
An Ancient Art for the Modern World … Mordecai Richler … Bryan
Demchinsky’s Top Five Literary Spots … Celine Dion … Indie Paradise …
Lewis Cohen’s Favourite Outdoor Shooting Locations … Revolutionary Art
… Top Five Sports Teams … Ben Weider …
ECONOMY
Peter Hadekel’s Economy Pros and Cons … The Bronfmans … You Said
How Much? … Five Key Sectors in the Economy … Pierre Peladeau …
Bombardier … Needle Trade … Shipping News … Downtown …
POLITICS
Mega City … Alan Hustak’s Most Memorable Montreal Mayors … Jean
Drapeau … Property Taxes … First Elected Mayor … Sticks and Stones and
Trudeau’s Bones …
THEN AND NOW
Five Famous Hotels … Population, Then and Now … Origins of Street
Names … Bibles and Bandages … Victoria Dickenson’s Favourite Artifacts
at McCord … Fire … Twentieth Century Riots …
FIRST PEOPLE
Creation Story … The Great Peace Treaty … Chief Donnaconna … Oka
Crisis … Spiritual Traditions … Languages … Why the Bear has a Short
Tail …
GO AHEAD, TAKE FIVE MORE
Luc Robitaille’s Five Reasons Why He Loved Playing Hockey In Montreal
… Stephen Barry’s Five Favourite Performers He Has Shared A Stage With
… Jim Hynes’ Five Best-Kept Secrets About Montreal … Andra
McCartney’s Top Five Lachine Canal Sounds … Bernard Perusse’s Five
Favourite Concert Venues … Paul Waters Five Favourite Pieces of Street
Art … Wanda Kaluzny’s Five Favourite Things About Montreal … Bill
Haugland’s 5 Most Memorable Stories He’s Covered … Ronald Stewart
And William Henson’s Five Reasons Montreal Is Susceptible To Ice Storms

Montreal:
A Timeline
2,000-1,500 Before Present: Archeological evidence suggests that various
nomadic peoples occupy the area now known as Montreal.
1535: During his second voyage to the new world, Jacques Cartier explores the
Saint Lawrence River, then known as “la Riviere de Canada” and finds the well-
populated and well-fortified Iroquoian village of Hochelaga, the present day site
of the Island of Montreal.
1611: Having founded Quebec City on the Iroquois settlement of Stadacona,
Samuel de Champlain re-explores Hochelaga in an attempt to create a trading
post but is fought off by Iroquois. Before leaving, he names nearby Île Sainte-
Helene after his wife.
1639: The area’s first permanent settlement is created by French tax collector
Jerome Le Royer.
1642: Paul de Chomedy de Maisonneuve establishes a mission named Ville-
Marie. He erects a wooden cross on Mount Royal. The area becomes central to
the fur trade.
1645: Jeanne Mance establishes the Hôtel-Dieu, the first hospital in North
America.
1670: The creation of the Hudson Bay Company is the beginning of the conflict
between France and England for control of the fur trade profits.
1701: The Great Peace Treaty, between New France and 39 First Nations, is
signed in Montreal.
1716: The French begin a 20-year construction of a wall around Montreal.
1721: After a large fire in the city, all subsequent buildings within the city walls
must be built using stone.
1759: After defeating the French in Quebec, in what would prove to be the tail
end of the Seven Years War, the British army marches towards Montreal.
1760: Montreal is overtaken by the British.
1763: The Treaty of Paris sees control of New France officially handed from
France to England, the only exception being the islands of St. Pierre and
Miquelon. An influx of Anglophones into the city begins.
1775: The American army marches into the city to solicit participation in the
American Revolution.
New World
Born in 1491 in Saint-Malo, France into a family of well-known mariners,
Jacques Cartier would continue the family tradition. In 1534, under a
commission from the King of France, he set sail to discover a western passage
to Asia. What he discovered instead, of course, were parts of North America,
in particular the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the St. Lawrence River.
Initial meetings with the First Nations were friendly but upon a second
meeting when one of Cartier’s boats became surrounded by Natives in canoes,
he panicked, ordering his men to shoot off a series of warning shots, despite
the Mi’kmaq signs of peace.
A third encounter further diminished relations when Cartier planted a
nine-metre cross and took possession of the territory in the name of the king –
the St. Lawrence Iroquoians were not amused. In an effort to build a
relationship with the natives, he captured two of Iroquois Chief Donnaconna’s
sons (Taignoagny and Domagaya), and returned to France.
Returning in 1535 and guided by Taignoagny and Domagaya, Cartier
became the first European to penetrate the St. Lawrence River. In Stadacona
(Quebec City), Native people refused to accompany him further up river, but
Cartier found other guides, which this time led him to Hochelaga (Montreal).
When he arrived Hochelaga, Cartier put on his full uniform, and ordered
his sailors into formation as he entered what was then an Iroquoian village.
After the festivities, the Iroquois brought Cartier to the top of Mount Royal,
explaining to him the major waterways. Cartier was convinced he had