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Montreal’s Cultural District: Ideas for Lowell
Speaking of Canada Day, bbc.com today has a Travel article about the cultural district in downtown Montreal, which covers one square kilometer and is home to 80 cultural venues and hosts 40 festivals each year. The Montreal Jazz Festival that draws hundreds of thousands of people is on this weekend. Read about the mix of fine and popular art forms, from multimedia installations to circus acts.
Greetings from Montreal. This truly is a wonderful festival. I try to make it every year. Enjoyed several hours of diverse music yesterday. Always great surprises, too. Will catch two more days.
Jim, I put this up wilth you in mind, so thanks for checking in from the north country. Two more Lowellians are on their way to get jazz’d up on Rue Ste Catherine.
I used to go up for the Jazz Festival when I was single. I used to wonder why we couldn’t have festivals and outdoor cafes in Lowell. Thank God that’s changed.
Coming back, the US Customs Agent asked my friend Brian Hebert, “Are you bringing anything back?”
“Yeah, a hangover.”
“Pull the car over to the side.”
Customs agents are not known for their sense of humor.
Say the train to & from Concord NH is completed by 2017, or about the same time as the proposed Lowell Trolley Line. The next step in the NH Rail Transit Authority vision is to extend the train line to Montreal.
Imagine jumping on the trolley from anywhere it goes in Lowell, taking it to Gallagher Terminal and going to the Montreal Jazz Festival, or to any of the festivals or art exhibits in the City. Or to a Bruins vs. Habs game for that matter. Sleep all the way home, or catch up on email and blogging. Sounds like a great outing for Lowellians.
It’ll happen and certainly will be something for the younger souls of today and the next generation to strive for and look forward to.
Back to the future:
Boston and Lowell – On April 1, 1887 the B&M leased the Boston and Lowell Railroad, adding not only trackage in the Boston area, but also the Central Massachusetts Railroad west to Northampton, the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad into northern New Hampshire, the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad to northwestern Vermont, and the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad from White River Junction into Quebec. However, the BC&M was separated in 1889 and merged with the Concord Railroad to form the Concord and Montreal Railroad, which the B&M leased on April 1, 1895, gaining the Concord Railroad’s direct line between Nashua and Concord. Additionally, the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad, owned by the B&M through stock, was leased to the Maine Central Railroad by 1912. The Central Massachusetts Railroad stayed a part of the B&M, as did the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad (as the Passumpsic Division).