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The Main Media Inc. 2026

✦ Built By Field Office
    The Main

    Montreal's Cultural Directory

    Help us improve! Share your thoughts on how we can make your experience better.

    Leave feedback

    For partnerships and collaborations:

    partnerships@themain.com

    Explore

    • About us
    • Shop
    • Advertise
    • Pitch us

    Connect

    • Instagram
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    Resources

    • RSS Feed
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    Legal

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    • Privacy Policy

    The Main Media Inc. 2026

    ✦ Built By Field Office
      --°C|Wednesday, March 11, 2026|
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      --°C|Wednesday, March 11, 2026|
      Subscribe today to get 3 free articles per month.ROYALMOUNT Wants to Be Your Dining Destination for a Whole MonthGet 50% off your first 5 rides with Lyft
      InstagramTwitterTiktokLinkedin
      |
      Advertise
      The Main Logo
      Magazine
      Categories
      • Arts & Culture

        Creativity, heritage, and expression.

      • Beyond Montreal

        Travel, adventure, and global perspectives.

      • Design

        The best of Montreal design.

      • Food & Drink

        La bonne bouffe.

      • History

        Stories, lessons, and context.

      • Newsletter

        Our weekly newsletter.

      • See all original stories
      Explore Montreal
      Popular Guides
      • The Best Restaurants in Montreal
      • Best new Restaurants
      • Best Cafés
      • Unique Boutiques
      • Romantic Restaurants
      • Best Bookstores
      • See all Guides
      Neighbourhood
      • Downtown
      • Le Plateau-Mont-Royal
      • Mile End
      • Mile-Ex
      • Saint-Henri
      • See All
      Business Type
      • Restaurant
      • Café
      • Boutique / Store
      • Bar
      • Bakery
      • See All
      Near the Metro
      • Peel
      • Mont-Royal
      • Place-Saint-Henri
      • Place-d'Armes
      • Jarry
      • View all
      Shop
      Subscribe
      Subscribe
      What Happened to Montreal's Red Light District?
      History Lesson
      J.P. Karwacki

      What Happened to Montreal's Red Light District?

      Jazz legends, burlesque queens, and organized crime made it one of the most alive corners in North America. Then Montreal decided it had a reputation to protect.

      The House That Haitian Montreal Built
      History Lesson
      The Main

      The House That Haitian Montreal Built

      The story of La Maison d'Haïti: Its welcome and advocacy for Montreal's growing Haitian community since 1972.

      The Woman Who Taught a City How to Play the Piano
      History Lesson
      J.P. Karwacki

      The Woman Who Taught a City How to Play the Piano

      In so many ways, Montreal jazz exists because Daisy Peterson Sweeney both masters and generations of kids in Little Burgundy.

      How a Railway Porter Built Montreal's Most Storied Jazz Club
      History Lesson
      J.P. Karwacki

      How a Railway Porter Built Montreal's Most Storied Jazz Club

      The story of Rufus Rockhead, the Jamaican-born railway porter who built Montreal's most legendary jazz club—and spent decades defending it.

      What Montreal's 1976 Olympics left behind, 50 years later
      History Lesson
      J.P. Karwacki

      What Montreal's 1976 Olympics Left Behind, 50 Years Later

      Were the Summer Games a triumph, a total failure, or somewhere in between?

      The hidden politics of Montreal's 19th-century ice palaces
      History Lesson
      Kaitlyn DiBartolo

      The Hidden Politics of Montreal's 19th-century Ice Palaces

      Built from 500-pound blocks of ice pulled from the St. Lawrence, the Neo-Gothic castles dazzled international crowds while reinforcing who really held power.

      What Happened to Montreal's Red Light District?
      History Lesson
      J.P. Karwacki

      What Happened to Montreal's Red Light District?

      Jazz legends, burlesque queens, and organized crime made it one of the most alive corners in North America. Then Montreal decided it had a reputation to protect.

      The House That Haitian Montreal Built
      History Lesson
      The Main

      The House That Haitian Montreal Built

      The story of La Maison d'Haïti: Its welcome and advocacy for Montreal's growing Haitian community since 1972.

      The Woman Who Taught a City How to Play the Piano
      History Lesson
      J.P. Karwacki

      The Woman Who Taught a City How to Play the Piano

      In so many ways, Montreal jazz exists because Daisy Peterson Sweeney both masters and generations of kids in Little Burgundy.

      How a Railway Porter Built Montreal's Most Storied Jazz Club
      History Lesson
      J.P. Karwacki

      How a Railway Porter Built Montreal's Most Storied Jazz Club

      The story of Rufus Rockhead, the Jamaican-born railway porter who built Montreal's most legendary jazz club—and spent decades defending it.

      What Montreal's 1976 Olympics left behind, 50 years later
      History Lesson
      J.P. Karwacki

      What Montreal's 1976 Olympics Left Behind, 50 Years Later

      Were the Summer Games a triumph, a total failure, or somewhere in between?

      The hidden politics of Montreal's 19th-century ice palaces
      History Lesson
      Kaitlyn DiBartolo

      The Hidden Politics of Montreal's 19th-century Ice Palaces

      Built from 500-pound blocks of ice pulled from the St. Lawrence, the Neo-Gothic castles dazzled international crowds while reinforcing who really held power.

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      A Man Named Dandurand, and the First Cars to Ride the Streets of Montreal

      At a time before potholes, when horseless carriages ran free.

      By J.P. KarwackiNovember 30, 2023 - Read time: 4 min
      A man named Dandurand, and the first cars to ride the streets of Montreal
      Ucal Henri Dandurand's residence and automobile, Dorchester St. W., Montreal, QC, about 1903. | Photograph: McCord Stewart Museum
      1. Articles
      2. History Lesson

      A Man Named Dandurand, and the First Cars to Ride the Streets of Montreal

      At a time before potholes, when horseless carriages ran free.

      By J.P. KarwackiNovember 30, 2023 - Read time: 4 min
      A man named Dandurand, and the first cars to ride the streets of Montreal
      Ucal Henri Dandurand's residence and automobile, Dorchester St. W., Montreal, QC, about 1903. | Photograph: McCord Stewart Museum

      On November 21, 1899, the 25th mayor of Montreal Raymond Préfontaine took a ride in what’s been claimed to be first automobile to ride the city’s then-muddy streets: The Waltham, which cut through the sounds of horses' hooves and rhythmic creak of carriage wheels.

      Owned by a bourgeois real estate investor Ucal-Henri Dandurand—a man who developed the Rosemont neighbourhood which he named after his mother, Rose Philips, with Samuel Holt—he pulled the tiller of a steam-powered Waltham imported from Massachusetts (imagine a lever that’s steered the car much like the rudder on a boat), proudly parading Préfontaine around.

      It had a very light 50 lb, 3hp, two-cylinder double acting steam engine, and the complete vehicle only weighed 600 lb with wire wheels.

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      Montreal's decades-long Polynesian fantasy and volcano cocktail experiment
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      Montreal's Decades-long Polynesian Fantasy and Volcano Cocktail Experiment

      When Kon Tiki brought post-war escapism and Hollywood's idea of the South Pacific to Peel Street, it created an exotic escape unlike any other.

      Before the world knew his name, Montreal heard him first
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      Before the World Knew His Name, Montreal Heard Him First

      The Harlem of the North, Little Burgundy, raised a legend. It took 100 years to say it as loudly as possible from the city's rooftops.

      NDG's Empress Theatre survived a century of change. Can it survive neglect?
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      NDG's Empress Theatre Survived a Century of Change. Can it Survive Neglect?

      Montreal's last (and Canada's only) Egyptian Revival movie palace reinvented itself for decades. Now it's been empty for 33 years.

      How Montreal got its Little Italy
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      How Montreal Got Its Little Italy

      A century-long story of how a neighbourhood grew from railroad workers to family legacies everywhere you look today.

      How 24 Stanley Cups turned the Montreal Canadiens into a religion
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      The Main

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      If this factory closes, a century of Montreal's Chinatown history goes with it
      History Lesson
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      If This Factory Closes, a Century of Montreal's Chinatown History Goes with it

      For over a century, Wing Noodles has fed Montreal with handmade noodles, fortune cookies, and quiet defiance—one of the last family-run factories still standing in Chinatown.

      On November 21, 1899, the 25th mayor of Montreal Raymond Préfontaine took a ride in what’s been claimed to be first automobile to ride the city’s then-muddy streets: The Waltham, which cut through the sounds of horses' hooves and rhythmic creak of carriage wheels.

      Owned by a bourgeois real estate investor Ucal-Henri Dandurand—a man who developed the Rosemont neighbourhood which he named after his mother, Rose Philips, with Samuel Holt—he pulled the tiller of a steam-powered Waltham imported from Massachusetts (imagine a lever that’s steered the car much like the rudder on a boat), proudly parading Préfontaine around.

      It had a very light 50 lb, 3hp, two-cylinder double acting steam engine, and the complete vehicle only weighed 600 lb with wire wheels.

      Free account required

      For readers who care about Montreal

      Create a free account to read this story and access 3 articles per month, plus our weekly Bulletin.

      Independent. Local. Reader-supported.

      or

      Already a member? Sign in

      Advertisement

      Advertisement

      Advertisement

      Related Classics

      From our archive.

      Montreal's decades-long Polynesian fantasy and volcano cocktail experiment
      History Lesson
      Phylida Tuff-West

      Montreal's Decades-long Polynesian Fantasy and Volcano Cocktail Experiment

      When Kon Tiki brought post-war escapism and Hollywood's idea of the South Pacific to Peel Street, it created an exotic escape unlike any other.

      Before the world knew his name, Montreal heard him first
      History Lesson
      J.P. Karwacki

      Before the World Knew His Name, Montreal Heard Him First

      The Harlem of the North, Little Burgundy, raised a legend. It took 100 years to say it as loudly as possible from the city's rooftops.

      NDG's Empress Theatre survived a century of change. Can it survive neglect?
      History Lesson
      Kaitlyn DiBartolo

      NDG's Empress Theatre Survived a Century of Change. Can it Survive Neglect?

      Montreal's last (and Canada's only) Egyptian Revival movie palace reinvented itself for decades. Now it's been empty for 33 years.

      How Montreal got its Little Italy
      History Lesson
      Daniel Bromberg

      How Montreal Got Its Little Italy

      A century-long story of how a neighbourhood grew from railroad workers to family legacies everywhere you look today.

      How 24 Stanley Cups turned the Montreal Canadiens into a religion
      History Lesson
      The Main

      How 24 Stanley Cups Turned the Montreal Canadiens into a Religion

      From dynasty to drought: a brief-ish look at the making of Montreal's most devotional sports franchise.

      If this factory closes, a century of Montreal's Chinatown history goes with it
      History Lesson
      J.P. Karwacki

      If This Factory Closes, a Century of Montreal's Chinatown History Goes with it

      For over a century, Wing Noodles has fed Montreal with handmade noodles, fortune cookies, and quiet defiance—one of the last family-run factories still standing in Chinatown.

      Advertisement

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      The Bulletin: Saint-Lawrence seals, food forests, and holiday markets [Issue #53]

      Latest Stories

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      Food & Drink

      Arthurs Nosh Bar Is Coming to NDG, and This Time, They're Bringing Dinner

      MAR 9
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