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Overdale

Demolished buildings and structures in MontrealDowntown MontrealFormer populated places in QuebecHistory of MontrealNeighbourhoods in Montreal

Overdale was a small residential district in downtown Montreal that became a famous symbol of the struggle between urban conservationists and land developers. In the mid-1980s, two developers, Robert Landau and Douglas Cohen, operating under an array of names, including Les Galleria Dorchester and Grinch Realties, purchased a series of buildings in an area bounded by Overdale Avenue, Lucien L'Allier Street, Mackay Street and Dorchester Boulevard (Dorchester was renamed as René Lévesque Boulevard in 1987). The developers proposed to demolish all of the homes and replace them with a large condo project. The Executive Committee of Montreal, headed by Mayor Jean Doré, was split on the issue. Doré had risen to power through the Montreal Citizens' Movement (known in French as the Rassemblement des citoyens et des citoyennes de Montréal, or RCM). The MCM had considered the defense of tenants' rights to be among its primary goals. Doré had promised to change the demolitionist ways of his predecessor, Mayor Jean Drapeau, but when developers promised a project that would yield significant municipal tax dollars, Doré decided to allow the project to evict the tenants of the homes and demolish buildings that housed 87 residents. The buildings to be demolished included many fine, Victorian-era structures as well as the onetime home of Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine. Tenants and experts argued that the terrain was large enough to allow for the construction of the new project alongside the existing structures, yet the appeals were rejected. City inspectors condemned the buildings as electrical hazards. The tenants were ordered out, saving the landlords the inconvenience of negotiating the departure of each individual tenant. In spite of protests and arrests and considerable public reaction in opposition to the planned project and the methods employed to evict the tenants, the buildings, except for the onetime home of Lafontaine, were demolished in 1989. The promised $100-million condominium development was not built for decades and remained a parking lot until 2015, when construction started. The developers paid the city to build a separate building farther from downtown which would be offered to the evicted tenants. The rents were much higher at the new development. The Overdale-area residents were invited to move to the new project, but most refused.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Overdale (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Overdale
Boulevard René-Lévesque Ouest, Montreal Ville-Marie

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N 45.494872 ° E -73.573122 °
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Holiday Inn Centre-ville Ouest

Boulevard René-Lévesque Ouest 1390
H4G 1T4 Montreal, Ville-Marie
Quebec, Canada
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Victoria Skating Rink
Victoria Skating Rink

The Victoria Skating Rink was an indoor ice skating rink located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Opened in 1862, it was described at the start of the twentieth century to be "one of the finest covered rinks in the world". The building was used during winter seasons for pleasure skating, ice hockey and skating sports on a natural ice rink. In summer months, the building was used for various events, including musical performances and horticultural shows. It was the first building in Canada to be electrified. The rink hosted the first-ever recorded organized indoor ice hockey match on March 3, 1875. The ice surface dimensions set the standard for today's North American ice hockey rinks. It was also the location of the first Stanley Cup playoff games in 1894 and the location of the founding of the first championship ice hockey league, the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada in 1886. Frederick Stanley, the donor of the Stanley Cup, witnessed his first ice hockey game there in 1889. In 1896, telegraph wires were connected at the Rink to do simultaneous score-by-score description of a Stanley Cup challenge series between Montreal and Winnipeg, Manitoba teams, a first of its kind. The rink was also notable for its role in the development of figure skating in Canada. It held some of the first competitions in the sport in Canada. During its existence, it was the home of two important clubs, the Victoria Skating Club and the Earl Grey Skating Club. It was the home rink of Louis Rubenstein, considered one of the first world champions of the sport, and also an important organizer. The rink was located in central Montreal between Drummond Street and Stanley Street, immediately north of Dorchester Boulevard (presently René Lévesque Boulevard). It was located one block to the west of Dominion Square (today's Dorchester Square), where the Montreal Winter Carnivals of the 19th century were held. Surpassed by other facilities, including the Montreal Forum, the rink was sold in 1925 and today the site is occupied by a parking garage.