Alright, so I know I’ve already used she pictures in the image gallery section. But there was so much more I wanted to say about them that didn’t fit in the Image Gallery section.
These pictures above were the reason I started this site. I was sifting through the McCord Museum website and chatting online with a friend. I told my friend that I was thinking of doing a project involving the museum’s online gallery. A few minutes later my friend messaged me back with a link to the 1866 des Seigneurs picture and said, “Isn’t that your street corner?”
It was my street corner! I live on des Seigneurs just below where this picture was taken. Later that day I went out and snapped a photo (the one of the left) and compared it with the McCord Museum picture. The differences and the similarities in these pictures were so interesting, my neighbourhood when it was first constructed and my neighbourhood today!
It was the two pictures above that gave me the idea to create this website.
I already know a lot about my neighbourhood of Little Burgundy by speaking to people. They told me how much this neighbourhood has changed in the last decade. My roommate grew up here and said that the neighbourhood has definitely mellowed out a lot since he was a kid. My sister told me that when she lived Montreal back in the 70s she would not have gotten off the bus in my neighbourhood.
Although my neighbourhood still isn’t the safest in Montreal (a jeweler who’s store and appartment can be seen above was murdered in his home just last month) it has improved much since then. It offers a diverse array of people, a lot of community spirit, interesting shops and restaurants and some beautiful old buildings. The old industrial and commercial architecture has found new life as lofts, stores, galleries, restaurants, barbershops and a variety of things.
It’s a nice neighbourhood to live in, rich history, low rent and close to downtown.
