Verdun, a sprawling municipality-turned-borough sandwiched between the aqueduct and the river, is posh to the west, hardscrabble to the east and is also home to well-heeled Nun's Island off the mainland.
Those who have spent time there know its unpretentious charms and the heart-and-soul good vibes that make it a great place to hang out.
Have a walk through the past with these vintage photos.
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This post is brought to you by Kristian Gravenor's Montreal: 375 Tales of Eating, Drinking, Living and Loving, on sale in bookstores and online spring 2017.
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Those who have spent time there know its unpretentious charms and the heart-and-soul good vibes that make it a great place to hang out.
Have a walk through the past with these vintage photos.
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It's the craziest, funniest, scariest and most insightful book ever written about Montreal. Absolute must-reading! Kristian Gravenor's Montreal: 375 Tales of Eating, Drinking, Living and Loving, order your paper copy here now.
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This post is brought to you by Kristian Gravenor's Montreal: 375 Tales of Eating, Drinking, Living and Loving, on sale in bookstores and online spring 2017.
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Fantastic!!! I would love to see you write about Crawford Park especially if you have pictures.
ReplyDeleteLove to find a photo of CKVL studios back in the Call Me Uncle days- 1950"s
ReplyDeleteMoi aussi j'aimerais bien des photos de CKVL J'ai passé mon enfance & ma jeunesse sur la rue Gordon pas loin du poste de radio CKVL Merci
DeleteEt moi, j'en serais aussi ravi d'y voir des photos de CKVL des années 70, lorsque ma mère y travaillait encore comme serveuse dans le petit restaurant du CKVL même.
DeleteThe images hit you hard in terms of retail and foodie diversity that has been lost. I have to cover so much geography now, just to frequent what used to be all available on the main drag in each borough. The other thing you notice is just how many more cars are now in our mist. The car density change is astounding it seems.
ReplyDeleteThank You, Sir.
ReplyDeleteThe decline had begun, a lot seemed to change once the Tramways came off.
Graffiti still in the future, tho'.
It was said Verdun was the largest City in Canada without railway service.
Track used to come in at the Verdun Industrial Complex once between Atwater and Old River Street/ Gilberte Dube parallel with May Ave.
Verdun Industrial Complex, Centre. May Ave. below right, facing onto covered over channel
http://archivesdemontreal.com/greffe/vues-aeriennes-archives/jpeg/VM97-3_7P5-20.jpg
Thank You.
Your first image appears to have my old Camaro pictured. But I will deny it, as it looks to have a Ticket on the windshield. Not moi.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Great photos! I even found myself also looking closely at the people.... btw, if that brown Camaro wasn't parked so far from the curb, I would say it was your car! ;)
DeleteVerdun, loved it when I lived there in the 60's and 70's.....still love Verdun :)
ReplyDeleteIn the decades before much of Verdun's waterfront was buried in landfill over which today's bike path exists, there was often severe spring flooding as far north as Wellington Street damaging homes and businesses.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to write about the Tail Race. The name alone fascinates me. Some semi-prominent local poet from the area made reference to it in a work. Still need a real story about it tho.
ReplyDeletegreat Pics...I never realize how much it has changed since I was a kid
ReplyDeleteLove to see pics from West Verdun. I lived on Beurling right in front of Beurling Park and walked through it to Go to Verdun Catholic High. Lived there from '67-'86...
ReplyDeleteWhat, no pictures of the Board-walk!?!?
ReplyDeleteBorn at the Verdun General Hospital in 1933, would like to see pics of the Natatorium where we walked to from Lafleur St during summer vacations. No charge in those days, we had four major theaters, 3 on Wellington St. and one on Church Ave. Kids got in for Saturday Matinee for 10 cents. So many memories, thanks for these photos.
ReplyDeleteReading all these fine comments of people who apparently know a lot more about Verdun than I do, causes me to reflect about a place I disliked intensely. I am a born and bred Montrealer. I had aunts and uncles who lived in Verdun. I disliked the place so much, I would never see any of them unless they came to visit my house in the Jarry/Villeray district. (where they actually all originated).
ReplyDeleteI always had the feeling I was a complete stranger in my visits to Verdun where I often went to swim in the Natatorium, and I had pals who owned and sailed small boats who treated me to pleasant little trips on the local waters. I can’t explain why I never liked to go there. Obviously it is a nice place, but I could never appreciate anything about it: and, seeing your photos of it, still fill me with the same apprehension I always have had about it.
To me, it was like a place trying to be special, but really never made it.
Montreal was too much for it to compete against. Verdun was like a city trying to be big time, but never could make it.
I beg to be sorry to all you Verdunites. It was never the people from there that made me uncomfortable, it was just the place itself. Sorry.
Sorry to hear of your misfortune in not enjoying and appreciate Verdun. Verdun was never trying to be bigger and better than Montreal at all. What made Verdun was the people who lived here who had barely anything and yet at the same time had it all. Verdun was a unique place to grow up and raise a family. ❤
DeleteKristian, stories involving the Verdun Tail Race will pop up as you scan through Google's archives of the Montreal Gazette and elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteFrom the few points that I have gleaned up until now, the Tail Race was (and still is) the slow-moving, waste water outflow from the Montreal Reservoir located directly to the north.
Old maps such as the one below, also clearly indicate a former stream which wound its way west off of the Tail Race and which was later buried in pipes under Wellington Street near the intersection of Rheaume. Hard to imagine the stream actually crossing over the road as is shown on the map!
In 1876, the Buffalo Bridge was built over the Tail Race approximately where today d'Argenson goes under Autoroute 15, but this structure was later removed and replaced by pipes as likewise was the bridge on Wellington near May Avenue. The construction of the existing Champlain Bridge also required redevelopment of this area, as is the case with its upcoming replacement.
Then: http://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/2085926
Now: https://www.google.ca/maps/@45.4697706,-73.5647782,1822m/data=!3m1!1e3
Gazette article, August 30, 1934, page 6 - heading: "City To Sell Abandoned Bridge...".
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19340830&id=04wjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HZkFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5608,3319199&hl=en
Up until about 1930, the "Mullarky Avenue" (great name!) mentioned in the article ran between Regina and Verdun Avenue. The quaint Mullarky name disappeared when it was later merged into LaSalle Blvd. See the 1916 map:
http://services.banq.qc.ca/sdx/cep/document.xsp?db=notice&app=ca.BAnQ.sdx.cep&id=0003031156&eview=CARTES_PLANS/3031156/3031156_01.tif
Inevitably, drownings (usually children) would occur in the Tail Race from time to time, as it was a fishing spot and may still be.
Clearly indicated on the first map above is the former shoreline of the St. Lawrence River which too often would flood many streets to the north during the Spring melt. Huge chunks of ice would relentless surge inland, easily crushing nearby structures. It took decades before the existing landfill was created over which the playground and bike path now exist.
The section of the shoreline behind and to the east of the Verdun Auditorium is a well-travelled walking-jogging trail and dog run (too many unleashed!) which is in dire need of upgrading. Walking alone there at night might be bad idea. A paved, fenced-lined pathway all the way to the Champlain Bridge would transform the area into a more user-friendly environment.
Recent plans to create a beach in the area seem to have been shelved for the time being and this may be more trouble than it's worth due to increased traffic, etc.
I remember hearing stories about Verdun's infamous rats and what about the shed fires: those ugly, shabby structures attached to the rear of too many Verdun dwellings which homeowners and/or landlords have consistently been reluctant to demolish despite safety regulations and public outcry. Fools never learn.
For a time (in the 1960s?) there was an elusive miscreant slashing tires along some of the Verdun's streets. Not sure if he was ever caught.
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ReplyDeleteI worked in the Gordon building 1996-2006 for Q92. CKVL, CKOI and CIQC were also there. It was just around the corner from Norman Patate on Wellington. That is in one of the pictures.
ReplyDeleteVerdun at one time was the largest city without a railroad station, a hotel and a bar
ReplyDeleteGREENBERG-thank you for this picture...great childhood memories. My single mom and I would have lunch most Saturdays there really nice waitresses and I loved their club sandwich. We would continue our day shopping at Woolworths and Pasqual's and Jean Coutu and back home on LaSalle blvd. I would love a slice of Woodland pizza right now. The best food is found in Montreal period. A very special place indeed and I agree...it was the people that made it so special. The best side-walk sale every year you would meet all your school friends..I went to Verdun High on Argyle Ave but I was from the younger generation in 1979. Thanks for the memories.
ReplyDelete