Montreal in 19 neighbourhoods: A series VILLERAY STREET
GOOD TO THE LAST BITE: Originally dotted with farms and quarries, the village of Villeray, named after Louis Rouer de Villeray and founded in 1896, eventually became recognized for textile manufacturing and its advanced transportation infrastructure. Today, Villeray—St-Michel—Parc-Extension is hip without being hipsterish, and offers a little bit of everything. Its residential streets are quiet, spacious and lined with beautiful old trees; its commercial streets are budding urban villages with a mix of eclectic merchants; and its people — over 40 per cent of them — are of various cultural backgrounds from around the globe. The result is vibrant, creative and delicious, thanks to the Jean-Talon Market and numerous South American and Caribbean dining hot spots in the area.
1. Jarry Park
Host to the annual Coupe Rogers AT&T (women) and Les Masters de Tennis du Canada (men), Jarry Park is one of Montreal’s best-known green spaces. Named after Raoul Jarry, a former city councillor for Villeray, it has baseball diamonds as well as soccer, bocce, basketball and beach- volleyball grounds, a swimming pool, dog run, playgrounds, two gazebos and a police station. The Jarry Park Stadium, home to the Montreal Expos from ‘69 to ‘76 (until their move to the Olympic Stadium), was converted into the professional tennis venue, Stade Uniprix, in 1996.
2. Café Vito
Owned by the award-winning barista Vito Azzue, who grew up over a coffee shop and managed Mile End’s popular Café Olimpico (also known as Open Da Night, since a few letters rubbed off its original sign) for more than 20 years, Café Vito opened in 2012 and is a family-run business with years of experience at its helm. No wonder the coffee is so darn good!
3. Miss Villeray
A local watering hole that’s been around since 1960, when the likes of René Lévesque and wrestler Johnny Rougeau imbibed there, Miss Villeray’s iconic sign is hard to miss, making it one of the area’s visual emblems. With popular hockey nights, ladies’ nights, and 5 à 7s, it remains one of the area’s most popular nighttime hangouts.
4. Former Montreal Institute for the Deaf and Mute (Ateliers Castelnau condo development)
Run by the Clercs de Saint-Viateur between 1848 and 1983 from various locations (one of them on St-Dominique St.), the boarding school’s final incarnation on St-Laurent Blvd., between Jean Talon and Faillon Sts., is an imposing and beautiful heritage building that belies the atrocities that went on behind its walls. For years, many of the deaf and mute young boys were severely abused by priests and other religious staff at the school, which finally resulted in a $30-million settlement in 2016 — the largest in Quebec’s history.
5. Jean-Talon Market
The market, which is one of the oldest in Montreal and is open year-round, used to be called the Marché du Nord. Its name was changed in 1983 to honour Jean Talon, the man who also has a street and métro station named after him. Located in Little Italy, the market is full of fresh fruits and vegetables from local farms, as well as butchers, bakers and fish markets. During the summer, it also features live music on the weekends.
6. Jean-Talon Street
One of the longest streets in the city and an important commercial artery in the area, Jean-Talon Street has been called everything from Namur and du Marché to St-Pascal, and Dresden Avenue, and even nicknamed Via Italia. As the first intendant of New France, Jean Talon’s main job was to transform what was considered a small European fur-trading and missionary outpost into a royal province.
7. TOHU Cité des arts du cirque
In 1999, the Cirque du Soleil, National Circus School and the En Piste network came together to create a place dedicated to the art of circus. That place is the Cité des arts du cirque, and the TOHU — which was built in 2004, and is a 360-degree hall that’s more than 22 metres high and 40 metres wide — is its main performance venue.