Someone named Betty Guernsey must've worn out a few pairs of shoes in her published walking tour articles around Montreal in the 1970s. This one about Littly Italy discusses the various in joints of that area. Coolopolis repeatedly sent an intern to update the list but on five occasions the intern simply never reported back to Coolopolis Towers. Anybody out there want to give us an update on what, if any, of these landmarks still gleams to villagers?
1. St. Jean de la Croix was converted to condos a couple of years ago. I've seen older folks cross themselves on the bus while passing nonetheless.
ReplyDelete2. The park is still there, as are the Cafe Internationale, the Sportivo and Caffè Italia.
3. 6766 is not a cheese shop any more, it's the Boulangerie Roma.
4. Dai Baffoni: still there at the corner of Dante.
5. Milano's: still there, and bigger and better than in those days. Next door is still a travel agency. I don't know who owns it now.
6. Baggio's closed awhile back. 7050 is Cafe Espresso Lino, which sells espresso machines - Faema is now up at the corner of Jean-Talon.
7. Can't read the address but I don't know the pasticceria she mentions.
8. Rocket News is gone. The little dépanneur that was there till recently was run by Indian folks, but it became very run down. The barbershop and music school are gone. There's a driving school there now.
9. Union Coffee: still there, apparently thriving.
10. There is still a marble business at the corner but it's changed hands several times.
11-12. 7400 is still there. There was an item a year or two back about how Université Laval wanted it as a satellite campus but I don't know what happened with that.
13. Jarry Park: still there. No more Expos. Tennis anyone?
14. Still a Syrian (maybe Lebanese) bakery on de Castelnau at St. Dominique. Not called Aladdin, can't remember what it is called. Church still there.
15. Ste-Cécile is still there. Not many folks go to it any more.
16. Motta's: still there. Bread costs more than $1 now.
17. and 18. School buildings still there and still function as schools, I think. At any rate they are not condo buildings yet.
19. Madonna della Difesa is still there. So is Mussolini.
20. The bakery is now called Alati-Caserta and is still there.
21. Dante Square is still there. So is Dante.
22. 65 Saint-Zotique E. was Restaurant Frank until not too long ago. It was one of the places where some amount of skulduggery went on connected with the sponsorship scandal. It's still a resto, a pizza place called Bottega. I don't think there's a barbershop next door any more.
23. Quincaillerie Dante: still there, thriving.
24. The local police station is now in Jarry Park. I think there are still some fire vehicles kept in the station.
25. I can remember when 40 Jean-Talon East was the Lebanese association, but it's now the Espace Dell'Arte, where concerts and similar events are held.
26 and 28. The restaurants along that bit of Jean-Talon are all different now.
27. Mondou's is still there.
29. Jean-Talon Market has changed but is obviously still there. Sunday is probably its busiest day now. Capitol and Shamrock Fish are also still there; the other fish shop changed hands a few times and I think is a butcher shop now. No more library in the little building behind the police & fire station.
30. Casa d'Italia is still there. Not sure what it's used for but there it is.
I actually have a copy of the walking tours book somewhere, which S.W. Welch gave me. Great stuff, been meaning to redo the downtown one sometime.
Aha, found the book. Re #7, it's 7120 and is now a leather store.
ReplyDeleteOne of my very early summer jobs involved printing decals on t-shirts in a tiny shop behind a sewing machine business in Little Italy. (It's a florist now. I don't think anyone is conducting business behind it any more, at least I hope not.) I remember the cheese store at 6766 – the smell hit you in the face when you opened the door. One thing she doesn't mention is Nick's Hot Dog, which was a fixture on the Main for years. I think it was next door to Baggio's or not far from it.
Thank you Zadcat for this big update, I love Betty Guernesey's book :)
ReplyDeleteDoing searches for this thing has been fascinating at least partly because of how out of date some information is. I just spotted this listing for Nick's Hot Dog:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/721995/restaurant/Montreal/Saint-douard/Nicks-Hot-Dogs-Montreal
It was at 6961 Saint-Laurent, now occupied by a restaurant called Mange Boire. I don't know what the food is like. Some online listings still include Baggio's too, and both Nick's and Baggio's disappeared at least ten years ago, and probably more.
There are some really good things in Little Italy (since you said "gleams" and I had just done an update). The Caffe Italia does some of the best espresso in town, the Quincaillerie Dante is one of the top places to get any kind of cooking implement (or shotguns) and the Milano is always a pleasure to shop in. I don't eat wheat so I'm no judge of the bakeries and pasta places, but the Caffe Epoca almost always has a risotto on the menu and it's always worth stopping for if it's the funghi porcini one. I don't know much about the more upscale restos though.
ReplyDeleteLove Little Italy - always freaks me out, but makes me smile at the same time, to see the shotguns and other hunting equipment in Quincaillerie Dante.
ReplyDelete