Montreal City Weblog

Kate 08:18 on 2022-09-27 Permalink Reply  

• Ian 12:02 on 2022-09-27 Permalink

  That’s very cool, I had no idea.
  So there used to be this zoo/aquarium, an aquarium at La Ronde, a zoo at Parc Lafontaine… how many other former zoos/aquariums are therein Montreal?

• Kate 13:12 on 2022-09-27 Permalink

  It’s why there’s a short street called Guilbault just south of Pine and St‑Laurent. I don’t know whether the exact bounds of the park are still known.

  This came up when I was researching the history of amusement parks here – Guilbault’s was very much a European‑style “pleasure grounds” with brass bands on weekends and things like that. Sohmer Park near the waterfront was a similar venture but I don’t think it included botanical gardens and animals.

  The Lafontaine zoo was moved to some kind of interior warehousing at Angrignon Park some winters. I remember going there once years and years ago. I’ve a vague memory that Angrignon was considered as a possible permanent site for a zoo, but I don’t know how seriously. In the event, it never happened, although there was a small farm-style petting zoo there for awhile.

  Arguably the Ecomuseum in Ste-Anne and the Biodome are both zoos.

• Ian 17:33 on 2022-09-27 Permalink

  Agreed on the Biodome and Ecomuseum. Technically the ecomuseum is a sanctuary since all the animals are rescues, though. I remember the Angrignon farm now, but I didn’t know it was related to the Parc Lafontaine zoo.

• Kate 18:11 on 2022-09-27 Permalink

  I don’t know whether that’s how Angrignon Farm began.