Archeological dig unearths what is believed to be part of a fountain marking the entrance to the zoo founded by Joseph-Édouard Guilbault in the 19th century
Long before the Plateau-Mont-Royal became one of Montreal’s trendiest neighbourhoods, the area was home to a 19th-century botanical garden and zoo where Montrealers marvelled at the sight of hippopotamuses, acrobatic circus acts and a live whale in a tank.
“I don’t know if there’s a tourist attraction today that would compare,” Choronzey said in a phone interview. “It was as much English as French, rich and poor who could go there to admire the exotic animals and the shows.” Justin Ber, a board member of the historical society for the Plateau-Mont-Royal neighbourhood, said Guilbault started out selling exotic plants to the rich but soon branched out to other forms of entertainment.
Newspaper accounts from the day suggested the entrepreneurial Guilbault even hired someone to capture a white whale – likely a beluga – which he planned to transport to the zoo site in a tank by train. “Remember, we’re well before the invention of cinema, before the invention of radio, so people for entertainment need things that happen in real life,” Ber said.
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