Red Light District

colavitos ghost: 17th May 2007 - 16:10 GMT

in these pictures, montreal appears a little bit dirtier than i've always imagined it. i don't mean dirty in a bad way, just kind of gritty. a lot more american than european.

i suppose the presence of the french language doesn't mean it's actually IN france.

EvilGentleman: 17th May 2007 - 16:35 GMT

From what I remember of what my mother told me about the two years in the 1960's when she lived in France, Paris is 1000 times "grittier".

CE: 17th May 2007 - 17:49 GMT

It is important to remember that every city has many different faces and this is just one of them. Montreal has the ability to change drastically from one block to another. Just a short walk from where these pictures were taken is one of the largest and nicest theatre complexes in Canada for example.

The "European ambiance" label that is constantly being given to Montreal bothers me a bit. It usually comes from Americans and isn't so much based on what Montreal is as what most American cities aren't, which is, of course, functioning and vibrant urban cities. People come t Montreal and see street life and people drinking and eating on outdoor terraces and the image of Europe with its intact and vibrant cities comes to mind. There is no reason of course that American cities couldn't be like Montreal with a change in attitude toward urban life. It's all subjective of course, my friend whose family lived in Los Angeles for many years commented that he once went to Toronto and felt that it was a very European city which is quite ironic as most Canadians see Toronto as being the most American city in Canada.

Squeegees are people who wait at intersections and clean car windows at red lights with the hopes of being given some spare change by the car's driver.

CE: 29th May 2007 - 04:51 GMT

I've since found that some of my information on Les habitations Jeanne-Mance may be inaccurate so take it with a grain of salt until I get the real story.

MTL_YUL: 21st Nov 2007 - 04:05 GMT

no one calls this area the 'tenderloin'
The ternderloin is in San Francisco

Pat: 2nd Apr 2008 - 03:08 GMT

as a montrealer, it was a very interesting outsider view... (most of the time more informed than the insider view of course...) Yes, I agree with CE, Montreal changes a lot with a 5-10 minutes walk, for good and for bad... And as a Red Light district article... well this is the bad! ;)

Jennifer: 24th Apr 2008 - 18:17 GMT

This is so not representative of Montreal! Montreal is a city where you can hang out safely at night without being scared of everyday street gang attacks. Of course, attacks happen but not on a daily basis and as a woman living in Mtl, I've never felt threatened when walking at night in any neighborhood including the one shown on the pictures. ALL the pictures here have been taken around the same block!! It is as if I'd take pictures of East L.A. without setting foot in Beverly Hills!! I agree with the other on the European ambiance. America was populated by people from several European backgrounds, why should there be only one way to be? We have so many ways. The fact that people are speaking French shouldn't be any more European or exotic than the English speaking community. Latin people usually tend to care more about looks and good food, why shouldn't USA-ans follow? I have no clue, but they don't know what they're missing. Oh and by the way the Red Light District doesn't exist anymore, it was destroyed in the 60's before Expo 67. Ask any young local about the red light district. They'll think you have picked the wrong continent.

EvilGentleman: 17th Jun 2008 - 10:33 GMT

Jennifer, you must be unfamiliar with this site to post comments such as you did above. If you browse CE's other articles, which you can do by clicking on his name just under the main title bar of this article, you will notice numerous articles covering a vast area of Montreal.

He has posted articles about NDG, the Point, St-Henri, Griffintown, Downtown, Ville St-Laurent and many other areas.

I never saw anything claiming that this single article was intended to represent Montreal as a whole. So if you followed a link with such claims in order to get to this page, that is either a result of your not reading properly, or someone else created a link and did not describe it accureately.

And finally, the title of this article sits well. It is not to be taken literally, but this is an area that has been heavily focused on the sex trade for many years. And in standard North American parlance, any area where street prostitutes can be found plying their trade at night is often described using the euphemism of a "Red Light District".

Jamie: 17th Jun 2008 - 12:22 GMT

It's a recurring theme here. Someone posts a bunch of photos, or maybe even just one photo, from a particular place which don't paint a rose-tinted picture of that place and you can guarantee someone will chime in with the classic "these photos are not representative of [insert city here]" argument.

But anyway, an area where strip clubs, porn theaters and prostitutes cluster? That's a "Red Light District" in anyone's book. There's nothing wrong with that (moral argument's aside) every city has at least one. I imagine. EG is the expert on such matters ;)

Peter: 17th Jun 2008 - 12:55 GMT

i was amused by some of jennifer's more nebulous comments, like "everyday street gang attacks", "why should there be only one way to be? We have so many ways" and "Latin people usually tend to care more about looks and good food, why shouldn't USA-ans follow?"

hahahaha. agreed with eg and j re: red light districts, too... every city in the world has em...

BostonVisitor: 20th Jun 2008 - 13:01 GMT

Hi there and bonjour,
I'll have friends visit me from California, and we all want to check out Montreal. Specifically, I'm interested in providing my friend a prostitute. I remember several years back going to one club called Rally, and it was a very run down looking bar with a motel attached. This place offered prostitutes for a nominal fee, but it was a few miles outside of Montreal. What are the names of places inside Montreal where we can go "window shopping" for prostitutes and how much does it cost?

Thanks.

Peter: 20th Jun 2008 - 13:24 GMT

citynoise: where american tourists come to find cheap prostitutes in montreal... lol.

jack: 20th Jun 2008 - 14:20 GMT

the root word for prostitute comes from two sources, 1- stitute- to be situated, stature, a place of being, one who stands in a place. then pro, naturally we know it to be a professional, so we have a professional who stands in one place, much like the prostitutes who hang out in their designated spots on the street corners as a friend of mine or rather an acquaintenance whom i usually talk to her name is lilly duprix and she hangs out on the corner of 23rd street and 10th avenue at about 3am till 5am well this girl or should i say lady is a notorious drinker and can down a quart of ripple in one gulp as she calmly explains the facets of praust and nitze school of international diplomacy, she is generally seen in her lavendar cocktail evening gown and spike heels, so if you see her, remember she is a professional stitute and is estute in all areas of human concern.

EvilGentleman: 20th Jun 2008 - 15:26 GMT

BostonVisitor, I honestly have no clue about the costs of prostitutes in the city, nor where to go for the best deals. But like any other commodity, the sex market will provide better quality for higher price. I would suggest that you avoid streetwalkers and either find yourself a strip club with private booths and lax rules, or splurge on (or is that splooge on?) a call girl, the numbers of which can be found in the back of many local weeklies, and in the clasifieds of mainstream newspapers. Even better, why not try to find yourself a real girlfriend, so you can get it for free, and not have to worry about being arrested?

jack, thanks for helping to bring me closer to understanding the root meaning of words such as prostitute, destitute, restitute and institute.

Peter: 20th Jun 2008 - 15:32 GMT

qotd! "find yourself a real girlfriend, so you can get it for free, and not have to worry about being arrested"

steve: 24th Jun 2008 - 16:48 GMT

It just looks like a bunch of rifle droping french to me!