MONT-ROYAL AVE. EAST

Montreal in 19 neighbourhoods: A series

Two centuries ago, much of what is now known as the Plateau was farmland, including the then-villages of Côte-St-Louis, St-Louis-du-Mile-End, St-Jean-Baptiste and De Lorimier. After the farms came the churches. French-Canadian families started moving into the row houses around the ever-popular St-Louis Square, where poet Émile Nelligan also famously once lived. During the 20th century, the Plateau—Mont-Royal became a refuge for Eastern European migrants of all faiths, which is when we started seeing synagogues in the area. It’s said that the name “Plateau” either came from a 1938 article in a local newspaper referring to the neighbourhood, or from a school bus driver who used to call it out when he stopped near a school with the same name by La Fontaine Park. Coincidentally, or maybe not, the Plateau is also the literal plateau of Mount-Royal Park, which was officially inaugurated in 1876.

1. Pajar

Although it’s known as a distinctly Canadian company, Pajar was founded by Paul Golbert who was born in France and moved to Montreal in 1956. He opened Pajar in 1963, downtown, and it quickly became popular for selling imported European footwear from France, Italy and Spain. Its Mont-Royal Ave. E. location opened in 1973, when the business started manufacturing its own boots, and the famous sheepskin après-ski boot took its first steps in the snow.

2. Pâtisserie Kouign Amann

With just 12 items on the menu, including its outof-this-world croissants, tartelettes and quiches (of which there are three kinds), Kouign Amann’s specialty is its butter cake pastry, which comes from France’s Brittany region and is made with just six ingredients, including — of course — butter.

3. Plateau-Mont-Royal Public Library

Built in 1896 by the architecture firm J.B. Resther & Son, which is responsible for constructing many other edifices in and around Montreal, the building now houses the library as well as the Maison de la culture, though it used to be a boarding school for young women who belonged to the Sisters of the Holy Cross. Many works of art are now displayed in the library, including ones by Marie Décary, Lise Nantel and Lisette Lemieux.

4. Place Gérald-Godin

With its outdoor fruit and vegetable market in the summer, Christmas trees (and other holiday treats) in November and December, and a sugar shack during winter, Place Gérald-Godin is one of the most flavour-filled métro stations in Montreal. The public area, which was named after the politician and poet Gérald Godin, also plays host to shows and other events. Godin’s poem Tango de

Montréal is reproduced on the wall of a nearby house located at 4433 Rivard St.

5. Sanctuaire du St. Sacrement

Founded by the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament and built in 1892, the T-shaped Sanctuaire du St. Sacrement consists of four main sections: the front part is where the monastery used to be; the back, where there’s a neo-roman chapel; and lateral wings on each side. These days, it’s possible to attend both religious and non-religious shows at the location.

6. La Fontaine Park

Like many other large parks in Montreal, La Fontaine Park used to be a farm. In this case, the farm was owned and operated by James Logan, who gave it up in 1845 to allow the government of Canada to use the land for military exercises for British soldiers. Nearly 30 years later, when the city decided it needed more public green spaces, it rented the land from Logan to create the park, which was inaugurated in 1874, under the name Logan Park. The park was renamed La Fontaine in 1901 in honour of prime minister Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine.

7. St-Laurent Boulevard

Simply known as The Main, St-Laurent Blvd. has more than 600 businesses and organizations sitting pretty on its stretch between Sherbrooke St. and Mont-Royal Ave. Notable classics include Schwartz’s, Moishes, Bain Schubert, and Cinéma L’Amour. One of the boulevard’s latest additions is the nine-storey mural of Leonard Cohen painted by Montreal artist Kevin Ledo for the Mural International Public Art Festival. The mural is on the Cooper Building, which was built in 1932 and housed various textile and manufacturing companies at the time.