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Holden Stephan Roy

@hsr514

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MTL Artist 🎵 Who TF Am I Anyway?
Fake paparazzi meets fake journalist
Part of the “Low Fly Guys”
"Steamie Boy" over at @habsinfinity

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📍Montreal what the fuck is Cinéma L'Amour anyway? This spot at 4015 Saint-Laurent is Montreal's most infamous porn cinema — and the stories behind it are WILD.

What the hell is Cinéma L'Amour anyway? This spot at 4015 Saint-Laurent is Montreal's most infamous adult cinema, and the stories behind it are WILD.

If you listen to Montreal tour guides, they'll tell you Harry Houdini died right here, but that punch to the solar plexus actually happened on St Catherine Street. Then the place got bought up by some nefarious characters, and as you can guess by the name, Quebec had very loose laws back then, so it showed every nasty thing you could want to see.

Cut to Ivan Koltai. He had a Cinéma L'Amour in Hull, right across the river from Ottawa. Why there? Because down-bad Ottawa politicians would cross the river into Quebec to get their fix. He bought this spot in 1981 and turned it into the cleaner place where you could come have fun.

By the late 80s they were trying to shake the reputation, so they started inviting men to bring their wives. Couples looking for like-minded people, watching nasty flicks together, like three days a week. There's even a VIP section, more isolated for couples. The open theater is for singles and couples.

Now? They've got merch, hoodies, tees, hats. Theme nights, DJ sets, events. Free entry for couples Monday and Tuesday.

Love it or hate it, Cinéma L'Amour is part of the Montreal tapestry. A Montreal icon of the dirtiness inside our city.

What's the most unhinged Montreal landmark you know? 👇 by @hsr514

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3 months ago

When the 📍MONTREAL 🚓s bring the 🐴💩
#montreal #mtl #spvm #gohabsgo #canadiens by @hsr514

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5 months ago

Rue Ann in 📍Montreal is not named after St Ann’s church. It’s named after a woman named Ann, with no E.

Here’s what happened. John Samuel McCord opened this street on his own land. Back then, landlords would cut a street through their property, hand it over to the city, and get to name it. And coincidentally, his wife just so happened to be named Ann. Ann Ross.

The street was officially named in 1841, and Quebec’s toponym website lists the origin as no doubt. That is not the same as absolute certainty. There is no real documentation confirming this is the Ann it was named after. But history be what history is, and who else would it be?

John Samuel was the son of Thomas McCord, the same McCord family as the museum downtown. His father had big beef with Mary Griffin, ended up in court and everything. That is a whole other story.

We barely know anything about Ann Ross herself. Back in the 1800s, people did not bother writing much down about women unless the men of the time decided they were wildly important. The McCord men got the museum, the court case, the street empire. Ann got one first name on a wall.

And no, the St Ann ward nearby, also spelled without the E, has nothing to do with this Ann. Completely different institution. That is a tale for another day.

Today the Rue Ann sign is literally concreted onto a wall under one of the cooler underpasses in the city, graffiti and all.
Should I do the Thomas McCord vs Mary Griffin court beef story next? by @hsr514

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14 hours ago

Why are all these benches laid out like church pews in this 📍Montreal Griffintown park?

Because this is where a church used to stand. St Ann’s church, demolished in 1970. The stone outline in the grass marks exactly where it was, and the ground I’m standing on is the church’s old graveyard.

Back in the 1800s, a whole bunch of Irish people showed up in Montreal. Crazy numbers in the 1840s because of the famine. Now unlike the majority of the English population, the Irish were not Protestants. They were Catholics. So religiously and culturally they were way more aligned with the French, but linguistically they were team anglophone. A totally unique English class inside Montreal.

Eventually they got tired of going to church with the French, and that’s how we ended up with St Patrick’s Basilica on René Lévesque. But the population grew so fast that the southwest couldn’t be handled, so they sent missionaries down and built St Ann’s right here.

There was a real split in the Catholic community. The bougie uptown affluent Irish went to St Patrick’s. The working class blue collar heroes came down to St Ann’s. At first it was a mix of English and French, and there are reports of violence and all kinds of tomfooleries. But Griffintown became very Irish very very quickly, and St Ann’s became the second big English Catholic Irish church in Montreal.

This church was beloved. They gave back to the community and did a lot of the work that the nonprofit sector handles today.

Then came Mayor Jean Drapeau. During the whole Expo 67 push, he rezoned Griffintown as an industrial sector, which meant you couldn’t rebuild residential unless it was industry related. Over time the population dwindled, and St Ann’s could barely keep going. In 1970 they demolished the church. Big sad for the whole neighborhood.

What’s left is this park at De la Montagne and Wellington. The stone outline of where the church stood. The graveyard. Remnants of a relic of the past. A real old timey iconic Montreal community thing.

Did you know this park used to be a church? by @hsr514

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2 days ago

Rue Young in 📍Montreal is named after John Young. But who was this guy actually?

He was a Scottish immigrant who came over in the 1800s and went from importer and exporter to starting several railway and telegraph companies. A real man of the times.

His vision was wild for the era. He wanted Montreal to become the New York City of trade, one of the major import and export hubs in the world. He fought to deepen the St Laurent River so cargo ships could pass through, that only happened over 100 years later, but it happened. He pushed for the Victoria Bridge, the canal system, and a pile of railways. Most of that got built while he was alive and popping.

He also held office, Montreal’s rep in the Assembly of the Province of Canada, commissioner, and chairman of the harbor. His enemies called him corrupt, which is exactly what you’d expect for a guy running the port while sitting in office. If you don’t get it, watch the Sopranos.

In 1877 they sent him to Sydney, Australia as Canada’s commissioner for an international exhibition. He came back in 1878, got sunstroke, and died. Big sad end to the story.

But here’s the thing. This dude played a huge role in turning Montreal into the kind of international city that could host the Olympics. And before he died, he got to see Rue Young opened in his name. Like a lifetime achievement award.

So next time you walk down Young, remember the man who saw it coming.

What’s a Montreal street name you’ve always wondered about? by @hsr514

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3 days ago

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3 days ago

📍Montreal who the hell is Murray anyway? This Griffintown street sign is named after James Murray — and the story behind it is actually insane.

Remember Wolfe and Montcalm? They fought on the Plains of Abraham, both died, and Montreal named streets after them right next to each other. Some Romeo and Juliet star-crossed lovers shit. (Okay that's not really what happened but I can't unsee it now. Quebeckers don't @ me.)

James Murray was a British general in Wolfe's army. He was standing right there when Wolfe died and then he inherited the entire army for the winter of 1759-60. Disease ripped through the troops. Bad scene.

Come April 1760, Murray marched out to fight the French and got absolutely SMOKED. Ran back inside Quebec City and hid behind the walls until British ships showed up to save him. That battle (Sainte-Foy) was one of the last ones the French ever won. Montreal surrendered later that year.

But here's where it gets wild: Murray then became the GOVERNOR. First of the Quebec district in 1760, then the whole Province of Quebec in 1763. Never called an election. just installed his homies. Ran security hard, used the military liberally. Hated the Catholic Church at first... until he realized it was the perfect control tool. Then they were best friends.

And the craziest part? This British general fell in love with the Quebec people and started HATING the British merchants. When soldiers beat up a merchant named Thomas Walker and cut off his ear, the political fallout got Murray stripped of his rank and shipped back to England. Bad news bears.

So why's he got a whole street in Griffintown? Probably the whole Quebec governor thing.

What's the wildest street name backstory you know? 👇 by @hsr514

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4 days ago

📍Montreal what is the Wellington tunnel anyway?
#montreal #mtl #tunnel #transport #history by @hsr514

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5 days ago

Why did 📍Montreal annex other cities anyway?
#montreal #history #mtl #story #storytime by @hsr514

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6 days ago

📍Montreal who is Rouen anyway?
#montreal #mtl #history #story #storytime by @hsr514

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6 days ago

@popmontreal is what’s up this weekend, and FTB(.ca)’s man about town @hsr514 took a minute to chat with local musician and producer @honeydrippp before her DJ set tonight at Piccolo Rialto!

Catch Honeydrip live TONIGHT, and check out the LINK IN BIO for more local ground level, underground, and marginalized art coverage!

#POPMontreal #MontrealMusic #MontrealArts #MontrealEvents #ForgetTheBox taken in Montreal, Quebec by @hsr514

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7 days ago

@popmontreal is in full swing, and @hsr514 is out on the street for FTB(.ca) interviewing local musicians. Today he links with @__steinz before her set at O Patros Vys!

Check out Steinz and more TONIGHT at @opatrovys, and click the LINK IN BIO for more local ground level, underground, and marginalized arts coverage!

#POPMontreal #MontrealMusic #MontrealArts #MontrealEvents #ForgetTheBox taken in Montreal, Quebec by @hsr514

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