Jim Hynes - Montreal Book of Everything. Everything You Wanted to Know About Montreal and Were Going to Ask Anyway

Copyright 2011 by MacIntyre Purcell Publishing Inc.

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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Hynes, Jim

Montreal Book of Everything /

Hynes, Jim

ISBN 0-9738063-7-3

Montreal (Quebec). 2. Montreal (Quebec)--Miscellanea. I. Title.

FC2947.18.H95 2007 971.428

C2007-905133-2

I wasnt born in Montreal, but rather in a small town on the citys South Shore. For the past 40 years, though, I have driven over the Champlain Bridge, linking the South Shore and the Eastern Townships beyond it with the island of Montreal, hundreds of times first as a boy with my dad visiting his family in the city, now with my own family, heading home after spending a day with my parents.

Every time I have made that drive, day or night, summer or winter, I have never failed to be amazed at just how beautiful a city I live in. From the top of the span I can see the small, sprawling bump of a mountain that gives the city its name. I see the powerful St. Lawrence River that made the location so perfect for commerce.

From the bridge I can see rising out of the mostly French East End, the Olympic Stadium, where I danced a goofy, improvised jig in the aisles and sang Valderi, Valdera with 50,000 other people, French and English, back in the days when the Expos were packing em in. I also see the more Anglo West End and I remember a summer morning pushing my then one-year-old son on the swings in beautiful Westmount Park.

The history books and online archives will tell you about language strife, and a boulevard that divides us both geographically and sociopolitically. What they wont tell you is that you can go spelunking in St. Leonard, that the long gone neighborhood called Griffintown used to flood so badly you could row a boat up and down its streets, or that Old Montreal was once destroyed by fire and that a black slave woman was blamed and executed for it. For that youll have to consult the Montreal Book of Everything.

Id like to extend many thanks to all of the contributors and editors. Tim Lehnert lent his time and skills writing many sections of the book with his trademark accuracy and promptness. Paul Waters tackled the culture section with great skill. Samantha Amara, Lynn MacIntyre, Brendan Murphy, and Elizabeth Johnston all performed research and writing. Kelly Inglis deserves special mention for her editing skills and attention to detail.

To know everything about Montreal is a lofty goal, perhaps one that is never attainable. Its a big, complicated city with a long, complicated history. We have had a lot of fun trying. We hope you have as much fun reading about it.

Jim Hynes

From 2000 Before Present to 2007 First Permanent Settlement New World St. Lawrence Seaway Opens Montreal USA Francine Lelievres Five Sites Providing a Window Into Montreals Past Summer Olympics Super City

Population Trends Margaret Somervilles Five Things She Loves About Montreal You Know Youre From Montreal When Ethnic Origins Cussing, a French Lesson David McKnights Five Essential Reads Higher Learning Health Care

Take Me to the River Mount Royal Dinu Bumbarus Top Architectural Achievements Old Montreal Habitat 67 Five Things to Do for Free in Montreal Work of Art Two Wheelin Tallest Buildings Play it Again

Monthly Average Temperatures Geeta Nadkarnis Top Five Weather Tips Ice Storm of 98 Victorian Era Winter Carnivals Build an Ark Earthquakes

Crime Line The Headless Hooker Wide Open Town Wiseguy Wallys Top Five Underworld Characters Machine Gun Molly Little Kingpin West End Gang In the Line of Duty Policing Montreal Brother Andres Heart

An Ancient Art for the Modern World Mordecai Richler Bryan Demchinskys Top Five Literary Spots Celine Dion Indie Paradise Lewis Cohens Favourite Outdoor Shooting Locations Revolutionary Art Top Five Sports Teams Ben Weider

Peter Hadekels Economy Pros and Cons The Bronfmans You Said How Much? Five Key Sectors in the Economy Pierre Peladeau Bombardier Needle Trade Shipping News Downtown

Mega City Alan Hustaks Most Memorable Montreal Mayors Jean Drapeau Property Taxes First Elected Mayor Sticks and Stones and Trudeaus Bones

Five Famous Hotels Population, Then and Now Origins of Street Names Bibles and Bandages Victoria Dickensons Favourite Artifacts at McCord Fire Twentieth Century Riots

Creation Story The Great Peace Treaty Chief Donnaconna Oka Crisis Spiritual Traditions Languages Why the Bear has a Short Tail

Luc Robitailles Five Reasons Why He Loved Playing Hockey In Montreal Stephen Barrys Five Favourite Performers He Has Shared A Stage With Jim Hynes Five Best-Kept Secrets About Montreal Andra McCartneys Top Five Lachine Canal Sounds Bernard Perusses Five Favourite Concert Venues Paul Waters Five Favourite Pieces of Street Art Wanda Kaluznys Five Favourite Things About Montreal Bill Hauglands 5 Most Memorable Stories Hes Covered Ronald Stewart And William Hensons Five Reasons Montreal Is Susceptible To Ice Storms

2,000-1,500 Before Present: Archeological evidence suggests that various nomadic peoples occupy the area now known as Montreal.

1535: During his second voyage to the new world, Jacques Cartier explores the Saint Lawrence River, then known as la Riviere de Canada and finds the well-populated and well-fortified Iroquoian village of Hochelaga, the present day site of the Island of Montreal.

1611: Having founded Quebec City on the Iroquois settlement of Stadacona, Samuel de Champlain re-explores Hochelaga in an attempt to create a trading post but is fought off by Iroquois. Before leaving, he names nearby le Sainte-Helene after his wife.

1639: The areas first permanent settlement is created by French tax collector Jerome Le Royer.

1642: Paul de Chomedy de Maisonneuve establishes a mission named Ville-Marie. He erects a wooden cross on Mount Royal. The area becomes central to the fur trade.

1645: Jeanne Mance establishes the Htel-Dieu, the first hospital in North America.

1670: The creation of the Hudson Bay Company is the beginning of the conflict between France and England for control of the fur trade profits.

1701: The Great Peace Treaty, between New France and 39 First Nations, is signed in Montreal.