Little Burgundy

Historic black neighbourhood is home to Montreal's most famous jazz musicians and trend-setting restaurants

Stand on any street corner in Little Burgundy. Atwater and Rufus-Rockhead, perhaps. Listen for the sweet sounds of jazz from out of the past. Oscar Peterson's piano. Or Oliver Jones'. You're in their backyard. The real-life Rufus Rockhead, for whom the street is named, owned a jazz club near here, called Rockhead's Paradise, where Peterson and Jones used to play.

The neighbourhood is home to Montreal's oldest English-speaking Black community, served by Union United Church, the city's oldest Black congregation. Jones is still counted among the Union United community, as was Peterson before his death. The congregation has been around in Montreal since 1907, but in its current Little Burgundy location since 1916.

The Black community here has had its frustrations with the city, including recent accusations of racial profiling in the town's Metro stations. Petite Bourgogne, as it's known in French, is served by the Georges-Vanier and Lionel-Groulx stations. The latter has endured some controversy as Montrealers debated changing its name; Groulx was an abbot, an icon of French Catholic Montreal, later vilified as an anti-Semite. Many wanted to re-name the station after Oscar Peterson.

You would think that two metro stations, one a hub connecting 2 lines, would be enough for residents. But many feel that there simply isn't enough transit service through the neighbourhood. Contrast that with Griffintown, where, as you read here last week, residents are leery of too much bus traffic. Little Burgundy has only 2 bus lines running through town, along the perimetre. The Georges-Vanier station is the only one along the subway network with no bus connection. There is a new express bus, the 747, linking downtown to Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport on Montreal's West Island. But it zooms right through Little Burgundy, past Georges-Vanier Metro, on its way to Lionel-Groulx. The transit authority say they simply have not yet gotten around to accommodating the spate of residents that have moved in over the past few years.

Condo developments have sprung up in several of the old “smokestack” factories that dot the landscape, with the Lachine Canal as a backdrop. A friend lives in one such building on a street called Sainte Cunegonde, which is what Little Burgundy was originally called.

There is a lot to do in Little Burgundy. The area is just across the road from the Atwater Market in St. Henri. There are several wonderful restaurants, including the famous Joe Beef, where I once sat in a booth chatting with the owner when a call came in from Kirsten Dunst hoping for a reservation. Hollywood celebrities know where to eat in this town. Joe Beef is on Notre Dame Street flanked by 2 other places owned by the same team: Liverpool House and McKiernan's. You're also in Antique Alley, so called because of the many antique shops on Notre Dame between Atwater and Guy streets. Transit issues notwithstanding, I'm sure you'd have no trouble getting around.

Dan Laxer is an announcer at Montreal's CJAD Radio, a budding stand-up comedian, and a writer. He is Citeeze's entertainment writer.

Lalachine canal

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