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The Main Media Inc. 2026

✦ Built By Field Office
    The Main

    Montreal's Cultural Directory

    Help us improve! Share your thoughts on how we can make your experience better.

    Leave feedback

    For partnerships and collaborations:

    partnerships@themain.com

    Content

    • Articles
    • Food & Drink
    • Arts & Culture
    • History Lesson
    • Bulletin
    • Events

    Guides

    • All Guides
    • Best Restaurants
    • Best Cafés
    • Best Bars
    • Best Brunch
    • Best Bakeries

    Explore Montreal

    • Browse Directory
    • Restaurants
    • Bars
    • Cafés
    • Bookstores
    • Leaderboard
    • Editor's Picks
    • New Places

    About

    • About us
    • Subscribe
    • Shop
    • Advertise
    • Pitch us
    • RSS Feed

    Legal

    • Terms of service
    • Membership Terms
    • Privacy Policy
    Follow us
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    The Main Media Inc. 2026

    ✦ Built By Field Office
      --°C|Tuesday, April 21, 2026|
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      • Unique Boutiques
      • Romantic Restaurants
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      • Le Plateau-Mont-Royal
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      • Mile-Ex
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      • Boutique / Store
      • Bar
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        The best of Montreal design.

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        Stories, lessons, and context.

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      More History Lesson

      The Flying Cathedral That Made a City Lose Its Mind
      History Lesson
      J.P. Karwacki

      The Flying Cathedral That Made a City Lose Its Mind

      In the summer of 1930, a British airship the length of two and a half Boeing 747s locked onto a mooring mast on the South Shore. Nearly a million people came to watch.

      The Montreal Punch That May Have Killed Houdini
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      The Montreal Punch That May Have Killed Houdini

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      The Little Store That Runs Montreal: A Complete History of the Dep
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      The Little Store That Runs Montreal: A Complete History of the Dep

      How a 1970 law, a Rosemont grocer, and generations of immigrant families created Montreal's most essential institution.

      How Montreal Built Its Own Irish Pub Culture
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      How Montreal Built Its Own Irish Pub Culture

      The shamrock has been on Montreal's coat of arms since 1832, and the pub culture that followed has been here just as long.

      What Happened to Montreal's Red Light District?
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      What Happened to Montreal's Red Light District?

      Jazz legends, burlesque queens, and organized crime made it one of the most alive corners in North America. Then Montreal decided it had a reputation to protect.

      The House That Haitian Montreal Built
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      The Main

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      The story of La Maison d'Haïti: Its welcome and advocacy for Montreal's growing Haitian community since 1972.

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      When Beatlemania Conquered Montreal for One Day

      🎵 It was 60 years ago today / The Beatles came to Montreal to play 🎵

      ByStuart Nulman

      September 9, 2024 · 7 min read

      When Beatlemania conquered Montreal for one day
      The Beatles at the Montreal Forum for their only show in the city on September 8, 1964. | Photograph: Gunther/MPTV

      On September 8, 1964, Montreal experienced the Beatlemania phenomenon, as John, Paul, George, and Ringo performed two shows at the Montreal Forum as part of their first North American tour, and one of its three Canadian stops; the other two were Vancouver and Toronto.

      1964 was a landmark year for the Beatles: In February, they kicked off the "British Invasion" with two landmark appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, in which the February 9 telecast attracted over 73 million viewers; they did their first American concerts in Washington, DC and New York City; they released their first motion picture A Hard Day's Night, which became a major success at the box office; and in April, they achieved the unheard of feat of dominating the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart (in order of appearance from 1-5, they were Can't Buy Me Love, Twist and Shout, She Loves You, I Want To Hold Your Hand and Please Please Me).

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      More History Lesson

      The Flying Cathedral That Made a City Lose Its Mind
      History Lesson
      J.P. Karwacki

      The Flying Cathedral That Made a City Lose Its Mind

      In the summer of 1930, a British airship the length of two and a half Boeing 747s locked onto a mooring mast on the South Shore. Nearly a million people came to watch.

      The Montreal Punch That May Have Killed Houdini
      History Lesson
      J.P. Karwacki

      The Montreal Punch That May Have Killed Houdini

      A backstage encounter at a Montreal theatre, a few punches, a death six weeks later. The cause remains disputed.

      The Little Store That Runs Montreal: A Complete History of the Dep
      History Lesson
      J.P. Karwacki

      The Little Store That Runs Montreal: A Complete History of the Dep

      How a 1970 law, a Rosemont grocer, and generations of immigrant families created Montreal's most essential institution.

      How Montreal Built Its Own Irish Pub Culture
      History Lesson
      J.P. Karwacki

      How Montreal Built Its Own Irish Pub Culture

      The shamrock has been on Montreal's coat of arms since 1832, and the pub culture that followed has been here just as long.

      What Happened to Montreal's Red Light District?
      History Lesson
      J.P. Karwacki

      What Happened to Montreal's Red Light District?

      Jazz legends, burlesque queens, and organized crime made it one of the most alive corners in North America. Then Montreal decided it had a reputation to protect.

      The House That Haitian Montreal Built
      History Lesson
      The Main

      The House That Haitian Montreal Built

      The story of La Maison d'Haïti: Its welcome and advocacy for Montreal's growing Haitian community since 1972.

      History Lesson

      When Beatlemania Conquered Montreal for One Day

      🎵 It was 60 years ago today / The Beatles came to Montreal to play 🎵

      ByStuart Nulman

      September 9, 2024 · 7 min read

      When Beatlemania conquered Montreal for one day
      The Beatles at the Montreal Forum for their only show in the city on September 8, 1964. | Photograph: Gunther/MPTV

      On September 8, 1964, Montreal experienced the Beatlemania phenomenon, as John, Paul, George, and Ringo performed two shows at the Montreal Forum as part of their first North American tour, and one of its three Canadian stops; the other two were Vancouver and Toronto.

      1964 was a landmark year for the Beatles: In February, they kicked off the "British Invasion" with two landmark appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, in which the February 9 telecast attracted over 73 million viewers; they did their first American concerts in Washington, DC and New York City; they released their first motion picture A Hard Day's Night, which became a major success at the box office; and in April, they achieved the unheard of feat of dominating the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart (in order of appearance from 1-5, they were Can't Buy Me Love, Twist and Shout, She Loves You, I Want To Hold Your Hand and Please Please Me).

      Free account required

      For readers who care about Montreal

      Create a free account to read this story and access 3 articles per month, plus our weekly Bulletin.

      Independent. Local. Reader-supported.

      or

      Already a member? Sign in

      The Main

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      Before the world knew his name, Montreal heard him first
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      The Main

      Comments

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      Advertisement

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      Related Classics

      From our archive.

      Before the world knew his name, Montreal heard him first
      History Lesson
      J.P. Karwacki

      Before the World Knew His Name, Montreal Heard Him First

      The Harlem of the North, Little Burgundy, raised a legend. It took 100 years to say it as loudly as possible from the city's rooftops.

      The hidden politics of Montreal's 19th-century ice palaces
      History Lesson
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      The Hidden Politics of Montreal's 19th-century Ice Palaces

      Built from 500-pound blocks of ice pulled from the St. Lawrence, the Neo-Gothic castles dazzled international crowds while reinforcing who really held power.

      The century-long smoked meat legacy of Schwartz's Deli
      History Lesson
      J.P. Karwacki

      The Century-long Smoked Meat Legacy of Schwartz's Deli

      How a Romanian immigrant's recipe and stubborn refusal to change built Montreal's most iconic sandwich.

      A butcher's gamble, a forgotten tavern, and how the Mile End earned its name
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      A Butcher's Gamble, a Forgotten Tavern, and How the Mile End Earned Its Name

      From a Durham County butcher shop and Massachusetts tavern keepers to a global creative district, the real story's one historians got wrong for decades.

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      J.P. Karwacki

      The Gothic Mansion Where the CIA Broke Minds with LSD and Electroshock

      The Ravenscrag manor housed the Allan Memorial Institute, where patients seeking help became victims of Cold War experiments.

      When Montreal had a steam-powered shortcut to the top of Mount Royal
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      J.P. Karwacki

      When Montreal Had a Steam-powered Shortcut to the Top of Mount Royal

      From 1884 to 1918, a steam-powered cable railway hauled Montrealers to the summit in minutes, despite a park designer's vision of leisurely mountain strolls.

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