Nearly four decades after his celebrated work first captured the soul of one of Montreal's most famous streets, photographer Edward Hillel has returned to the scene. His new bilingual book, Holding the Main, serves as a long-awaited follow-up to his 1987 bestseller, The Main: Portrait of a Neighbourhood, offering a fresh, poignant look at the evolution of St-Laurent Boulevard and its surrounding areas.
A Boulevard Through Time
Released in 1987, Hillel's original book, The Main, resonated deeply with the city's diverse cultural communities. It painted a vivid portrait of the legendary boulevard as a melting pot where immigrant dreams were both realized and, at times, deferred. The work was so influential that it is widely credited with helping to secure the Main's official designation as a Canadian heritage landmark in 1996.
Now, 38 years later, Hillel has employed the same intimate methodology for his sequel. Holding the Main documents the neighbourhood's transformation through a new collection of striking, often quirky photographs and narrative snippets from the lives of those who live and work on the boulevard today. The 256-page volume, which Hillel describes as "an installation in a book," weaves together 180 illustrations, including black-and-white photos from 1978-1985 and new colour shots taken between 2017 and 2021.
The Photographer's Journey Home
For Hillel, 72, this project represents a full-circle moment. The area is where his family, originally from Iraq, settled and where he came of age. It's also where he first picked up a camera, launching a successful international career that has taken him to New York and Paris. "I started photographing and writing as a community organizer in the area after being encouraged by Phyllis Lambert," Hillel recalled, referring to the renowned architect and philanthropist who founded Heritage Montreal. "A lot of the people I photographed were part of my everyday world."
The seed for the new book was planted in 2017, during Montreal's 375th anniversary celebrations. While living in New York, Hillel was invited back by the Société de développement du boulevard Saint-Laurent to consider a "reimagining" of his original work. "It would essentially deal with how the area has aged over the years," Hillel said. "I was in."
More Than Just Pictures: A Living Narrative
Hillel is quick to note that Holding the Main is not a simple "before and after" catalogue. He deliberately avoided merely re-photographing old locations. "I'm not the same person I was," he explained, referencing his subsequent work on European history and other global cities. "I wanted to make a book here that was a living piece, a place that was always becoming something... a place that had an immersive quality that you felt as much as you read."
The result is a rich tapestry where text and image are deeply interconnected. "The texts function as images, and the images function as texts," Hillel said. "It involves the reader. You're not only a spectator; you're a participant." The book mixes profound reflections from local thinkers with mundane yet telling details, like the cost of spools of thread or a deli's struggle with city bylaws over outdoor chairs.
The Main itself has undeniably changed. While Hillel notes it remains "a magical place of possibilities" and dialogue, the profile of its newcomers has shifted. "These newcomers are no longer immigrants with dreams from Romania or Portugal or Lithuania," he observed. "They're from the West Island or Laval or professionals from Paris." Despite this, he believes the boulevard's core resilience and unique energy, born from a history of both adversity and neglect, continue to draw people together in a way the rest of the city has not replicated.
For Hillel, the project has reaffirmed a deep personal connection. Defying the old adage that you can't go home again, he feels a powerful pull. "I really could come back to live here again," he reflected. "I've come to appreciate the Main is really home for me. My world was shaped here and has carried me through my life."
Holding the Main is available now at the Bibliophile Bookstore on Queen Mary Road and Librairie Gallimard on St-Laurent Boulevard.
