History Lesson
20
How Montreal falls in and out of love with Brutalist architecture
How Montreal’s unapologetic concrete giants went from symbols of modernist utopia to polarizing relics—and why the city just can’t quit them.
The Main's picks for the biggest headlines from Montreal in 2024
From record-breaking weather events to protests and cultural milestones, here’s a look back on some of the biggest stories of 2024.
Dic Ann’s: A conversation about Montreal, family, and burgers since 1954
The story of what started as a small trailer-turned-diner in 1954 and become a Montreal icon, thanks to its ultra-thin patties, toasted buns, and signature tomato-based sauce.
Montreal's ugly tree should've become an annual Christmas tradition
Forget the Platonic ideal of Christmas symmetry: Montreal should bring back its ugly tree for Christmases moving forward.
Preserving the ‘tableaux vivants’ of Ogilvy’s Christmas mechanical window displays
How mid-20th century holiday clockwork tells the story of a Montreal tradition and the history of a storied department store.
Our definitive history of Montreal's Gibeau Orange Julep
The Gibeau Orange Julep has endured wars, expressway expansions, and changing tastes, remaining a beacon of Montreal’s love for the eccentric and the nostalgic.
The story of Laurentide Beer: Created by nationalism, revived by nostalgia
An icon of Quebec’s brewing scene, Laurentide was born when Molson tapped into the province's national spirit by launching a distinctly Quebec beer.
When Beatlemania conquered Montreal for one day
🎵 It was 60 years ago today / The Beatles came to Montreal to play 🎵
Montreal melons: A city's forgotten fruit, and the modern farms preserving its agricultural heritage
And catching up with David McMillan during a delivery run of Montreal melons to chef Ari Schor's Verdun restaurant Beba.
The story of Labatt 50, a working class beer
Labatt 50 was the best-selling beer in Canada for over 10 years, but nowhere has it had as much of an impact on popular culture as it has in Quebec. Here's an investigation of that legendary beer.
Traces of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in Montreal
On the futuristic allure of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Montreal creations, where sleek and minimalistic architecture reimagined modern living.
Café Union: An elder statesman of Montreal’s coffee history
Montreal’s Café Union has been around for over a century—here’s how it has survived a world of constantly evolving trends.
In the rearview mirror: The biggest headlines from Montreal in 2023
From ChatGPT experiments and institutions shuttering to ice storms, floods, fires, and protests, here's a look back on some of the biggest stories of 2023.
A man named Dandurand, and the first cars to ride the streets of Montreal
At a time before potholes, when horseless carriages ran free.
Mary Gallagher & an enduring tale of murder in 19th-century Griffintown
An infamous death and haunting from the city's Irish working-class past and once-chaotic streets buried below today's condos.