Ontario Abandoned Places will be rebranded as Ominous Abandoned Places

Latlng: (45.490044, -73.661528)

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Bye Bye Baby Blue

Demolished Commercial in Montréal, Quebec, Canada

Jan 14 2015

Commercial
Bumblebee
 |  3189
 |  1
Recent status Demolished
Location # 11592

History: Jockey Club of Montreal founding member John F. Ryan, opened Blue Bonnets Raceway on June 4th, 1907. In 1958 a multi-million dollar clubhouse was established and by 1961 the track challenged even the most notorious of race tracks in Ontario. From 1961 to 1975 it became the official home to the Quebec Derby after the end of thoroughbred racing at the track. In the early 90's ownership was passed to a municiple government corporation which renamed it the Hippodrome. At it's peak, the track boasted harness racing, inter-track wagering from the United States, off track betting , two restaurants and hundreds of video and slot machines.

Unfortunately the good times wouldn't last. After the end of thoroughbred racing at the track, profits started to decline. In 1997 the city of Montreal would go on to sell the land for half of what it initially paid for (a cool $35 million) back to a provincial government corporation. On June 27, 2008[i] [/i] the track entered bankruptcy protection and after the provincial government withdrew its support, the track was officially shuttered October 13th 2009. The racetrack would gasp it's final breath when the band U2 performed on July 8th and 9th in 2011. Today the landmark remains hidden away from the urban sprawl with the current Montreal city skyline slowly eclipsing the empty shell. A housing development planned since 2012 has seen many demolition dates come and go without so much as a single brick being moved, and as the paddocks continue to deteriorate from vandalism and squatters the main monolithic structure continues to stand.

Latlng: (45.490044, -73.661528)

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avatar of superss
 • 

9 years ago

Cool location. I would like to go back in time to Greenwood before it was demolished.

avatar of Bumblebee
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9 years ago

Thank you! it was certainly an eerie explore, I wish I didn't feel so rushed as I'm sure the guard would have let us stay much longer. I would highly recommend anyone who wants to make the trip soon as it's only a matter of time before it comes down due to demolition. Fiso, votre francais c'est tres bein mon ami. Je parle impue de fracais, mai c'est tres cassee. haha

avatar of fiso
 • 

9 years ago

Well done!! Je suis en formation de francais maintenant. Je pourrais vous aider si vous y alliez dans l'avenir. Yep, that pretty much used up all my French....la merde :-)

avatar of Motleykiwi
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9 years ago

Nicely done.