December 31st, 2007
New life for Montreal’s park chalets
By Christopher DeWolf // 2 Comments
Beaver Lake chalet, photo by Frédéric Saia
Original 1955 plans for the chalet
Earlier this year, after two years of renovation, the Beaver Lake chalet on Mount Royal re-opened in all of its 1950s glory. Not only is the park pavillion entirely restored, its food offerings have been upgraded. It now features a table service restaurant alongside a revamped cafeteria that offers espresso-based coffee and pastries baked on the premises. Since the chalet is still officially recognized as a public space, though, people are welcome to bring their own food.
The Beaver Lake chalet's renovation comes just a couple of years after the restoration of the Mount Royal Chalet, built in 1932. But there are other park chalets in Montreal still waiting for their renewal. Lafontaine Park's 1950s-era pavillion sits empty most of the year, used primarily as a shelter for skaters in the wintertime. Now, some Plateau-dwellers are looking to give the chalet a new vocation, possibly as a café-bistro and cultural space. "Imagine how nice it would be if there was a [terrace] here, with expositions and musicians," the president of the Amis du parc Lafontaine told the Journal de Montréal.
The Plateau's politicians are listening, and Jeanne-Mance councillor Michel Prescott thinks that opening a café inside the Lafontaine chalet would be a good idea. Unfortunately, Prescott would like to lease the space to a private company while others, including Gagnon, want to establish a non-profit organization that would oversee the management of the chalet.
Lafontaine Park chalet, photo by Kate McDonnell
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Comments
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The benefit of having the space managed by a non-profit organization would be that all revenue would be reinvested in the pavillion, which would ensure its integrity as a cultural and artistic space as well as a café. In other words, having a SAT versus a Presse Café.
I don't see that there's an inherent problem if some of the space in the Parc Lafontaine chalet is leased to a private restaurant operator and some is retained as public space for exhibitions or another purpose. What do you see as the benefit of it remaining fully public?
Comment by Urban Wanderer
January 2, 2008 | 6:00 pm