An ad from the old Herald, March 1906. Notice the promoter's name: Marcil. That's one way to get a street named after you -- not to mention a fine fortune. The train below would be a Grand Trunk steamer, and that looks like a ship being towed along the canal. This idealized view could represent just about anywhere along the steep, "well drained" incline between, say, Atwater and Cavendish and bordering on Dorchester, St. Catherine or St. James West. By the looks of it, you're talking towards the west -- which sure isn't Westmount. The name of Westmount already carried a lot of weight in those days, when Golden Square Milers looked down their noses at that suburb.
Georges Marcil was later the last Mayor of the independent town of Notre-Dame de Grace before it was annexed in 1910. He lived in what was later one of the 2 funeral parlors at the corner of Sherbrooke and Marcil and owned most of the land behind it.
ReplyDeleteHe opposed the annexation, which was supported by former NDG Mayor Trenholme.