Leçon d'Histoire
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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
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.
How the Atwater Market fed Montreal through depression and renewal
A civic monument, a neighbourhood anchor, and a living archive of what Montreal eats since 1933.
From opera house to haunted relic to hot ticket, Montreal's Rialto Theatre refuses to die
A near-forgotten movie palace that's outlasted demolition plans, disco dreams, and decades of decline to become one of Montreal’s most resilient cultural landmarks.
Before "world music” was a genre, there was Club Balattou
From exile to empire, this is how a tiny St-Laurent nightclub became the global heartbeat of African music in Montreal.
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.
Canada’s most prolific killer is the hitman Montreal created
Authors Julian Sher and Lisa Fitterman discuss their book that chronicles the creation of a man who killed 43 people at the height of the biker wars in Quebec.
The dining theatrics and dark history of Montreal's infamous restaurant Au Lutin qui Bouffe
Fine French cuisine, tableside photo sessions with piglets, and a botched robbery that marked the beginning of an end.
Henri Henri is the Montreal hat shop that has defined a century of style
NHL hat tricks, Hollywood icons, expertise passed on through nearly a century—this legendary shop is a cornerstone of a city's sartorial history.
Why André the Giant was one of Montreal's greatest entertainers in and out of the ring
The city's role in André the Giant's path from French farm boy to the Eighth Wonder of the World, with a downtown brasserie pitstop.
The story of Montreal’s Joe Beef (the man, not the restaurant)
How an eccentric tavern keeper became a working-class hero of Montreal—and one of its unlikeliest legends.
Betrayal, rivalry, and the Montreal Screwjob that redefined pro wrestling’s reality
On November 9, 1997, in Montreal’s Molson Centre, a quintessential American art form was reborn.
How Montreal falls in and out of love with Brutalist architecture
How Montreal’s unapologetic concrete giants went from symbols of modernist utopia to polarizing relics—and why the city just can’t quit them.
The Main's picks for the biggest headlines from Montreal in 2024
From record-breaking weather events to protests and cultural milestones, here’s a look back on some of the biggest stories of 2024.
Dic Ann’s: A conversation about Montreal, family, and burgers since 1954
The story of what started as a small trailer-turned-diner in 1954 and become a Montreal icon, thanks to its ultra-thin patties, toasted buns, and signature tomato-based sauce.