Sad news for those who viewed the Archambault store in downtown Montréal as a local icon, which has stood now for decades. it was just announced that the store would be closing it's doors this coming summer, in June.
Reading a bit about this store in recent days has been an eye-opening experience. I thought it was iconic, as well. But I had no idea just how long this building, and the store, for that matter, had stood at this particular location. The thing is, this store actually is quite rich in history:
In 1930, Edmond Archambault built the seven-storey art deco building to house the music store he founded in 1896.
Recognizing the significance of the location, Archambault said it will not request the store’s sign be removed following the closing.
It is one of the last major music store in a major city that I can think of. Stores like Tower Records and the Virgin Megastore and H and M, Sam Ash, Sam Goody, and others are seemingly almost all gone. I heard that there is one last Tower Records store left (at least a brick and mortar, physical store) in Tokyo, and that is it. There may be some others, as well, but none that are immediately coming to mind.
There are also some mixed book and music stores, or book stores that also sold music and other things, like Gibert Jeune in Paris, or Renaud Bray, which still has several locations scattered across Québec province, including Montréal. And to be fair, there will still be 14 Archambault stores still in existence in Québec province. But this was perhaps the biggest and most iconic of them all.
Like with those stores previously mentioned, I had some history with this particular store. It was one of the automatic destinations for me whenever I happened to travel to Montréal. I cannot tell you just how many cd's and books I got there over the years, but it is fairly substantial. As were the memories, for that matter, which include visits to the place with family members and friends. Now, the place is going to be gone for good soon.
Some years ago, I still remember when the one in Vieux Québec closed. I did not know that it was closing, and happened to be present on one of the last days of it's existence. So I went ahead and went in and make a purchase or two. Those two Archambault stores became my main source of purchasing French music - with maybe the exception of the Virgin Music Megastore on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, from maybe around 1996 and for a decade and change more, perhaps possibly even longer than that.
Now, all of that seems to be fading.
Years ago - back in the nineties - I remember that it seemed that my closest friend and I used to go to the Village in New York City just about every weekend, looking for rare finds at the music stores, which sold a lot of bootlegs. Neither of us made a lot of money at the time, but it was fin to take these adventures. But it seems like those days, and those kinds of adventures, are going away these days, and fast. Just about a year and a half ago, I took my son to Vintage Vinyl, one of the last stores specializing in selling music albums in New Jersey. Right now, I only know Sound Exchange in Wayne, and across the border in Pennsylvania, Spin Me Round. Maybe there is one or two of those kinds of stores left in the Village, or elsewhere in New York City, but maybe not. They are a dying breed, are they not?
Archambault to close its iconic store at Ste-Catherine and Berri Sts. The longtime music and book retailer says changes in the area — including "vast construction sites" — have eroded commercial potential. Author of the article:Montreal Gazette Published Jan 27, 2023:
https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/archambault-to-close-its-iconic-store-at-ste-catherine-and-berri-sts
Iconic downtown Montreal Archambault store to shut its doors this summer by Joe Bongiorno CBC News · Posted: Jan 27, 2023:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/archambault-closes-job-losses-1.6729148?fbclid=IwAR3S8HtlSw-sOCNOTucvpvhlLZybgJDq-vgnpO_Lt65VkVTUIp1tGKxSHVA
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