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Verdun Part 3
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Jacques Cartier Square timeline
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| Chateau Vaudreuil |
15 Dec. 1660 Land between Notre Dame and St. Paul was granted to Joseph Charles d'Aileboust des Musseux, who served as president of the Montreal seigneurs.1672 The property was purchased by Philippe de Riguad, Marquis de Vaudreuil. Chateau de Ramezay on Notre Dame, facing south, however.
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| Vaudreuil |
1723 Work begins on the new building which had large gardens in behind.
1725 Vaudreuil dies in Quebec City.
1726 Vaudreuil's family lives in the house for a few years but allow it to be used as a home for governors of New France.
Aug 9. 1763 Francois Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil sells the property to Michel Chartier de Lotbiniere.
1773 The Fabrique de Notre Dame purchase the property and install the Saint Raphael College in the Chateau Vaudreuil.
June 6, 1803 A major fire claims 41 homes including the Chateau Vaudreuil. The blaze started in a nearby home belonging to someone named Chevalier. A prison and two chapels were also leveled.
Aug. 21, 1803 A half dozen local notables form a committee to sell the land and ruined building.
Dec. 14, 1804. Durocher and Perreault, fur merchants, purchase the property for 300 guineas. They were also on the committee to organize the sale, a conflict of interest that went overlooked, likely because the new owners donated one third of the property to the city to use as a market. The New Market as it was called, complimented the dirty, overcrowded market nearby at what is now Place Royale. The deed donation stipulated that the property be used in perpetuity as a public square and a market, which is why you will always see flower salespeople and a few other assorted veggie salespeople on the land. A new street sprouting west was opened called Fabrique but before the name could be made official, it was called Marche Neuf (anglos called it Market St). Temporary stables were put up but they stayed 40 years. Pilloried prisoners were stuck at the top of the land and visitors would sometimes toss things at them.1808-1809 The square was extended from St. Paul to de la Commune (aka Common, aka Commissionners in three separate land purchases, one from the Proux Succession and another from the John Pickell succession.
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Aug 17, 1809 An eight foot high likeness of Admiral Nelson on a 50 foot stand was unveiled at the top of the square. It is the city's oldest standing monument. (It is sometimes called the city's oldest monument but in fact there was one to George III from 1773 in Place d'Armes that was decapitated by invading Americans on May 1, 1775. The head was recovered from a nearby well and preserved by McGill). In 1847 a visitor noted that it's a shame that Nelson has his back to the city but in fact he does not, which has led to some speculation as to whether it was turned around at some point. Various objections have been made over the years to the monument which is seen to represent British supremacy. The Vauquelin statue across the street built in the 1930s was installed to counter the Nelson monument.
Jan 2, 1847 The market was closed and activity was relocated to the nearby Bonsecours Market. Some farmers were still permitted to sell their goods at the spot and did so until 1960. In 1847 the square was officially named Place Jacques Cartier but city council passed another decree to the same effect in 1865, suggesting that locals were calling it something else, perhaps Nelson Square.
Feb. 7, 1887 A large wooden toboggan route was installed. It proved extremely popular.
-Most of the buildings around the square are from the earliest times, although the Hotel Nelson dates from 1866. There's another ugly larger building on the west side built in the 1980s.
1989 An international contest was held to reorganize the square for the city's 375th birthday. All 117 projects from 28 countries were rejected.
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Why American tourists snub Montreal
American tourists have simply stopped visiting Montreal and la belle province.
Americans have only been required to present a passport to enter Canada since 2009, a switch that hurts, as over half of all Americans do not even own passports.
Under six percent of all tourism in the province comes from the United States, 88 percent of Quebec tourists are from Quebec.
Quebec welcomed 4.2 million tourists a decade ago. We now struggle to get two million.
This is particularly hard to swallow as Americans are spending more than ever on leisure travel and the 80 cent Canadian dollar makes it a cheap place to visit. (Anywhere is cheap with the strong greenback these days however.)
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| No I'm not planning to visit Montreal |
The tourism drought isn't about our hurt vanity: Quebec now has a staggering tourism deficit of over $3 billion per year, according to stats from 2012.
Want more? Quebec received 900,000 fewer American tourists than it did a decade ago.
The more we spend on tourism bureaucrats and plans, the more tourists stay away. The head of Tourisme Montreal earns - brace yourself now - $400,000 a year. Refund please.
AirBnB listings, which offered a promise of revival by offering lodgings of as little as $15 a night, have been targeted in a misguided attack by authorities.
The decline is ongoing. Our recent Formula One Canadian Grand Prix attracted fewer out-of-towners and the raunchy hallmark excesses has been replaced by tame family-oriented amusements for locals.
The jazz festival barely has any big names, suggesting that the organizers have tossed in the trombone.
So what did we have in Montreal 10, 12 years ago that we don't have today? You might not like the answer.
So what did we have in Montreal 10, 12 years ago that we don't have today? You might not like the answer.
Back then tourist buses filled with 19-year-old Americans from Boston would roll into town as kids saw us as a spot to get hammered legally and stagger into local strip joints.
Montreal was a boozier bawdier, more lawless place, a city known for biker shoot-ups, brazen jaywalkers, sexy serveuse restaurants, cocaine in bars, underaged youth easily being served anywhere.
We had le danger and le desperation and le unpredictability.
We had le danger and le desperation and le unpredictability.
We were an open city of the north, with mayhem on tap, not unlike during the days of prohibition. But then we got safe and boring.
And yes, we had our beloved Expos. The Expos left in 2004, thus taking us off the American map.
According to one study, 11 percent of all fans at Montreal Expos games were from out of the province. The city was mentioned one billion times per year in various publications thanks to the Expos, which had a value of $22 million in free advertising.
And while we are aware that correlation does not imply causation, one would have to be blind not to notice that American tourism here flatlined after the Great American Pastime left town.
So the solutions seem pretty simple: let the booze flow, pension some cops off and get the Expos back.
So the solutions seem pretty simple: let the booze flow, pension some cops off and get the Expos back.
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The top 5 weird things about Henri Richard
The great little Habs forward Henri Richard long lived in the shadow of his older and larger brother Maurice "The Rocket" Richard but it's now time for us to fully embrace this guy to the point of obsession as a national treasure not only because he was good at sports but more importantly because he brings the weird.
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The top 5 reasons:
His age Henri Richard played 20 years in the NHL and won a ridiculous 11 Stanley Cups but he's only 20! As in: he has celebrated 20 birthdays since being born on the leap year special day of Feb. 9, 1936. It was a leap year, you see and those happen only once every four years. You know who else was born on that day? Neither do I and who cares anyway!? Henri was definitely short changed on birthday presents with his one-birthday-every-four-years scam. So we've got to heap on the love to make up for it.
His nickname Henri Richard's nickname was "The Pocket Rocket." If that doesn't sound like a an obscene nickname then your imagination is truly lacking.
His famous brother never invited him over Henri once told reporters that his famous brother Maurice of Ahuntsic never invited him to his house ever, not even once!
His lousy season Richard was a small but steady player who played in 11 All Star games but in 1967-68 he was just terrible and told journalists that it was probably because he was spending way too much time worrying about a car repair business that he owned.
He's shy Henri lived a larger-than-life existence after his retirement, posing for photos with fans at his Park Ave. tavern, driving around town in a giant Lincoln Continental, and carrying a big fat wad of bills in his pocket. But meanwhile he was painfully shy and you couldn't barely get two words out of him. Awwwwkward!
His age Henri Richard played 20 years in the NHL and won a ridiculous 11 Stanley Cups but he's only 20! As in: he has celebrated 20 birthdays since being born on the leap year special day of Feb. 9, 1936. It was a leap year, you see and those happen only once every four years. You know who else was born on that day? Neither do I and who cares anyway!? Henri was definitely short changed on birthday presents with his one-birthday-every-four-years scam. So we've got to heap on the love to make up for it.
His nickname Henri Richard's nickname was "The Pocket Rocket." If that doesn't sound like a an obscene nickname then your imagination is truly lacking.
His famous brother never invited him over Henri once told reporters that his famous brother Maurice of Ahuntsic never invited him to his house ever, not even once!
His lousy season Richard was a small but steady player who played in 11 All Star games but in 1967-68 he was just terrible and told journalists that it was probably because he was spending way too much time worrying about a car repair business that he owned.
He's shy Henri lived a larger-than-life existence after his retirement, posing for photos with fans at his Park Ave. tavern, driving around town in a giant Lincoln Continental, and carrying a big fat wad of bills in his pocket. But meanwhile he was painfully shy and you couldn't barely get two words out of him. Awwwwkward!
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Vacant old buildings starting to pile up in Montreal
Some notable vacant buildings in Montreal.
Royal Victoria Hospital; About 700,000 square feet of unused space was recently
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abandoned with the moving of health facilities to the West End. It's perched in a perfect location just north of downtown. Plans? None. McGill wants to be given the land but that plan comes with a hefty price tag and does not appear imminent.
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Children's Hospital: Same as above. Health care facilities were recently shut down and the building vacated with the move to the West End superhospital. No plans have been discussed for this imposing building right square downtown near the Atwater metro.
Planetarium Building at the old Chaboillez square was abandoned almost four years ago
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when a new planetarium was built near the Olympic
Stadium. Various pitches have been nixed. According to a little-discussed deed stipulation, Dow required the building to remain a planetarium but that could technically be nullified with some creative lawmaking.
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Snowdon Theatre: CDN/NDG borough has owned this landmark building on Decarie but appears unable or unwilling to do basic
repairs on the building, forcing a valued gymnastics centre out and leaving the building to rot. City Councillor Marvin Rotrand and borough mayor Russell Copeman have not stated any plans for the property.
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Empress Theatre: Years of rountables, studies, and discussion forums
have proven completely futile as nobody seems willing to invest in fixing up this Sherbrooke street landmark.
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Railroad offices on Bridge Lovely old abandoned
building in front of Costco sits empty to give passersby that vintage rustbelt feel.
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Place Viger Once-glorious hotel has been empty since 2005 with various plans coming and going to do something on the property,but nothing ever panning out.
Royal Victoria Hospital; About 700,000 square feet of unused space was recently
Children's Hospital: Same as above. Health care facilities were recently shut down and the building vacated with the move to the West End superhospital. No plans have been discussed for this imposing building right square downtown near the Atwater metro.Planetarium Building at the old Chaboillez square was abandoned almost four years ago
Stadium. Various pitches have been nixed. According to a little-discussed deed stipulation, Dow required the building to remain a planetarium but that could technically be nullified with some creative lawmaking.
Snowdon Theatre: CDN/NDG borough has owned this landmark building on Decarie but appears unable or unwilling to do basic
repairs on the building, forcing a valued gymnastics centre out and leaving the building to rot. City Councillor Marvin Rotrand and borough mayor Russell Copeman have not stated any plans for the property.
Empress Theatre: Years of rountables, studies, and discussion forums
have proven completely futile as nobody seems willing to invest in fixing up this Sherbrooke street landmark.
Railroad offices on Bridge Lovely old abandoned building in front of Costco sits empty to give passersby that vintage rustbelt feel.
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Convicted cocaine tax defrauder still has a big job at the city of Montreal
The head of the city of Montreal's public consultation department spent over four years defrauding taxpayer dollars to buy cocaine.
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Luc Doray - a lifelong, well-connected ardent separatist and government fonctionnaire - falsified $33,000 in receipts while working for the Parti Quebecois provincial government between 1994 and 1998.
Doray, now 60, was reimbursed by our tax dollars for his cocaine purchases by submitting over 150 invoices including one bill for a $374 meal from a place that doesn't serve food. He also purportedly spent $5,800 for 34 meals at a bistro but it was really for white powder that went up his nose.
He even submitted a fake lease for $540 a month, all very good news for some coke dealer but not such good news for taxpayers.
Doray who was already in his mid-40s at the time, was eventually caught and tried and hit with an eight month suspended sentence and ordered to repay $29,000, do community service and pay a $4,000 fine. His payments were to be $500 a month, but we don't know if that included interest.
Doray had two other charges against him dropped in return for his guilty plea.
When he returned from Quebec City to push pencils back in Montreal he was earning about $77,000 so his annual taxpayer-paid salary is surely much higher now.
Doray blamed bulimia and his sexual orientation for his cocaine cash fraud scheme.
While in Quebec City Doray worked under Louise Harel and Andre Boisclair, who was also gay and also saw his career damaged by cocaine disclosures.
I have filed an access to information request to look through Doray's expense accounts at the city of Montreal since 2002.
Doray, now 60, was reimbursed by our tax dollars for his cocaine purchases by submitting over 150 invoices including one bill for a $374 meal from a place that doesn't serve food. He also purportedly spent $5,800 for 34 meals at a bistro but it was really for white powder that went up his nose.
He even submitted a fake lease for $540 a month, all very good news for some coke dealer but not such good news for taxpayers.
Doray who was already in his mid-40s at the time, was eventually caught and tried and hit with an eight month suspended sentence and ordered to repay $29,000, do community service and pay a $4,000 fine. His payments were to be $500 a month, but we don't know if that included interest.
Doray had two other charges against him dropped in return for his guilty plea.
He was able to repay the bills with our tax dollars, as he kept his job at the city of Montreal.
You see, Doray was nailed while working for the province but that was only a loan. He returned to his old job in Montreal after being canned in Quebec City in 1998.
Doray started at the city of Montreal and rose fast under Mayor Jean Dore.When he returned from Quebec City to push pencils back in Montreal he was earning about $77,000 so his annual taxpayer-paid salary is surely much higher now.
Doray blamed bulimia and his sexual orientation for his cocaine cash fraud scheme.
While in Quebec City Doray worked under Louise Harel and Andre Boisclair, who was also gay and also saw his career damaged by cocaine disclosures.
I have filed an access to information request to look through Doray's expense accounts at the city of Montreal since 2002.
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Montreal killer fires from the past
On Tuesday May 14, 1946 Mr. Henry Costello, 30, and her son Henry Jr. 6 and Margaret Rose 3, died in the blaze at 274 Dalhousie in Griffintown, a block that has since been demolished.
Seven people were killed at this building on January 1, 1986. Haitian immigrant Wilson Francois, 27, who worked at the Van Horne Bagel Bakery was killed, along with his wife, Josette Lafortune, 30, their son Stanley 22 months and Katia 22 days. Also killed was Michael Tobin, 64 and two other victims who names remained unknown. It was the worst first since the Waikiki Tourist Rooms fire four years earlier on La Gauchetiere, which killed 8.
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Griffintown - the William Lunn School
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Shed living 1913!
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Gay male murders in Montreal - a list
A partial list of gay men murdered in Montreal.
April 22, 1982 Anthony Dalonzo, 34, stabbled and strangled with a hanger at a St Laurent apartment.
May 19, 1982 Jack Manson, 66, shot in the head at his Montreal West ome.
March 19, 1989 Joe Rose, a 24-year-old student, was stabbed to death on March 19, 1989 by a group of teenagers who targeted him because of his pink hair.
March 19, 1989 The nude body of Richard Gallant, 28, is found on a bed in a friend's apartment on Montcalm St. His throat has been slashed. Gallant's body is found by a friend for whom he was house-sitting. No arrests.
May 19, 1982, Jack Manson, 66, shot in the head at his Montreal Westt home.
Jan. 31, 1990 - Brian Booth, a 53-year-old resident of the Yukon Territory in Montreal to attend a convention, is stabbed to death in his hotel room. Police arrest two suspects, one of whom is convicted of second-degree murder.
April 14, 1990 - Yong Sua Mok, 26, a doctor at Maisonneuve- Rosemont Hospital, is found stabbed to death in his apartment. No arrests.
April 2, 1991 - Gaetan Ethier, 46, labourer, is found stabbed and beaten to death in his St. Andre St. apartment. Serial killer Michael McGray later confessed.
April 7, 1991 - Robert Assaly, 59, a retired teacher, is discovered stabbed to death in his home in Nuns' Island. Serial killer Michael McGray later confessed.
May 6, 1991 - Normand Gareau, 45, is found beaten to death in a rural area near L'Assomption. Police believe he was killed at his home on Sherbrooke St. and his body dumped in the country. No arrests.
Sept. 20, 1991 - Marc Bellerive, 33, an accountant, is stabbed at least 40 times while bicycling in Maisonneuve Park. No arrests
Oct. 9, 1991 Pierre-Yvon Croft, 48: stabbed to death in Jarry Park 15 times. No arrests.
Nov. 30, 1991, Garfield Walker, 30: stabbed to death in his apartment on Henri Julien. A killer late confessed.
Nov. 30, 1992 - Yves Lalonde, 51, is beaten to death by skinheads in Angrignon Park. Four juveniles - members of a skinhead gang - are arrested and charged. One was a member of an international neo- Nazi group and had photos of Adolf Hitler in an album in his house.
Jan. 18,1993 Daniel Lacombe, 37: teacher suffered a heart attack during a beating by a group of teen-age boys at a roadside stop in Joliette; resolved.
Jan. 18, 1993 Michael Hogue, 42: bound and stabbed to death in his suburban Laval home. A killer later confessed.
Jan. 27, 1993 Robert Panchaud, 36, welfare recipient bound and fatally stabbed in his downtown Montreal apartment on Chambord Jan. 27, 1993. unresolved. He was picked up at the same Gay Village bar as Hogue
Oct. 21, 1993 Rolland Gagne, 70, a former priest, is found strangled in his home on Gilford St. Police charge two suspects - one of them 17.
Nov. 10, 1993 Rev. Warren Eling, 53: the Anglican priest was found bound and strangled in his home on Nov. 10, 1993, crack-smoking thief and lover Danny McIlwaine was busted.
1996 Normand Trudel, 45, gay bar owner. No suspects.
Aug. 8, 1996 Real Halde 53, in bed with throat slashed, Andre Lortie, 28 charged with second degree murder.
1997 Walter Bourbonnais, 70, killer never found.
2010 Jan. Eran Allon, from Israel. Killed by his gay lover Michael-Andrew Garreau, 36, who then dumped the body into a suitcase and left it on St. Dominique between St. Cat and Dorch.
May 24, 2012 Lin Jun, a student from China, was killed on Decarie by Luka Magnotta who dismembered the body and put it in the trash outside.
Mar. 22, 1978 John Court Lund, 44, from Denmark, killed in his apartment at Sherbrooke and Decarie. A 16-year-old boy was later arrested.
Dec 28 1978, Serge Harvey, a priest, 42, was stabbed 29 times in a Montreal hotel room by Canadian soldier Kyle Thompson, 21. Harveypicked the boy up at the bus station after he missed a bus to his military base in London Ontario. Thomas killed Harvey – brother of cabinet minister Gerald Harvey who thought he was gay, even though Harvey made no advances on him.
Jan 11, 1982 Normand Millette, 31, beaten to death in a Point Claire apartment. |
| Victim John Court Lund |
April 22, 1982 Anthony Dalonzo, 34, stabbled and strangled with a hanger at a St Laurent apartment.
May 19, 1982 Jack Manson, 66, shot in the head at his Montreal West ome.
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| Victim Joe Rose |
March 19, 1989 The nude body of Richard Gallant, 28, is found on a bed in a friend's apartment on Montcalm St. His throat has been slashed. Gallant's body is found by a friend for whom he was house-sitting. No arrests.
May 19, 1982, Jack Manson, 66, shot in the head at his Montreal Westt home.
Jan. 31, 1990 - Brian Booth, a 53-year-old resident of the Yukon Territory in Montreal to attend a convention, is stabbed to death in his hotel room. Police arrest two suspects, one of whom is convicted of second-degree murder.
April 14, 1990 - Yong Sua Mok, 26, a doctor at Maisonneuve- Rosemont Hospital, is found stabbed to death in his apartment. No arrests.
April 2, 1991 - Gaetan Ethier, 46, labourer, is found stabbed and beaten to death in his St. Andre St. apartment. Serial killer Michael McGray later confessed.
April 7, 1991 - Robert Assaly, 59, a retired teacher, is discovered stabbed to death in his home in Nuns' Island. Serial killer Michael McGray later confessed.
May 6, 1991 - Normand Gareau, 45, is found beaten to death in a rural area near L'Assomption. Police believe he was killed at his home on Sherbrooke St. and his body dumped in the country. No arrests.
Sept. 20, 1991 - Marc Bellerive, 33, an accountant, is stabbed at least 40 times while bicycling in Maisonneuve Park. No arrests
Oct. 9, 1991 Pierre-Yvon Croft, 48: stabbed to death in Jarry Park 15 times. No arrests.
Nov. 30, 1991, Garfield Walker, 30: stabbed to death in his apartment on Henri Julien. A killer late confessed.
Nov. 30, 1992 - Yves Lalonde, 51, is beaten to death by skinheads in Angrignon Park. Four juveniles - members of a skinhead gang - are arrested and charged. One was a member of an international neo- Nazi group and had photos of Adolf Hitler in an album in his house.
Jan. 18,1993 Daniel Lacombe, 37: teacher suffered a heart attack during a beating by a group of teen-age boys at a roadside stop in Joliette; resolved.
Jan. 18, 1993 Michael Hogue, 42: bound and stabbed to death in his suburban Laval home. A killer later confessed.
Jan. 27, 1993 Robert Panchaud, 36, welfare recipient bound and fatally stabbed in his downtown Montreal apartment on Chambord Jan. 27, 1993. unresolved. He was picked up at the same Gay Village bar as Hogue
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| Victim Eran Allon |
Nov. 10, 1993 Rev. Warren Eling, 53: the Anglican priest was found bound and strangled in his home on Nov. 10, 1993, crack-smoking thief and lover Danny McIlwaine was busted.
1996 Normand Trudel, 45, gay bar owner. No suspects.
Aug. 8, 1996 Real Halde 53, in bed with throat slashed, Andre Lortie, 28 charged with second degree murder.
1997 Walter Bourbonnais, 70, killer never found.
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| Lin Jun |
May 24, 2012 Lin Jun, a student from China, was killed on Decarie by Luka Magnotta who dismembered the body and put it in the trash outside.
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Toy guns and Montreal mayhem they caused
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| Richard Lanthier |
The drug-addled Lanthier was jailed for four years then escaped from a halfway house in December 1978. He robbed a few banks downtown to fund a trip Vancouver in hopes of eventually leaving the country. But Vancouver police shot the father of two dead after he robbed a bank with a fake gun and then it to a man's head in a restaurant and pulled he trigger. He purchased the replica guns for $7.50.
He was 29.
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| Jean-Marc Proulx |
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| Lucien Jacques |
Mar. 8, 1978 Inmates Roland Simard, Edgar Roussel and Lucien Jacques took guards hostages at St. Jerome Common Jail in 1978 by using a plastic gun. Three convicts held seven guards and 16 inmates hostage for 14 days after tricking the assistant direct Jean Claude Mayer into believe the plastic toy was a 45 calibre pistol. The hostage-takers took real guns from the guards. The siege ended peacefully on March 22.
Aug. 23, 1962 Jean Lesieur, 36, pointed a fake .38 Special Cobra revolver at cops on the third floor of the Vauquelin Cafe at 50 St. James W.. He pointed it at cops who arrived on the scene and they opened fire and seriously wounded him. Lesieur's wife was a waitress at the establishment and he had threatened her in the past. "He's armed and he's going to kill me," she said while running down the stairs.
Jan. 1977 New York City resident Samuel Roosevelt Hopkins, 23, robbed 15 Montreal stores with a toy gun. He was sentenced to eight years in a federal penitentiary.
Nov. 25, 1948 Well-dressed Jean Crepeau, 46, was arrested trying to rob the City and District bank in the east end with a wooden imitation of a small automatic gun near closing time. The alarm was sounded and Crepeau attempted to escape with his useless arbor contraption but customer Benoit Norman wrestled him down.
Mar. 12, 1951 Denise Beauregard, 20, entered the Banque Povincial du Canada on Ontario E. wearing a blue coat and a kerchief over her head and attempted to hold the bank up. A customer slapped the obvious fake gun out of her hand. The 4'11" woman did not resist her arrest and was sent for mental examination.
Aug. 20, 1952 Riva Pastal was held up in the hallway of the Balfour Building a t3575 St. Lawrence. The man grabbed his briefcast as he aimed a nickel-plated gun at him The fake gun was found later.
1976,Rene Ouellette, 24, of Rosemunt Blvd., robbed 19 banks over a five month period, graduating from a toy gun to a pellet gun and finally to a 9 mm semi-automatic Browning pistol.
Feb. 1953 Percy Wayne Mitchell, 31, a veteran criminal, used a toy gun to rob a trio of pharmacies. "using toy pistols or real guns, armed robbers must be stopped in this city," Judge Legrand said.
1952-53 David Darwin, 27,from a good family, used toy guns to pull of six payroll heists totaling $13,000 and finished the job by using adhesive tape between Aug. 1952 and July 1953. He made a complete confession. His father wept.
July 5, 1953 John Brown, 27, a car salesman in LaSalle was nabbed after robbing a Bank of Montreal at University and St. Catherine. The father of one confessed to robbing four other banks with a toy gun previously for a total of 18,253.
March 12, 1951Vincent Perry was busted after a holdup of $2,226 at the Windsor Station Bank of Montreal, which he held up with a toy gun, described by police as a "masquerade pistol," one week earlier. Cops noticed him in Victoria Square due to his sweater. "It was a mild day but people usually don't go around dressed in sweaters, so we took a second look at the guy," said a cop. Perry had recently arrived from New Brunswick.
Nov,. 10, 1963 Isaac Wagen knocked a toy-gun wielding robber over during an attempt to rob the Wagen Fruit Store at 5180 St. Urbain. The would-be robber fled and Wagen kept the gun as a souvenir.
July 19, 1968Andre Boyer intimidated three teens - two girls and one boy - into robbing a credit union in Ville St. Pierre with a toy gun.
Jan. 1980Two youths, one 21, one 12, both from Pierrefonds, were busted after robbing a gas station at 14301 Pierrefonds Blvd and a Esso station at 3340 Sources in Dollard, both with a realistic-looking toy gun.
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Who murdered Samantha Higgins?
Homicide detectives will be working overtime to solve the distressing murder of Samantha Higgins, 22, who grew up in the Point and disappeared from her home near Lise and Newman in LaSalle early Tuesday morning.
Higgins was walking home, a short 10 minute walk from a friend's at about 1 a.m. She was returning home to her longtime boyfriend and father of her two children, aged four and two months.
She texted "yup" when asked if she was ok but was then never heard from until today when her body was found dismembered near a rural village called Hinchingbrooke, south of Montreal.
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Murder mutilitations are rare although Luka Magnotta (2012) and Michael-Andrew Garreau (2010) are recent local examples of people who committed the grisly act to their lovers.
Dismembering a body is usually employed as a means to avoid detection, according to homicide experts.
A certain measure of organization by the killer is also required.
"They require plenty of time, access to a secluded space, tools to carry out the gory deed and, above all, a deep resolve," according a Toronto Star article.
The perpetrator also needs either a steely resolve or a warped mind. Even hardened psychopath Paul Bernardo found it hard to go through with what he described as the "second most disgusting thing I've ever done."
Experts say the four other main reasons somebody might chop the body of someone they killed are: 1-Aggression. 2-Twisted pleasure.3-Mental illness/delusion. 4-Organized crime sending a message.
Friends and family have speculated that a stranger committed the deed but homicide experts will likely believe that it was a friend or acquaintance who committed the act, as a stranger is less likely to go to such great lengths to avoid detection.
Other females from Point St. Charles murdered over the years include Jolene Riendeau, 10, (1999) and Sharron Prior, 16. (1975) Tammy Leakey, 12, (1981).
Higgins was walking home, a short 10 minute walk from a friend's at about 1 a.m. She was returning home to her longtime boyfriend and father of her two children, aged four and two months.
She texted "yup" when asked if she was ok but was then never heard from until today when her body was found dismembered near a rural village called Hinchingbrooke, south of Montreal.
Dismembering a body is usually employed as a means to avoid detection, according to homicide experts.
A certain measure of organization by the killer is also required.
"They require plenty of time, access to a secluded space, tools to carry out the gory deed and, above all, a deep resolve," according a Toronto Star article.
The perpetrator also needs either a steely resolve or a warped mind. Even hardened psychopath Paul Bernardo found it hard to go through with what he described as the "second most disgusting thing I've ever done."
Experts say the four other main reasons somebody might chop the body of someone they killed are: 1-Aggression. 2-Twisted pleasure.3-Mental illness/delusion. 4-Organized crime sending a message.
Friends and family have speculated that a stranger committed the deed but homicide experts will likely believe that it was a friend or acquaintance who committed the act, as a stranger is less likely to go to such great lengths to avoid detection.
Other females from Point St. Charles murdered over the years include Jolene Riendeau, 10, (1999) and Sharron Prior, 16. (1975) Tammy Leakey, 12, (1981).
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Omar Sharif's Montreal ties
Acting legend Omar Sharif, who died today at age 83, had deep ties to Montreal where he spent considerable time visiting his son Tarek Omar.
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Omar Sharif was married to Faten Hamama, a top film star in Egypt. The two divorced in 1972 but their son Tarek Omar came to Montreal to study and ended up living in Montreal with his wife Debbie Waitzer of Chomedey Laval.
Omar Sharif's longest stint in Montreal was a three month stay in 1979 when filming Oh! Heavenly Dog. The then-47-year-old movie star spent a lot of time in discos on that visit: Oz, Le Prive, 1234 and Yesterdays and he valued his privacy while drinking alone at the Chateau Versailles Hotel on Sherbrooke and St. Matthew.
On the same visit he was reportedly barred from Blue Bonnets after losing patience with a clerk who was too slow to register his complicated bet.
He returned in June, 1981 for his son's wedding at the Four Seasons Hotel (managed by his pal Antoine Corinthios) and also spent time in Montreal in 1983 as his grandchild Omar Jr., aka Omie, was born at St. Mary's Hospital in December. His parents Debbie and Tarek split up within three years of his birth.
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Tarek Omar Sharif - who was a regular in Bishop street bars alongside Nick Auf der Maur and others - remarried in 1989 to Vancouver stock broker Martina Navratilova, no relation to the tennis star of the same name, of course. They split in early 1996.
The best Omar-Sharif-in-Montreal story took place in May 1996 when PQ MNA Andre Boulerice showed what he believed was a case of fake names on his voters list, as Omar Sharif and Martina Navratilova were living on Common street in Old Montreal. It seemed impossible but it turned out to be legit.
As for Tarek's son Omar Sharif Jr., he is now 31 and living in Los Angeles and pronounces himself gay and Jewish (his mother Debbie's religion).
Omar Sharif also had a brother in Toronto, who I spoke to a few years ago.
Omar Sharif's longest stint in Montreal was a three month stay in 1979 when filming Oh! Heavenly Dog. The then-47-year-old movie star spent a lot of time in discos on that visit: Oz, Le Prive, 1234 and Yesterdays and he valued his privacy while drinking alone at the Chateau Versailles Hotel on Sherbrooke and St. Matthew.
On the same visit he was reportedly barred from Blue Bonnets after losing patience with a clerk who was too slow to register his complicated bet.
He returned in June, 1981 for his son's wedding at the Four Seasons Hotel (managed by his pal Antoine Corinthios) and also spent time in Montreal in 1983 as his grandchild Omar Jr., aka Omie, was born at St. Mary's Hospital in December. His parents Debbie and Tarek split up within three years of his birth.
Tarek Omar Sharif - who was a regular in Bishop street bars alongside Nick Auf der Maur and others - remarried in 1989 to Vancouver stock broker Martina Navratilova, no relation to the tennis star of the same name, of course. They split in early 1996. |
| Tarek and Omar in 2001 |
As for Tarek's son Omar Sharif Jr., he is now 31 and living in Los Angeles and pronounces himself gay and Jewish (his mother Debbie's religion).
Omar Sharif also had a brother in Toronto, who I spoke to a few years ago.
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Who wants to buy Westmount Square?
Wanna buy Westmount square? You have until August 12 to submit your bid for the office/commercial section of Westmount Square.
Over five percent of the units are vacant so you'll have to drum up some business to fill 'em.
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The vendor says that the place is usually rented out at a higher percentage but they intentionally let some spaces go empty for a residential conversion project that never happened.
The building is a much-ballyhooed creation of architect Mies Van der Rohe who sought to go for an exoskeleton sort of approach. Phyllis Bronfman, longtime Canada's wealthiest woman, was one of his big fans and local proponents.
The two other towers, of the residential variety, are not for sale, just the 193,794-square-foot office tower and a two-storey, 53,866 square-foot pavillon and the 80,339-square-foot retail mall as well as 334-indoor parking spots.
Plus you get that awesome tunnel to Alexis Nihon, one of my favourite spots in the city, especially when there's a busker playing there.
Hundreds of homes were demolished in the area in 1965 to build the project, which was described as "the biggest thing that ever happened in Westmount," probably because it pays a load of taxes to the municipality.
Over five percent of the units are vacant so you'll have to drum up some business to fill 'em.
The vendor says that the place is usually rented out at a higher percentage but they intentionally let some spaces go empty for a residential conversion project that never happened.The building is a much-ballyhooed creation of architect Mies Van der Rohe who sought to go for an exoskeleton sort of approach. Phyllis Bronfman, longtime Canada's wealthiest woman, was one of his big fans and local proponents.
The two other towers, of the residential variety, are not for sale, just the 193,794-square-foot office tower and a two-storey, 53,866 square-foot pavillon and the 80,339-square-foot retail mall as well as 334-indoor parking spots.
Plus you get that awesome tunnel to Alexis Nihon, one of my favourite spots in the city, especially when there's a busker playing there.
Hundreds of homes were demolished in the area in 1965 to build the project, which was described as "the biggest thing that ever happened in Westmount," probably because it pays a load of taxes to the municipality.
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Arrest made in murder of Samantha Higgins
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| Nick Lazanik |
The couple had been together for several years since meeting at James Lyng High School but had recently been living apart.
Samantha just moved back in with Nick after giving birth to their second child about 10 weeks ago.
Samantha Higgins was with friends on the night she disappeared in LaSalle, She was drinking socially on the occasion.
She was either at or near the McDonald's on Newman when she disappeared.
Nick - whose last name does not appear to be the same as his sister's for reasons unknown - is not on Facebook. He has an older sister named Shawna Lazaniik, 43, who the SQ provincial police had been hoping to interview today but were unable to locate.
Shawna reportedly has a boyfriend named Fred who works for Canada Post. We are not suggesting that these two are suspects in the investigation.
Much buzz has been circulating about the possibility of involvement by people from Hinchinbrooke, Quebec, where Higgins' body was found.The SQ police have been asking locals about the affair but it's quite possible that the body was just randomly dumped there.
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Montreal's Bus to Nowhere
Even the driver claimed not to know where he was going to bring the up-to 48 passengers of a regular city bus.
He apparently decided at the last minute and by custom would not tell anybody even after the mystery tour began.
In '73 the passengers paid $2.50 to get on a bus that left Saturday night from a spot in front of the Montreal Pharmacy on St. Cat east of the Main.
They tended to sing and make a festive ruckus while on board.
In a published description of the tour, driver Rudolph Laporte brought the passengers to Hotel Royal in Ste. Julienne, a one-hour drive north of the city where they watched a four-piece rock band, and a stage show which included an acrobat, stripper and singer. About one-quarter of those on board declined to enter the establishment.
We think it's time to revive the bus.
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Beware: propane tank swap scam
I shelled out a handful of sawbucks for that tank not long ago, as I recall.
Strangely, it had a few rust stains on it, even though it was only a couple of years old.
Bad news is that my baby tank was now 27 years old, as the embossed 1988 on the side near the top demonstrated.
How on earth did my nice new propane tank age worse than MacCauley Caulkin? (And can you get someone to Benjamin Button-ize it? - Chimples)
Answer. It seems somewhere along the line I brought that new tank in for a refill to a big box store that swaps tanks instead of refilling them.
Such places include Costco, Provisoir and Canadian Tire among many others.
So when I wasn't looking my child tank was traded for a lookalike old timer.
I brought in Shirley Temple and left with Herve Villechaize. (Okay now you're just being stupid- Chimples).
A stamp on the side with the number "11" indicates that my shitty new old tank had been refurbished four years back so was still moderately safe in spite of the rust all over its 27-year-old body.
The big box stores - with the exception of Costco - sub-contract the swap-refill service to another company which is not scared to take your nice new tank and replace it with a grody old oneThis allows the stores to claim ignorance when you complain about the switch.
The green and blue tanks are the worst.
It takes a lot of screaming and hollering and threatening to get your nice new tank back in case you get scammed with such a switch.
This was all explained to me by the excellent guy in the photo whose name I did not get but I have seen around the area many times.
It cost me $18 to fill this tank. It's cheaper - I believe than the swap services and much more honourable, it would seem.
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Stevie Wonder, just 14, played a small Montreal club, Elvis, meanwhile, got snubbed here in '57
This ad shows that a young Steve Wonder - before he achieved fame - played in Montreal in the week of May 30, 1964.
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Stevie Wonder had just turned 14 when he performed at a club at Notre Dame and Davidson long, long gone from the landscape. ![]()
Elvis Presley's would-be visit to the Forum in 1957? Nixed by Habs GM Frank Selke. He never played Montreal or anywhere in Quebec. Some speculated that the Catholic church was behind the snub but they were not. He played Ottawa, for what it's worth. A local Elvis impersonator might be inspired of doing a show based on the concert that Elvis never gave.
Elvis Presley's would-be visit to the Forum in 1957? Nixed by Habs GM Frank Selke. He never played Montreal or anywhere in Quebec. Some speculated that the Catholic church was behind the snub but they were not. He played Ottawa, for what it's worth. A local Elvis impersonator might be inspired of doing a show based on the concert that Elvis never gave.
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Botched abortions in Montreal history
A list of people in Montreal whose lives took a turn for the worst when they engaged in abortion attempts.
Dec. 1913Sadik Bey describeda as a "Turkish military adventurer, crystal gazer and fortune teller" and Mme Martel nee Alphonisine Filiatrault were tried for performing an abortion on Emelienne Raymond. The abortion appeared to have gone fine and prosecution lacked evidence against the duo. Bey was presumably found not guilty because he was arrested again three years later on charges of threatening a young girl.
March 1928: Dr. Oscar Dunn Duckett was tried for murder after a failed abortion on resident Dorilla Germain, who died. He was originally convicted of manslaughter but it was appealed by five judges. She died after a botched abortion at his home at 4152 St. Hubert on June 28, 1927.
June 1936 Katherine Fequist, 28, died in a home on Centre street in Point St. Charles. She died after the operation in a nearby home of a stranger. Nurse Alice Hamelin of 2561 Centre was charged with murder.
May 1942 Dr. A. Maxwell Lightstone, 56, of 5682 Esplanade was found guilty of manslaughter following the death of Rita Pallo, 21 of 764 Adequduct who died April 8, 1942. Lighstone was already dying.
June 20, 1947: Emilienne Leclerc, 23, a seamstress from the Beauce came here to have an abortion but she died. Her boyfriend committed suicide when he heard the news of her death on February 8.
1947 Dr. Charles Alfred Molleur, 63, of 5214 Park was charged with murder and sentenced to hang.. Also charged: Dr. Leon Azoulay of 1360 St. Catherine W., Dr. A.S. Kasatchenko of 51 Prince ARthur W., Dr. Roman Pniewsky of 3357 Park,Dr. Francois d'Assise Martin 1480 St. Joseph Blvd E. He was freed while waiting for a new trial in June 1947. He didn't hang.
May 24, 1955, Donna Mickowsky Blackburn, 33, was found naked and dead in a laneway between Pine and Roy off St. Denis. after a botched abortion. Jack Seligman, 41, was charged with manslaughter. Seligman, as we've noticed was involved with Fairmount Bagel and also recklessly lent his boat, leading to 12 kids drowning the year earlier.
Sept: 1961: Simone Joncas, 18, died after apparently going for an abortion on October 27. Her body was found in the St. Maurice River. Charges of involuntary homicide against Coronoa Filiatreault-Giguere and France Lalonde, 49, of Pointe aux Tremble and Paulien Poulin-Turgeon, 28, of Assomption and Montreal were dropped due to lack of evidence.
Dec. 1913Sadik Bey describeda as a "Turkish military adventurer, crystal gazer and fortune teller" and Mme Martel nee Alphonisine Filiatrault were tried for performing an abortion on Emelienne Raymond. The abortion appeared to have gone fine and prosecution lacked evidence against the duo. Bey was presumably found not guilty because he was arrested again three years later on charges of threatening a young girl.
March 1928: Dr. Oscar Dunn Duckett was tried for murder after a failed abortion on resident Dorilla Germain, who died. He was originally convicted of manslaughter but it was appealed by five judges. She died after a botched abortion at his home at 4152 St. Hubert on June 28, 1927.
June 1936 Katherine Fequist, 28, died in a home on Centre street in Point St. Charles. She died after the operation in a nearby home of a stranger. Nurse Alice Hamelin of 2561 Centre was charged with murder.
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| Donna Blackburn's body was discovered in a laneway in 1955 |
June 20, 1947: Emilienne Leclerc, 23, a seamstress from the Beauce came here to have an abortion but she died. Her boyfriend committed suicide when he heard the news of her death on February 8.
1947 Dr. Charles Alfred Molleur, 63, of 5214 Park was charged with murder and sentenced to hang.. Also charged: Dr. Leon Azoulay of 1360 St. Catherine W., Dr. A.S. Kasatchenko of 51 Prince ARthur W., Dr. Roman Pniewsky of 3357 Park,Dr. Francois d'Assise Martin 1480 St. Joseph Blvd E. He was freed while waiting for a new trial in June 1947. He didn't hang.
May 24, 1955, Donna Mickowsky Blackburn, 33, was found naked and dead in a laneway between Pine and Roy off St. Denis. after a botched abortion. Jack Seligman, 41, was charged with manslaughter. Seligman, as we've noticed was involved with Fairmount Bagel and also recklessly lent his boat, leading to 12 kids drowning the year earlier.
Sept: 1961: Simone Joncas, 18, died after apparently going for an abortion on October 27. Her body was found in the St. Maurice River. Charges of involuntary homicide against Coronoa Filiatreault-Giguere and France Lalonde, 49, of Pointe aux Tremble and Paulien Poulin-Turgeon, 28, of Assomption and Montreal were dropped due to lack of evidence.
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Brutal pimps exploiting Inuit at Atwater
Four pimps controlling a dozen Inuit prostitutes at Atwater and St. Catherine have attacked a man with a bottle for sleeping with one of the women off the clock.
The pimps put the women out on the streets but also collect their welfare cheques and frequently rob the customers with the help of the women who spy PIN numbers. The crew then pickpockets the bank cards.
One of the four pimps, a former amateur football player, is particularly active in the enforcement end of affairs.
The women are dolled up by the crew is often at they cleaned them up and gave them new clothes, haircuts and they could pull in $1,000 a day from a spot on Lincoln near Atwater.
One of the four pimps, a former amateur football player, is particularly active in the enforcement end of affairs.
The women are dolled up by the crew is often at they cleaned them up and gave them new clothes, haircuts and they could pull in $1,000 a day from a spot on Lincoln near Atwater.
Various members of the group can be seen at a greasy spoon for breakfast not far from the old Forum.
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