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Westmount places
Metcalfe Avenue /2

A glimpse at Metcalfe Avenue at the dawn of the twentieth century – part 2

By Michael Walsh

Previously published in WestmountMag.ca

Here’s the second part of our walk that begins at the junction of Metcalfe Avenue and Hillside Lane and continues where the street intersects Cote St. Antoine:

257 Metcalfe - WestmountMag.ca

257 Metcalfe

255 Metcalfe
George H. Wood, architect, Hutchison & Wood – 1894

“Alexander Cowper Hutchison, architect (b at Montréal 2 Apr 1838; d there 1 Jan 1922). One of Victorian Montréal’s most prolific and prestigious architects, he epitomized the generation of native-born, self-taught men who shaped the city during the second half of the 19th century. Trained as a stonemason, he supervised the cut-stone work on Montréal’s Christ Church Cathedral and the East Block of the Parliament Buildings, Ottawa, before establishing a private practice in Montréal shortly after 1865. The firm was known until 1890 as Hutchison and Steele, thereafter as Hutchison and Wood.”
The Canadian Encyclopedia

257 Metcalfe
C. P. Simpson, clerk – 1894
J. Cradock Simpson, estate agent – 1894

309 Metcalfe - WestmountMag.ca

309 Metcalfe

259 Metcalfe
John McGill, very reverend – 1894
G. F. Johnston, reverend – 1902

309 Metcalfe (Former Civic Number)
Edmund McMahon, coroner – 1894

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Ad for the opening of Ogilvy’s

“Edmond McMahon, Coroner of Montreal and Magistrate of Westmount, was born in Sainte-Rose, Laval County, on October 18, 1852, of the marriage of Félix McMahon, physician, and Angèle Plessis Bélair, daughter of Léon Plessis Bélair. He did his classical studies at Ste-Thérèse College, and later at the College of Montreal. Upon graduating from college, he was appointed Deputy Clerk of Peace and was admitted to the bar of the Province of Quebec. Three years later, in May, he was appointed Deputy Clerk of Peace, in charge of the Montreal Police Magistrates’ Office. He was appointed Coroner of Montreal in 1882 and Magistrate of the City of Westmount in 1891. A writer, he contributed to several magazines and was notably, in 1880, editor-in-chief of the Album Musical. A musician, he was for many years choirmaster at Notre-Dame de Montréal and at the Basilica.”
Biographies canadiennes-françaises, 1925

William Fullerton, J. A. Ogilvy & Sons – 1902
Currently owned by the Selfridges Group Ltd.

315 Metcalfe
George Sulley, manager – 1894

333 Metcalfe - WestmountMag.ca

333 Metcalfe

316 Metcalfe (Former Civic Number)
William C. Jarvis, bookkeeper – 1894

325 Metcalfe
J. M. Henderson, bookkeeper – 1894

333 Metcalfe
Thomas Brady, editor – 1894

338 Metcalfe (Former Civic Number)
William Hill, Hill & Forbes – 1894
William Hill, paint, oil and varnish merchant – 1902

341 Metcalfe (Former Civic Number)
J. A. Sheffield, superintendent – sleeping and dining car department C.P.R. – 1902

355 Metcalfe - WestmountMag.ca

355 Metcalfe

355 Metcalfe (Former Civic Number)
Robert Harvie, Brodie & Harvie – 1894

“Manufacturers of flour – particularly “self-raising” brands that “produce a light porous and very digestible bread, without the loss attendant on fermentation, which is greater than the additional cost of self-raising flour.”
International Exhibition – 1876 – Reports and Awards, 1880

369 Metcalfe
Alexander “AG” Cross, Cross & Brodie – 1902

374 Metcalfe - WestmountMag.ca

374 Metcalfe

374 Metcalfe
H. H. Lang, Lang Manufacturing Company – 1902

“The Lang Manufacturing Co,. Biscuits and Confectionary, St.. Monique Street, Montreal – this business had its origin in 1879 when it was established by Henry Steinson and others… These gentlemen… have succeeded… in building up and maintaining undoubtedly the largest trade in plain and fancy biscuits in Eastern Canada. They are also manufacturers of every description of every description of confectionary and do an immense business in this line as well.”
Industries of Canada – City of Montreal – Leading Firms and Moneyed Institutions, 1886

377 Metcalfe
K. M. Fenwick, reverend and professor – 1894

377 Metcalfe - WestmountMag.ca

377 Metcalfe

380 Metcalfe
George MacBean, George MacBean & Son – 1902

“Grain and Produce Merchants – wholesale dealers in Wheat, Pease, Oats, Barley, Buckwheat, Hay, Straw, Flour, Oatmeal, Mill Stuffs, Seed Grain, Grass Seeds, &c. – No. 28 St. Sacrament Street, Montreal.”
A Chronology of Montreal and Canada from 1752-1893. F. Terrill, 1893

380 Metcalfe - WestmountMag.ca

380 Metcalfe

384 Metcalfe
Clogg Mrs. M. widower J. R. – 1902
W. J. Clogg, J. R. Clogg & Company – 1902

“Commission merchants, Importers and Wholesale Dealers in Foreign and Canadian Fruits. 169 McGill Street and Bonsecours Market Montreal.”
Industries of Canada – City of Montreal, 1886

387 Metcalfe (Former Civic Number)
George Bockstael, tobacconist – 1894

389 Metcalfe (Former Civic Number)
R. Shewan, commercial traveller – 1894

401 Metcalfe (Former Civic Number)
A. J. Lawrence, Wells & Richardson Company – 1902

418 Metcalfe - WestmountMag.ca

418 Metcalfe

“…Wells and Richardson Co. Ltd of Montreal (a marketing company) introduced Diamond Dye Mat and Rug Patterns in an early 1900s flyer… (the company) marketed 16 of their own pattern designs… They also had a United States operation in Connecticut.”
Rug Art – Rescued from Oblivion, S. Conrod & H. Conrod

411 Metcalfe (Former Civic Number)
W. F. Heney, E. N. Heney & Company – 1902
Wholesale manufacturers of and dealers in harness, saddlery, saddlery hardware, fine carriages and carriage findings.

413 Metcalfe (Former Civic Number)
William Davidson, Mariait and Armstrong – 1902
Law firm.

417 Metcalfe (Former Civic Number)
W. B. S. Reddy,  Reddy & Reddy – 1902
Notaries.

418 Metcalfe
Beswick Mrs. R. widower T. – 1902

419 Metcalfe (Former Civic Number)
J. Ronald, Elder, Dempster & Company – 1902

“Also known as the African Steamship Company, the firm entered into the Canadian trade by taking over some the Canadian routs of the Dominion Line…four years later the Beaver Line was purchased securing Liverpool to/from Canada routes. In 1903 Elder Dempster Sold its Beaver Line interests to C.P.R.”
Passenger and Merchant Ships of the Grand Trunk Pacific and Canadian Northern Railways, D. R. P. Guay

430 Metcalfe - WestmountMag.ca

430 Metcalfe

424 Metcalfe
H. Lawlor, collector – Canada Department of Inland revenue – 1902

430 Metcalfe
T. W. Winfield, reverend pastor, Melville Presbyterian Church – 1902

431 Metcalfe (Former Civic Number)
W. A. Penfield – 1902

437 Metcalfe (Former Civic Number)
Albert Staunton – 1902

Images: Michael WalshBouton S'inscrire à l'infolettre – WestmountMag.caOther articles by Michael Walsh
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Michael Walsh - WestmountMag.ca

Michael Walsh is a long-time Westmount resident. He is happily retired from nearly four decades in the field of higher education technology. A “professional student” by nature, his academic training and publishing include statistical methodology, mycology and animal psychology. During this period, he was also an officer in the Canadian Armed Forces. Before moving to Montreal, he was contracted by the Ontario Ministry of Education to evaluate bilingual primary and secondary school programs. Today, he enjoys spending time with his (huge) Saint Bernard while discovering the city’s past and sharing stories of the majestic trees that grace the parks and streets. He can be contacted at michaelld2003 @hotmail.com or through his blog Westmount Overlooked


There are 4 comments

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  1. Andy Dodge

    Michael,

    We have to get together some time and compare notes, but for now I just want to point out that Wilder G. Penfield was only 11 years old in 1902 and didn’t move to Montreal until 1928, lived on Montrose Ave. (though I’ve still got to check on the address). Have to check on the identity of W.A. Penfield, but it certainly isn’t the famous neurosurgeon.

    I certainly appreciate all you’re doing!

    Andy Dodge

  2. Lisa McTavish

    Hi – First, love these bits of history. I am confused by the 309 address as this house actually has a de Maisonneuve O. address. Did you mean the coach house that is behind it? It may be 309 Metcalfe as it has been a seperate home for as long as I can remember and that is at least 45 years. Also, have you ever completed similar research on the stretch of de Maisonneuve between Metcalfe and Melville? That is where I grew up.

  3. Sue Sullivan

    369 Metcalfe; Alexander “AG” Cross, Cross & Brodie – 1902. He was elected Mayor of Westmount in 1903/4. The “AG” came into use as he shared the middle name Selkirk with his uncle who was also a lawyer and judge. Their client papers were getting confused so my great-grandfather opted for “AG” or Alexander George (his fathers name). AG’s wife died in childbirth in 1899 and his spinster sisters Janet and Rebecca lived with him on Metcalfe to raise his son, my grandfather George Esplin Cross.

    AG was a first cousin to Robert Harvie’s wife Henrietta (355 Metcalfe) through her father, James Brodie. AG’s wife Lucy Anna May Buchanan was also first cousin to Henrietta by their Symons mothers, Janet and Mary.

    The Harvie family sustained a lot of heartbreak. Robert died from a stroke within 15 hours and Henrietta died within an hour of paralysis. Their son James was killed in Flanders Fields in WW1. Their grandson Robert was shot down in WW2 and killed. Their other grandson John was shot down, survived and was a POW—spending time in Buchenwald.

    The original Harvie home was quite large. The land was cleared and 5 stately rowhomes replaced it. Both families attended St Andrews United Church in Westmount.


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