Stop #1 Montreal Amateur Athletic Association Grounds (Westmount Athletic Grounds)
In June of 2020, the Montreal Bicycle Club started making Composite Photos of various sites, inspired by an 1892 club photograph that was re-discovered that year. We also started doing a MBC historical tour.
The first stop on the tour is the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association Grounds, (M.A.A.A. Grounds), now named the Westmount Athletic Grounds (WAG). In 1891 the Montreal Bicycle Club had races between High Wheel (Ordinary) and Modern Style (Safety) bicycles.
The first stop on the tour is the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association Grounds, (M.A.A.A. Grounds), now named the Westmount Athletic Grounds (WAG). In 1891 the Montreal Bicycle Club had races between High Wheel (Ordinary) and Modern Style (Safety) bicycles.
This 1893 newspaper sketch from the Montreal Star sparked the idea of creating a 2020 tableau of the 1891 races.
2020 Montreal Bicycle Club racing Tableau
Individual Photos used
The 1890's was the time of the world wide bicycle craze. In Montreal an entire front page of the Montreal Star was about cycling . Indeed, Montreal was not unique in this, The New York Times also devoted entire issues to cycling. In Canada, because of the the high profile cycling had of that time a rivalry developed between Montreal and Toronto over which city lead the country in this new form of transportation.
In a closely fought battle between A.T. Lane of Montreal and Dr. Parry Doolittle of Toronto, A.T. became the president of the CWA and Montreal was awarded the prize of hosting the CWA Annual Meet.
In a closely fought battle between A.T. Lane of Montreal and Dr. Parry Doolittle of Toronto, A.T. became the president of the CWA and Montreal was awarded the prize of hosting the CWA Annual Meet.
A.T. Lane of Montreal, 1894 CWA President
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Dr. Perry Doolittle of Toronto, runner up in election of 1894 CWA president
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A.T. Lane wanted the 1894 CWA Meet to be the biggest and best ever held. He organized a Sarnia to Montreal Relay Race to be held to promote the event.