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

Ruby Foo's was an absolute legend of a Chinese restaurant

From its 1945 opening to a 1984 closure and its present-day hotel, the Décarie Boulevard institution was where Montreal went to see and be seen.

History Lesson

A butcher's gamble, a forgotten tavern, and how the Mile End earned its name

From a Durham County butcher shop and Massachusetts tavern keepers to a global creative district, the real story's one historians got wrong for decades.

History Lesson

The Last Stand of Louis Cyr, the World’s Strongest Man

He patrolled the streets of Montreal, packed theatres across Europe, and returned to the city for an event that felt part miracle, part funeral.

History Lesson

The Strange Architectural Afterlife of Joseph-Arthur Godin

You may not recognize the name, but the Montreal architect’s curved facades, vanished theatres, churches, and landmark apartment buildings remain woven into the city’s everyday landscape.

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

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

Ruby Foo's was an absolute legend of a Chinese restaurant

From its 1945 opening to a 1984 closure and its present-day hotel, the Décarie Boulevard institution was where Montreal went to see and be seen.

History Lesson

A butcher's gamble, a forgotten tavern, and how the Mile End earned its name

From a Durham County butcher shop and Massachusetts tavern keepers to a global creative district, the real story's one historians got wrong for decades.

History Lesson

The Last Stand of Louis Cyr, the World’s Strongest Man

He patrolled the streets of Montreal, packed theatres across Europe, and returned to the city for an event that felt part miracle, part funeral.

History Lesson

The Strange Architectural Afterlife of Joseph-Arthur Godin

You may not recognize the name, but the Montreal architect’s curved facades, vanished theatres, churches, and landmark apartment buildings remain woven into the city’s everyday landscape.

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

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

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