Montreal end of summer

[Alfstoria]

Hi

I’ll be back in Montreal after spending most of my trips in Brazil. I’m excited to head straight to  Campus and Stock Bar . The Stock lineup doesn’t seem particularly promising. I’ve seen regulars like Fabio and Bran, both of whom are friendly, but nothing extraordinary. I’ve noticed that Jasper is back. That one I like.

Also, is this Tru by Hilton Montreal Centre-Ville a new hotel or one that has been renovated? The price is really good, and there are great reviews and a great location, so I decided to book it.  

 

[londonfunlad]

Jasper is back? Oh boy… that’s amazing news. Are you sure?

[+ SirBillybob]

1 hour ago, Alfstoria said:

Hi

I’ll be back in Montreal after spending most of my trips in Brazil. I’m excited to head straight to  Campus and Stock Bar . The Stock lineup doesn’t seem particularly promising. I’ve seen regulars like Fabio and Bran, both of whom are friendly, but nothing extraordinary. I’ve noticed that Jasper is back. That one I like.

Also, is this Tru by Hilton Montreal Centre-Ville a new hotel or one that has been renovated? The price is really good, and there are great reviews and a great location, so I decided to book it.  

 

New. An older structure was torn down for it. Oddly, the design rendering associated with it is way off. Looks like San Antonio location. Whoever constructed the photo cluster must have entered it incorrectly … Untru by Hilton.

Edited August 11 by SirBillybob

[Colton]

5 hours ago, Alfstoria said:

Also, is this Tru by Hilton Montreal Centre-Ville a new hotel or one that has been renovated? The price is really good, and there are great reviews and a great location, so I decided to book it.  

If you look at it using Google street view from around the corner, you can see the May 2025 construction picture, so it is a new hotel.  But Google street view at that address is from 2022, so shows the old building.  

Let us know how it is.  

With a Hilton joining the Hyatt Place and the Fairfield Inn, the area at the intersection of the Village and UQAM will have decent hotel options.

[Alfstoria]

Thanks. Guys. 
the prices are really good so I snatched 

@londonfunlad it looks like Jasper is back. He’s a bit inconsistent, coming and going. I’m planning to go for Labor weekend, so maybe you’ll find out first? I’m more of a Campus  guy. Also, the latest videos from Stock don’t seem to align with my taste, as there are some female guys doing the pole.  That happens in Taboo too , where used to be those skater boys type of twinks but now thru have femme guys in their line up  what an awful trend 😕 

 

[+ SirBillybob]

1 hour ago, Alfstoria said:

Thanks. Guys. 
the prices are really good so I snatched 

@londonfunlad it looks like Jasper is back. He’s a bit inconsistent, coming and going. I’m planning to go for Labor weekend, so maybe you’ll find out first? I’m more of a Campus  guy. Also, the latest videos from Stock don’t seem to align with my taste, as there are some female guys doing the pole.  That happens in Taboo too , where used to be those skater boys type of twinks but now thru have femme guys in their line up  what an awful trend 😕 

 

This is like, of all 4 eateries within a radius of a few steps of my home near the Quartier des Spectacles, only one offers the poutine I like while another serves decent frites. But the outrageous gall of a commercial infrastructure that fails to consider all of my requirements and preferences across all related venues. 

Although I suppose it’s good to know there’s an option to attend a venue according to performance guys that you categorize as female in one context, femme in another.

Edited August 11 by SirBillybob

[londonfunlad]

I have it in good authority that Jasper has not restarted at Stock (I messaged him). I wonder if maybe you were watching an old video that Stock Bar puts online when they are not live streaming? 

[londonfunlad]

For example, Fabio has been at Campus only for a long time and he sometimes pops up on the Stock Bar feed. 

[Alfstoria]

That picture of the Hilton looks like poor AI, or those drafts used when trying to sell it before it has even been built. Now I'm having second thoughts — I hope it's real!  Thankfully, that area is full of hotels, so I can always walk to the next one.

 

For those of you living in Montreal, is anything happening in the Village on August 28?

Edited August 12 by Alfstoria

[+ SirBillybob]

1 hour ago, Alfstoria said:

That picture of the Hilton looks like poor AI, or those drafts used when trying to sell it before it has even been built. Now I'm having second thoughts — I hope it's real!  Thankfully, that area is full of hotels, so I can always walk to the next one.

 

For those of you living in Montreal, is anything happening in the Village on August 28?

Relax. The #815 address photo is not AI-generated.

——

No, just the Thurs front bookend of Labour Day weekend. JOAT street dance festival that weekend but not Village-centric.

Edited August 12 by SirBillybob

[Alfstoria]

I was in Montreal for the Labor Day weekend. Not only is the Stock Bar out of talent, but it was packed with women from bachelorette parties, I mean, wall to wall. There were no hot guys; they were average at best. They didn't walk around; only a few of them danced on the main stage, and I never saw them again.

Friday, I went back to Stock for a few drinks, but I didn't see anyone working the room. After about 15 minutes, I saw this non-binary person dancing on the pole, so I left immediately.

On Friday and Saturday, the campus was packed with dancers and customers. I had a few dances, but each time we had to wait. The booths were full, so in the end... I decided to spend all my money on Zayne, the blond guy with no tattoos. Sometimes he goes by Zane. He's just so perfect: beautiful and such a nice guy. He was so busy that he didn't even get halfway out of the lap dance area before someone grabbed him and pulled him back in.  I don't know how many of you follow LPSG, but I found out that he (Zayne) did both straight and gay porn for a while, so it was pretty hot to dance with him. 
.

 

[londonfunlad]

It’s sad to see what has happened to Stock Bar. Now that Jasper and Gatuso have gone, there isn’t much reason left to go…

[brettnyc]

yes, remember when STOCK bar was LIT -- you couldn't look around fast enough to see all the ripped hot muscle studs in the place - and filled with customers dropping bills to see them drop their pants.

[Alfstoria]

7 hours ago, brettnyc said:

yeah, remember when STOCK bar was LIT -- you couldn't look around fast enough to see all the ripped hot muscle studs in the place -- and filled with customers dropping bills to see them drop their pants.

I know, such a shame! I was watching old STOCKBar videos from 2009 and 2016, and they were so hot and the guys were amazing, guys that you really want to pay to touch.

You won't find guys like these anymore

https://www.malestrippersblog.com/stockbar-video/ 

 

 

. First, I didn't see any guys walking around trying to get a dance. It's like they gave up. And the ones dancing on stage? I'll be nice and say they're not my type at all. 

And I am the type who has at least two or three dancers. Thankfully, Campus was good, not the best I've seen it, but it was good. I saw Fabio and Miguel at Campus. 

Even Taboo was better than STOCK, 🫣

 

 

 

 

[mike carey]

Rue Sainte-Catherine Montréal 1916

 

[+ SirBillybob]

4 hours ago, mike carey said:

Rue Sainte-Catherine Montréal 1916

 

At Union Avenue. Henry Birks & Sons Building (1894) and Christ Church Cathedral (1859)

Edited October 16 by SirBillybob

[Luv2play]

4 hours ago, mike carey said:

Rue Sainte-Catherine Montréal 1916

 

At the turn of the 20th century Montreal was one of the most elegant cities in North America. It was the centre of finance and industry headquarters and had a strong cultural life.
If you notice the architecture in this picture, nothing was ignored. Only the finest materials and little details like stone walls and wrought iron fencing around the church to separate it from its commercial neighbours. 
And lovely elm trees which once adorned the city. 
I was fortunate enough to grow up seeing the last of this urban cityscape before a lot of it disappeared in the 60s and 70s. Fortunately some charm remains in pockets here and there.

[+ azdr0710]

Google Maps

MAPS.APP.GOO.GL

---

Explore a place in a more immersive way in Google Maps.

 

[Luv2play]

5 hours ago, azdr0710 said:

Google Maps

MAPS.APP.GOO.GL

---

Explore a place in a more immersive way in Google Maps.

 

What you don’t see in this picture is the vast underground city of stores and other businesses that lies underneath the church. The only clue is the set of glass doors in the lower right of the photo. 

[Luv2play]

To clarify, a couple of decades ago the church sold the land beneath it, a twist on selling air rights, and an underground plaza was built joining to the kilometers long network of underground retail spaces all over the downtown commercial area. During the winter this is an attractive alternative to walking on blustery Ste Catherine and other thorough fares.

[+ SirBillybob]

4 hours ago, Luv2play said:

To clarify, a couple of decades ago the church sold the land beneath it, a twist on selling air rights, and an underground plaza was built joining to the kilometers long network of underground retail spaces all over the downtown commercial area. During the winter this is an attractive alternative to walking on blustery Ste Catherine and other thorough fares.

… but your phone map apps will do you little good. This map might. Little do visitors know, say, arriving at Central Station on ViaRail or Amtrak, or one of the Metro subway stations conjoined to the underground passages, that they can sometimes cut down on outdoor trekking and wear&tear on luggage wheels while getting to their destination or bridging distance between walking transfers.

I put a blue shaded oval representing one of the very view breaks in the network necessitating facing the elements.

Sadly, the gay strip club, lower centre zone, closed some time ago. We need to lobby prospective bidders for the gargantuan recently shuttered Hudson Bay Company flagship store (La Baie) to slip one in when redeveloping the structure’s interior, etc (Henry Morgan Bldg, 1891). 

Edited October 17 by SirBillybob

[Luv2play]

When I was growing up, Eaton’s and Morgan’s were the two department stores where one shopped for just about anything. Ogilvie’s and Simpson’s were more specialized but still had nice stuff. You went to Birk’s to get silver, crystal and dinnerware, and of course jewellery.

All of this was within three or four blocks on Ste Catherine Street. No other city in North America had such fine shopping in such a concentrated area. 
Morgan’s sold out to the Hudson Bay in the 1960’s and Birk’s went bankrupt in the early 1980’s. Eaton’s also went bankrupt. All were family firms based in Montreal except for the Eaton’s who were from Toronto. Not sure about Simpsons. 

[+ SirBillybob]

33 minutes ago, Luv2play said:

Not sure about Simpsons. 

Edited October 17 by SirBillybob

[+ SirBillybob]

Eaton’s Bldg … Are you aware that a bar/restaurant was re-opened on the 9th floor last year? It looks posh and I felt too casually dressed to go in for lunch when running errands and swinging by to gawk this week, although many were in jeans etc, and the hostess offered to seat me. Soon. Le 9e, aka Restaurant L’Île de France. Perhaps you had a dressy family outing up there in days gone by, well before it had previously closed in 1999.

Edited October 18 by SirBillybob

[+ SirBillybob]

For those considering the new hotel tru by Hilton be aware that another building essentially sharing a full wall is also going up, so expect major construction noise with the foundation dig &c. The plan was always an integrated project with the hotel going up first. The second part underway is commercial and residential. 

Edited October 18 by SirBillybob