History Lesson

The Day the Décarie Became a River

On July 14, 1987, two hours of rain drowned the Décarie, shut down the métro, and became the storm so many Montreal floods are still measured against.

History Lesson

Why “North” Doesn’t Mean North in Montreal

The St. Lawrence River, French colonial planning, and centuries of habit created a directional system where “north” has almost nothing to do with a compass.

History Lesson

The Century Club: Montreal's Oldest Businesses Still Standing Today

An eclectic collection of Montreal businesses approaching, reaching, and surpassing the 100-year mark.

History Lesson

Before Jazz Had Festival Stages, It Had Coffeehouses

Montreal’s jazz culture grew in the city’s espresso bars and coffeehouses. This summer, Le Café Lavazza pays tribute to that legacy at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal.

History Lesson

The Entire History of a City Told in Six Kilometres

From a country road out of a fortified colony to a corridor of immigrants, artists, labour organizers, gangsters, and entrepreneurs, Saint-Laurent Boulevard tells the story of Montreal better than any other street.

History Lesson

Everyone's Street, Nobody's Neighbourhood: The Story of Plaza St-Hubert

The 200-year story of a street that's always belonged to everyone and no one.

History Lesson

The Day the Décarie Became a River

On July 14, 1987, two hours of rain drowned the Décarie, shut down the métro, and became the storm so many Montreal floods are still measured against.

History Lesson

Why “North” Doesn’t Mean North in Montreal

The St. Lawrence River, French colonial planning, and centuries of habit created a directional system where “north” has almost nothing to do with a compass.

History Lesson

The Century Club: Montreal's Oldest Businesses Still Standing Today

An eclectic collection of Montreal businesses approaching, reaching, and surpassing the 100-year mark.

History Lesson

Before Jazz Had Festival Stages, It Had Coffeehouses

Montreal’s jazz culture grew in the city’s espresso bars and coffeehouses. This summer, Le Café Lavazza pays tribute to that legacy at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal.

History Lesson

The Entire History of a City Told in Six Kilometres

From a country road out of a fortified colony to a corridor of immigrants, artists, labour organizers, gangsters, and entrepreneurs, Saint-Laurent Boulevard tells the story of Montreal better than any other street.

History Lesson

Everyone's Street, Nobody's Neighbourhood: The Story of Plaza St-Hubert

The 200-year story of a street that's always belonged to everyone and no one.

History Lesson

The rise and fall of Le Palais des Nains, the palace where tourists became giants

For over 60 years, the fully functional home of two circus veterans became a Montreal tourist attraction where everything was scaled down to their three-foot-tall size.

History Lesson

When McGill med students went grave-robbing for science

The law demanded they learn anatomy but made dissection illegal, so for nearly a century, stolen corpses were tobogganed down Mount Royal to a folk hero janitor who paid cash, no questions asked.

History Lesson

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.

History Lesson

What Montreal's 1976 Olympics left behind, 50 years later

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

History Lesson

The century-long smoked meat legacy of Schwartz's Deli

How a Romanian immigrant's recipe and stubborn refusal to change built Montreal's most iconic sandwich.

History Lesson

The Little Store That Runs Montreal: A Complete History of the Dep

How a 1970 law, a Rosemont grocer, and generations of immigrant families created Montreal's most essential institution.

History Lesson

The rise and fall of Le Palais des Nains, the palace where tourists became giants

For over 60 years, the fully functional home of two circus veterans became a Montreal tourist attraction where everything was scaled down to their three-foot-tall size.

History Lesson

When McGill med students went grave-robbing for science

The law demanded they learn anatomy but made dissection illegal, so for nearly a century, stolen corpses were tobogganed down Mount Royal to a folk hero janitor who paid cash, no questions asked.

History Lesson

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.

History Lesson

What Montreal's 1976 Olympics left behind, 50 years later

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

History Lesson

The century-long smoked meat legacy of Schwartz's Deli

How a Romanian immigrant's recipe and stubborn refusal to change built Montreal's most iconic sandwich.

History Lesson

The Little Store That Runs Montreal: A Complete History of the Dep

How a 1970 law, a Rosemont grocer, and generations of immigrant families created Montreal's most essential institution.