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

When Montreal had a steam-powered shortcut to the top of Mount Royal

From 1884 to 1918, a steam-powered cable railway hauled Montrealers to the summit in minutes, despite a park designer's vision of leisurely mountain strolls.

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

Operation Fish: When Montreal hid Britain's fortune during WWII

Billions in gold and securities sat three storeys beneath Sun Life while 5,000 employees worked overhead, completely oblivious.

History Lesson

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.

History Lesson

The Flying Cathedral That Made a City Lose Its Mind

In the summer of 1930, a British airship the length of two and a half Boeing 747s locked onto a mooring mast on the South Shore. Nearly a million people came to watch.

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

When Montreal had a steam-powered shortcut to the top of Mount Royal

From 1884 to 1918, a steam-powered cable railway hauled Montrealers to the summit in minutes, despite a park designer's vision of leisurely mountain strolls.

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

Operation Fish: When Montreal hid Britain's fortune during WWII

Billions in gold and securities sat three storeys beneath Sun Life while 5,000 employees worked overhead, completely oblivious.

History Lesson

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.

History Lesson

The Flying Cathedral That Made a City Lose Its Mind

In the summer of 1930, a British airship the length of two and a half Boeing 747s locked onto a mooring mast on the South Shore. Nearly a million people came to watch.

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.