Stabbing on Queen Mary
TVA covers a stabbing on Queen Mary Thursday afternoon, including a photo of blood drops on a copy of the Journal de Montréal on the ground. I could feel the photographer’s “aha!” when they caught that one.
Would you call the corner of Queen Mary and Trans Island part of Côte‑des‑Neiges? I’d’ve said Snowdon, putting the boundary around Victoria, but it’s not a hard border, obviously.
Ian 17:44 on 2026-04-02 Permalink
I would’ve said Victoria, too.
R T 18:38 on 2026-04-02 Permalink
One point in favour of Victoria is that the IGM results in a number of streets that either end at Victoria or dead end in the block east of Victoria, meaning these streets are connected to Snowdon but not CDN.
Kate 18:51 on 2026-04-02 Permalink
The IGM = Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, which takes up a chunk of land northeast* of the corner of Victoria and Queen Mary.
*Montreal orientation, of course
MarcG 19:40 on 2026-04-02 Permalink
Anyone know the story behind that funny Circle Rd development that feels like TMR?
Kate 20:00 on 2026-04-02 Permalink
That’s a good question, MarcG. A quick Google gave me this: “A giant real estate experiment by a development syndicate headed by Sir Herbert Holt, one of Canada’s larger-than-life personalities from the last century. Holt, who was a key figure in the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railroad, also became the president of the Royal Bank, turning it into one of Canada’s largest.”
But how the syndicate got hold of a piece of land like that is not explained. I’d bet they got it off a religious order, but I do not know.
Janet 22:29 on 2026-04-02 Permalink
My boyfriend used to live on Circle Road but doesn’t know how it came about. A little more digging revealed a little more info. Kate’s surmise is right. https://happenings.washu.edu/event/virtual_walking_tour_of_circle_road_a_vestige_of_montreals_golden_age_with_norm_spatz_ab_70_march_72
Kate 23:08 on 2026-04-02 Permalink
Aha! “the purchase of the land from the sisters of the Congrégation de Notre Dame” – the Villa Maria land is contiguous, so it may once have been part of the same domain. Thank you, Janet.
MarcG 07:59 on 2026-04-03 Permalink
Thanks Nancy Drews! Looking at some old maps you can see the street layout clearly in 1913, but on this 1907 one (part a, part b) the land is a bunch of big “estates” with different names on them. (Neat also to see that Queen Mary and the Decarie used to be railways.)
Joey 09:37 on 2026-04-03 Permalink
Queen-Mary and Trans-Island is about as dead centre Snowdon as it gets.
Kate 09:47 on 2026-04-03 Permalink
MarcG, interesting maps, thank you. But Queen Mary and Decarie used to have tram lines on them, not trains.
MarcG 09:56 on 2026-04-03 Permalink
Ah, I see that Decarie is labelled “Montreal Park & Island Railway” which was a tram company, but Queen Mary is labelled “CPR” – did they run trams as well?
Kate 10:32 on 2026-04-03 Permalink
I doubt it. My guess would be that the CPR had a right-of-way there that was never developed.