Why did Leonard Cohen choose Montreal? Leonard Cohen adored his hometown. He felt truly at home here. Let’s explore the Montreal of Leonard Cohen. This city inspired his poetry and iconic songs.
Leonard Cohen grew up at 599 Belmont Avenue. It was in affluent Westmount. He used to play in Murray Hill Park behind his family home. Cohen graduated from Westmount High School in 1951. Kamala Harris also graduated from Westmount High 30 years later.
Cohen launched his poetry career at McGill University. He became president of both the McGill Debating Union and the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. Legendary poetry professors Louis Dudek and Irving Layton mentored him. He won the Chester Macnaghten literary prize in 1955.
The Sommer Building housed Cohen’s grandfather’s clothing factory. Leonard worked there in the 1950s. This is where he acquired his lifelong love of suits.
Leonard Cohen’s triplex home is at 28 Rue de Vallieres. It is in the Plateau Mont Royal district. It is located just off the Main. Montrealers affectionately call Saint-Laurent Boulevard “la Main.” I visited Mr. Cohen’s home once in 2006. I interviewed his then-companion singer Anjani Thomas. She launched her Blue Alert jazz album produced by Cohen. The home was suitably Spartan. We mostly hung out in the kitchen.
Cohen frequented Parc du Portugal. It is located on the corner of Rue de Vallieres and Saint-Laurent Boulevard. The park is across the street from Cohen’s home. Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler once noted, “Seeing Leonard Cohen walking on Saint-Laurent when I was 21 was enough to make me feel like I had a home.”
Artist Kevin Ledo’s nine-story high mural of Cohen is painted on the side of the Cooper Building. It is at 3981 Saint-Laurent Boulevard.
Montrealers love their bagels. Cohen was a regular at the flagship St-Viateur Bagel. Myer Lewkowicz opened it in 1957. He was a survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany. Cohen was friends with current owner Joe Morena. Joe began working for Lewkowicz at the bagel shop in 1962 at age 14.
Beginning with his McGill University years Cohen enjoyed going out for a drink. He liked downtown establishments on Bishop Street. He also liked Crescent Street. Today Crescent Street is anchored by Sir Winston Churchill Pub. Across the street from Sir Winston’s is the famed 22-storey “Tower of Songs” mural of Cohen. Renowned American street portrait artist El Mac and Montreal artist Gene Pendon created it. It is at 1420 Crescent Street. The mural is also one of the most Instagrammable spots in Montreal.
Like Cohen visitors are transported back in time at the famed 18th century Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel. It is also known as the “Sailor’s Church”. It is in Old Montréal at 400 Saint-Paul Street East. In his song “Suzanne” about the dancer Suzanne Verdal the lyrics “And the sun pours down like honey / On our lady of the harbour” refer to the statue of the Virgin Mary. The statue stands atop Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel. “I used to go to that church a lot” Cohen told Maclean’s in 2008.
The Congregation Shaar Hashomayim has longstanding ties to the Cohen family. Leonard’s grandfather and great-grandfather were presidents of the Westmount synagogue. He had his bar mitzvah there. The synagogue’s choir also sang back-up vocals on the Grammy-winning title track of Cohen’s 2016 album You Want it Darker. Cohen was buried at his family plot in the Congregation Shaar Hashomayim Cemetery on the northern slope of Mount Royal. Leonard Cohen left an indelible mark on Montreal. His presence is still felt throughout the city.