MBC Historical Tour

    On June 9, I scouted out a route for the MBC Historical Tour and came up with this.



1. Westmount Athletic Grounds aka M.A.A.A. Grounds.

  The playing field and track were built in 1890, the Grandstands are now replaced by Westmount High School. It was home to many races during the bicycle craze of the 1890's.  It also hosted the 1894 CWA Meet, the national annual cycling event that was held between 1883 and 1898. That year featured a Sarnia to Montreal relay race and the commemorative booklet "Our City, Our Sports" can be viewed online.



2.  33 Chomedy  (now numbered 1449)

Home of H.S. Tibbs and location of the founding meeting of the Montreal Bicycle Club 2 Dec 1878.




3.   Hill Climbing Competition won by Bertie Lane, first person to climb CDN hill.


4. Lacrosse Grounds (de Maisonneuve bike path near Concordia University)


5. MAA  Building, built in 1912, this is the successor building to the Montreal Gymnasium.  It now hosts the Gnaedinger Cup.



6. Montreal Gymnasium, no trace of the original building to be seen.


7.  Boer War Monument in front of Windsor Hotel



8.  Windsor Hotel, currently under wraps. 

The Windsor Hotel, W.S. Weldon Manager,  hosted  many events of the MBC, the 1886 CWA Meet parade for example.  The most notable being the headquarters of the 1899 World Cycling Championship.  Here they had the meeting in which Henry Strumey decided that the USA would not be represented by the NCA but rather the LAW thus permitting Major Taylor to race.  By winning the event he became the first Black American World Champion in any sport.


9.  Victoria Skating Rink

Home rink of World Champion Figure Skater Louis Rubenstein.  It is also where the first certified ice hockey game was played.  MBC had many social events here as well as bicycle polo matches.  It is now a car rental shop.




10.  Queens Park Velodrome in Verdun, site of 1899 World Cycling Championship

Nothing remains of the Velodrome but its size can be judged knowing it ran the full length of this block.






11. Fleming Windmill in LaSalle






12. Blue Bonnets Horse Racing Track in Montreal West.


Before the MBC had a dedicated track they used to race at the Blue Bonnets race track as well as holding meetings there. Most notably, the 1880 decision by the club to join the League of American Wheelmen was made here.  In 1886 the racetrack was cut in half by a new railroad. The Race track was moved to Decarie Blvd in 1907, closed in 2009, and demolished in 2019.  The original Montreal West site now has a commuter rail station.



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