Gay Village, Montreal
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Gay Village (often simply known as "the Village"; or simply ''Le Village'') is a neighbourhood delineated by Saint Catherine Street East and Atateken Street in the Ville-Marie borough of
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
,
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, Canada. The entire Village is bordered approximately by Saint Hubert Street to the west, De Lorimier Avenue to the east,
Sherbrooke Street Sherbrooke Street (officially in ) is a major east–west artery and at in length, is the second longest street on the Island of Montreal, Canada. The street begins in the town of Montreal West, Quebec, Montreal West and ends on the extreme ...
to the north and René Lévesque Boulevard to the south, making it the largest
gay village A gay village, also known as a gayborhood or gaybourhood, is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. Gay vil ...
in
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in terms of area. It is served by the Beaudry and Papineau metro stations. Originally a poor working-class area, the Centre-Sud neighbourhood became increasingly attractive to the gay and
lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
community after the migration of many
LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...
businesses from other parts of the city. The area has become considerably gentrified, due in part to significant investment from the various levels of all governments. All three levels of government are aggressively promoting Montreal's gay life as a
tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...
. In recognition of the Village's importance to the city, the Ville-Marie borough has displayed a rainbow flag in its council chambers and redecorated the entrance to the Beaudry Metro station with rainbow pillars. The Village is specifically marked on official city maps as "''Le Village''".


History

The first recorded gay establishment in North America was Montrealer Moise Tellier’s apple and cake shop on Craig Street (now Saint Antoine Street) in 1869. Originally named after a little wrestler named Dave who used to wrestle outside the pubs during the summer months. In addition to a small scene in
Old Montreal Old Montreal (, ) is a historic List of neighbourhoods in Montreal, neighbourhood within the List of municipalities in Quebec, municipality of Montreal in the province of Quebec, Canada. Home to the Old Port of Montreal, the neighbourhood is b ...
, there were traditionally two concentrations of establishments where gays were welcomed (by the 1970s, these had become openly gay businesses), which mirrored Montreal's more language-segregated culture. These were
Downtown Montreal Downtown Montreal (French language, French: ''Centre-Ville de Montréal'') is the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The district is situated on the southernmost slope of Mount Royal, and occupies the western portion of the ...
(mixed, but mostly anglophone) and The Main (mixed, but mostly francophone):


Downtown Montreal

The west end of Montreal's downtown had bars on Stanley Street and Drummond Street, with Shaughnessy Village west of Guy Street as a gay residential neighbourhood. By the 1950s, Dominion Square (now Dorchester Square) was seen as an area where men could meet and cruise and the centrally located Dominion Square Tavern was known as a place where gays could meet (it still exists today, but has lost its gay clientele). By the late 1960s and early 1970s, many gay-owned or gay-open businesses existed and it became the city's main gay concentration, though it was still relatively marginal and kept discreet. The businesses consisted mainly of clubs where men could dance.


The Main

The Main, the strip of businesses on Saint-Laurent Boulevard and east along Saint Catherine Street East, an area which was known as the Red-light district of sexual services and businesses. The east had a more
francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...
clientele. Here, the businesses consisted mainly of taverns, often featuring drag shows.


Closure of gay businesses in the past

The businesses in these two areas came under regular repression, particularly before Montreal's
Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 28 to October 29, 1967. It was a category one world's fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most s ...
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and the
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in 1976. The Aquarius Sauna on Crescent Street was raided in February 1975, followed by six gay and lesbian bars in October 1975, the "Les Bains Clubs" on January 23, 1976 and the Cristal Sauna on February 11, 1976. Because of the increased police repression, the Gay Coalition Against Repression was formed and hosted what was then the largest gay demonstration in Canada on July 19, 1976. In mid-March 1987, the 456 Sauna (formerly the historical Neptune Sauna), the "Taureau d'Or", "Studio 1", "Club Stork", "le Jilly's" and many other businesses were raided and a number of owners had to shut down after dubious accusations that led to a number of owners and clients being arrested.


Development of the Gay Village

Originally, there were only a handful of establishments located in what is now the Gay Village. In the early 1980s, some bars opened along Saint-Catherine Street East, between Berri Street and Papineau Avenue, in Montreal's Centre-Sud area. Eventually, a new generation of gays also moved into the neighbourhood, both
anglophone The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...
and francophone, including many came from other parts of Quebec. This was encouraged by the creation of a " Latin Quarter" in the vicinity of the
Université du Québec à Montréal The (UQAM; ), is a French language, French-language public university, public research university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the system. UQAM was founded on April 9, 1969, by the government o ...
campus. The name ''Le Village de l'Est'' ("the East Village") was coined in an advertisement by one of the owners of K.O.X., a very popular bar/club at the time. After having lived in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, it was his intention to create a strong vibrant gay community similar to the East Village in Manhattan. The name was created to differentiate itself from the traditional downtown scene. Eventually, the name became known simply as "The Village" and it became Montreal's main gay residential and commercial district. However, its success also caused the near-disappearance of gay businesses from other areas of the city. By the 1990s, the Village began expanding along Amherst (now Atateken) Street, with the departure of many antique shops and the emergence of more gay-owned and gay-operated businesses. By this time, the Village had become well established, gaining political recognition and acceptance by the
LGBT community The LGBTQ community (also known as the LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIA+, or queer community) comprises LGBTQ people, LGBTQ individuals united by LGBTQ culture, a common culture and LGBTQ movements, social movements. These Community, comm ...
as well as by heterosexuals. By gaining popularity, the area has generally thrived, having been beautified and having housing renovated. Almost all gay businesses in Montreal are now located in this area. Librairie L'Androgyne, the city's main LGBT-oriented
bookstore Bookselling is the commercial trading of books, which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, book people, bookmen, or bookwomen. History The found ...
, moved to the village in 2001, from its prior location on Saint-Laurent, but closed in 2002 due to declining sales."L’Androgyne ferme ses portes"
. '' Fugues'', July 25, 2002.
Although many
LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...
individuals reside and are very present in other parts of Montreal, the Gay Village remains the heart of Montreal's LGBT community. Every summer, St. Catherine Street becomes a pedestrian mall that is decked out with many pink balls strung overhead. Many bars and restaurants provide outdoor terraces for their patrons at this time. Major events that are held in the Village include Fierté Montréal (Montreal's Pride festival) and ''Le Festival International de Montréal en Arts''.Festival International de Montréal en Arts
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See also

* List of gay villages * Montreal Pride * Divers/Cité, Montreal's former Pride event (1993 to 2014) * 2006 World Outgames * Gay Village, Toronto * Gay Village, Vancouver * Le Stud


Notes


References


Official census of the Gay Village
in 2001. {{LGBT in Canada Gay villages in Canada LGBTQ culture in Montreal Neighbourhoods in Montreal Centre-Sud Gentrification in Canada