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

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.

History Lesson

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.

History Lesson

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.

History Lesson

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.

History Lesson

What Happened to Frederick Law Olmsted’s Vision for Mount Royal?

As Mount Royal Park turns 150, the story of its creation reveals how Olmsted's vision for the mountain was compromised almost from the very beginning.

History Lesson

The Day a Downtown Campus Burned and What Came After

What began as a complaint about grading bias escalated into a two-week occupation, a fire, and one of the most consequential reckonings with institutional racism in Canadian higher education.

History Lesson

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.

History Lesson

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.

History Lesson

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.

History Lesson

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.

History Lesson

What Happened to Frederick Law Olmsted’s Vision for Mount Royal?

As Mount Royal Park turns 150, the story of its creation reveals how Olmsted's vision for the mountain was compromised almost from the very beginning.

History Lesson

The Day a Downtown Campus Burned and What Came After

What began as a complaint about grading bias escalated into a two-week occupation, a fire, and one of the most consequential reckonings with institutional racism in Canadian higher education.