Girouard Avenue: The Living Room

To the right of these two doors is the living room at Girouard Avenue. There was a maroon couch, springs to the floor, and covered with white sheets on the left as you entered the room. To the right was an old upright piano. The room to the left was my Auntie Mable's bedroom.

You realize that this used to be a really nice flat. The word "flat" is British, so it is ironic in largely French-speaking Quebec that we use this word. I don't believe that these units are referred to as "flats" elsewhere in North America. A flat is a self-contained unit with its own front door to the street, unlike an apartment that has a front door leading to a hallway of other people's front doors, and a lobby and door to the street. My grandmother's flat was surprisingly large, around 1000 square feet, and has a very nicely laid out floor plan. Living room in the front, large eat-in kitchen in the rear, large dining room in the middle, and a foyer and door to where stairs lead to her second floor flat. It is a very liveable living space.

Here we are in the living room, the windows facing Girouard Avenue. On the left, against the wall, was the maroon couch and just to the right of he couch was an old cabinet containing sheet music from the 1920s and 30s.

If you face the living room windows, and then turn to the right, there is this "pretend" fireplace." To the right was a television set, black and white, for hockey on Saturday night. The fireplace was across from the maroon couch.

Another view of the living room entrance from the foyer. You know, I remember my grandmother's cleaning lady, Bella, on her hands and knees, nylons rolled down to her ankles, maybe chewing Dentine gum and the smell of floor wax in a can, that you applied with a rag, waxing these floors. The work that was put into this place! Or, my aunt or grandmother running a carpet swiper across the carpets, or picking up bits of lint or paper from the carpets. There wasn't a lot of furniture in the flat, but I remember it always being clean and nicely furnished, although (appropriately) old fashioned. In this photograph the floors seem to still have some shine to them.

Living Room, windows

Here we are inside the flat, in fact we're in the living room at the front of the building, looking out at Girouard Avenue.

2226 Girouard Avenue, Montreal

The flat from outsider.

Outside 2226 Girouard Avenue

How Girouard Avenue Got Its Name

The following information was written by Jeanne Randle, of the Fraser-Hickson Library, in 1984.

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Désiré Girouard, after whom Girouard Avenue was named, was known to his friends as Jérémie. He combined an outstanding career in law and politics with important contributions to historical studies of the island of Montreal. His family had been in Canada for over a hundred years by the time he was born in St Timothée in 1836. The family was descended from Antoine Girouard, a native of Mont Lucon, Bourbonnais, France, who became secretary to Governor De Ramezay in 1720 in Montreal. Girouard studied law at McGill University where he won the first prize for three consecutive years. He joined the law firm of his former principal and was soon associated with the most important lawyers of his time. Always a scholar and researcher, he published several treatises on commercial law and was considered an expert in his field. But he was a history buff as well and contributed to several journals of his time, one of which, La Revue Critique, he conducted. He also lectured at l'Institut Canadien Français.

Girouard's political start is rather interesting. He ran for Parliament in 1872 in Jacques Cartier riding, but was defeated by an obscure Liberal, R.Laflamme. He was again defeated in Beauharnois in 1874, but finally won Jacques Cartier by 2 votes in 1876 on appeal to the courts. Afterwards his real majority was found to be 200. Girouard is best known politically for the spirited stance which he took against his own party's decision to execute Louis Riel. He with 16 other French Conservative members, formed a group of rebel parlementariens rebels known as the "Bolters" and his letter defending Riel's plea of insanity was widely circulated.

As a result of long and patient research in the archives of the young country, Girouard began a series of essays dealing with early history of the Lake St Louis area and the Indian wars. In 1883, at the World's Fair in Chicago, his compilation of these essays was given to the public in a book entitled Lake St Louis, Old and New, Illustrated and Cavelier de Lasalle. For his effort he was awarded the Confederation Medal. He published several other historical works in English and French.

Girouard was appointed to the Bench as a Judge of the Supreme Court in 1895. He was married three times; all three wives were English speaking. He was the father of six sons and four daughters. One of his sons also Désiré, became a lawyer and assisted his father in his literary endeavors. Edouard Percy Cranville, another son, attended Royal Military College in Kingston and became a distinguished soldier and railway engineer. He worked for the Canadian Pacific and British railway companies before joining Kitchener in several Africa campaigns. Edouard Girouard built many railways in South Africa and was awarded a D.S.O. while working in Egypt in 1896. He also was an author, but his topic was railway history. For two years, Maj. General Girouard was Governor of northern Nigeria, but finished his career during World War I as Director General of munitions in Britain. Désiré Girouard Sr. died in 1912, and Girouard Avenue was named for him in that year. The avenue was formerly called Plateau, Toronto and Chapleau.

The tour of 2226 Girouard Avenue begins...

Standing on the landing at the front door at 2226 Girouard, here's a view of the street and then looking south to present-day Blvd de Maisonneuve (formerly Western Avenue) that runs perpendicular to Girouard. The western end of de Maisonneuve is at the Loyola Campus of Concordia University (after it passes a recreational field, there's a bend in the street and it becomes West Broadway); it continues east all the way to the the east end of the city. Running parallel to de Maisonneuve are railroad tracks. In fact, this used to be quite a country area, with Western still a dirt road and long walks back in the '30s and '40s along the tracks. My maternal grandparents lived at 2217 Hampton, the same block (below Sherbrooke Street West) as 2226 Girouard, but several streets west of here. Girouard Avenue was widened in the 1930s or 40s and front lawns were eliminated, and street cars used to run along the street. How times have changed...

N.D.G. Park in winter

Here is the Chalet BBQ, a block from Girouard. As I'm driving home from work, getting off the Decarie Expressway, I drive up the exit ramp to Sherbrooke, the smell of chickens cooking permeating the air, I always think one of two things: it's either I wouldn't want to live near the Chalet BBQ because of the smell of cooking or I think I'd like to eat supper there and I should go more often...

The Chalet BBQ was opened around 1940 and I doubt they've changed the decor ever since then. Thank goodness something stays the same! The place has a rustic appearance with wood panelled walls, friendly waitresses who have been there since the the 1970s, and we always make the usual order: creamy coleslaw, a quarter chicken, and french fries, served with their own BBQ sauce and a toasted white bun.

I am not sure they have these establishments in other places; there is also a chain of trendy St. Hubert BBQ restaurants that can now be found in Ontario. In addition to this, there is the Cote St-Luc BBQ on Cote St. Luc Road near Girouard; and the New System BBQ cars seem to deliver to remote locations from their restaurant on rue Notre Dame... Back in the 1940s they didn't provide cutlery at the Chalet BBQ, but that's long changed. Imagine that. Before the ubiquitous McDonald's.

That's Girouard to the far left, as we approach the old flat at 2226.