The year is 1931. The May 13th issue of the local newspaper, the Monitor, gives us a glimpse into the neighbourhood world of that time. An article on the census question wonders: whether it will show the population of "the Dominion to have actually reached the 10 million mark." "A notice of application for Divorce" was published by a barrister and notes that a man "will apply to the Parliament of Canada for the Bill of Divorce".
What was happening on our Sherbrooke Street West ?
The Empress Theatre (now known as Cinema V) promotes live theatre with the play Girls will be Boys, "A comedy knockout by Charlotte Greenwood," as well as the well-known actress Constance Bennett, in Sin Takes a Holiday .
Victor's 5 cent Store at 5662 Sherbrooke West advertises "grand opening specials: electrical toasters for 39 cents and men's shirts for 69 cents". You could charm your sweetheart with "12 special long stem roses [for] $1.50 a doz," from McKenna Florists. Would that we could only bring back some aspects of those old times.
We should note that there are as many advertisers in 1931 as in today's paper. "Booth Bros. (in the 1940's, their 30-foot real Christmas tree, complete with lights, was famous as it was high as the two storied buildings behind it), Evelyn's Library, Evelyn's Lunch Room at Belgrave (with 35 cents for a full course dinner), to name a few.
Moving on into the 1940's and 50's, some still familiar business names stood on our Main Street: United Cigar Store, Woolworth's, Kresge's, Laura Secord and Steinberg's which was the first self-service store, and boasted the first set of automatic doors in the area- a great thrill. The Empress Theatre developed into a movie house where you could catch two movies for 75 cents.
The year is 2003, and looking ahead…needless to say, times have most certainly changed. Here in our neighborhood, the Empress Theatre, more commonly known as Cinema V, is once more to be transformed, but this time into a Cultural Centre for the performing arts. Other buildings remain, although the old businesses have made way for new ones. Such is the renewal process in the life of a main Street.
Today, with 300 businesses between Grey and Cavendish, Sherbrooke Street West is once more a vibrant main Street that caters to many of the needs of local residents and surrounding communities. Its wide avenues, dotted with cafés and restaurants, have become a destination Street for food lovers- there are first-rate, affordable restaurants and a variety of food stores providing many ethnic flavours. Interesting shops, purveying a wide variety of gifts, clothing, books, services- you name it- beckon to many in the area.
Explore the index of our annual Directory; better yet, on a fine day, or a snowy morning, take a stroll down our main Street, Sherbrooke Street West , and you will discover a treasure or two.
Necdet Kendir is the president of the Sherbrooke Street West Merchants Association and owner of Cartes Etc./ Chocolathé et plus, 5901 Sherbrooke Street West .
The year is 1948 - the war had recently ended and Montrealers were ready to rebuild their lives. Sherbrooke Street was no different in this respect; at this time there were open pastures with occasional evidence of industrial growth. At the corner of Sherbrooke and Meirose a teenager named Jack runs out of his mother's store to meet his friends, a group of boys who subsequently will become the “kids of Melrose ”.
Jack lived on that corner from the time of his birth in 1931 until 1960 when he married and relocated.He vividly and nostalgically recalls the time that he had spent growing up on that block of the street. The gentility and civility of a now bygone era was still very much present e.g. people would greet each other by their first names; and the shop-owners, clad in their aprons, would congregate on the sidewalks and share their vision of what the future may hold for them. Unfortunately, the small “mom-and- pop” stores did not endure - the one notable exception being La Contessa Lamp store, which has been in the same location for over 60 years - but neither did the larger operations
The main shopping area for this stretch of the Street was the south side of the block between Melrose and Harvard. Here you could find such businesses as United Cigar Store, Jay's Ladies Wear, Jack Evans, Woolworth's, Kresge's and Laura Secord - according to Jack “it was very busy and packed in those days. There were no shopping centres around and people didn't have cars like they do today”. Steinberg's was located at the spot currently occupied by Esposito's. This store was particularly innovative for Iwo reasons:
- it was the first self-service store; and
- it possessed the first set of automatic doors in the area
“Everyone used to go in and out of the doors just to watch them open and close automatically. It was a great thrill in those days”, says Jack.
Jack's memory of the neighbourhood is that of a place teeming with children, a friendly atmosphere, no crime, but also (something not of the greatest importance to the locals) not a lot of work or money. When coming home from school, Jack would stop into Oscar's Candies and pick up some “honeymoon” candies at two for a penny. He and his friends would then play hockey or football (depending on the season) on the streets, all the while dodging the streetcars for there were no buses. As Jack grew older and began to work, he remained close to home. He was employed as an usher at the Empress theatre (now Cinema V), where at the time you could see two movies for 75 cents. The theatre even held stage shows during the weekends - now that is entertainment! Above Steinberg's was the Wilson Bowling Alley, where Jack worked as a pinboy. In addition, he earned extra money by bat ting two “bollo” paddles in each hand on Saturday nights in front of Krege's. He would spend his hard earned money at Bray's Fish & Chips (currently occupied by the NDG Antique Shop), where they would wrap the fish in newsprint just like in Merry Olde England . Throughout the 1940's, during the holiday period, the Booth Brothers store would erect a real Christmas tree, complete with lights, which towered 30 feet above the ground - “it was as tall as the two-storeyed buildings behind it”. This wonder of one boy was the desire of a shop owner to unite a street in the hope for peace and a better tomorrow.
Times change, boys grow up, shops change owners, but there are some things which remain constant, like the strength of a community's identity. Sherbrooke Street West has been, and will continue to be, a vibrant and prosperous neighbourhood