Take a stand for a sacred deli

Demonstration to save the BENS Restaurant building

When: Thursday June 14th 2007, 12:00pm

Where: In front of BENS Restaurant 990 De Maisonneuve Boulevard, corner of Metcalfe Street (Metro Peel)


Ben's DeliBen's Deli

Art Déco Montréal and Pop Montreal wish to convene the citizens of Montreal and the members of the press in order for Montrealers to show the City their support in making the BENS Restaurant building a Heritage Building.

Speakers and performers will include: Jack Gaiptman (Art Déco Montréal), Socalled (musician), Dave Sanders (singer-songwriter), Carl Alacchi (multi-disciplinary artist) & Tim Rideout (filmmaker).

BENS Restaurant-Deli building, a classic example of Streamlined Modern design, is being sold to a developer who plans to demolish it. The sale is to be made official June 19th, 2007. While there is presently an exhibition at our internationally acclaimed Montreal Museum of Fine Arts called American Streamlined Design: The World of Tomorrow, the developer, Sam Benatar, was quoted in the Gazette as saying that the building “isn't worth anything”, and the City stands by in silence as plans go forward to demolish this classical and beautiful public example of Streamlined architecture.

Ben and Franny Kravitz opened BENS Delicatessen in 1908. It moved to its current building in 1950 where it remained open until 2006. Designed by Charles Davis Goodman (1894-1962), he was one of the architects of such well-known Montreal buildings as the Laurentien Hotel (1948), the Jewish General Hospital (1931) and the Pascal Hardware Building (1948). Goodman, a McGill University graduate, was elected a fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada in 1955.

BENS went on to become the meeting place favoured by luminaries such as Leonard Cohen, former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, the Montreal Canadians hockey team and Magic Tom. Autographed celebrity photos that are still hanging in the space include those of Burl Ives, the Ink Spots, Liberace and Ed Sullivan and attest to its heyday and place in our history.

This Montreal institution is one of significant value and reflects a precious part of our history as Montrealers. The government agencies that protect our city’s heritage must intervene in order to preserve this building for future generations of Montrealers and visitors to Montreal to cherish and enjoy. It should be named a Heritage Building immediately before it is too late and Montrealers lose yet another symbol of their urban history due to the City’s silence.

Contact: Vanya Rose / 514. 983. 3052 / vanyarose@yahoo.ca


I don't know what the new

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 2007-06-23 06:11.
I don't know what the new developers have in mind, but I'm wondering if it's possible to preserve at least the deli's facade by building floors above it and retaining the original structure as a base. I'm not an architect, but I'd love to get a professional opinion on this idea. Perhaps mention this to them before they tear it down!

We visit Montreal from

Submitted by Tom from NC (not verified) on Sun, 2007-06-17 10:53.
We visit Montreal from Charlotte, North Carolina (US) each year and marvel how the older architecture has been retained and renovated (revitalized and reused), versus how everything old in our city has been torn down to make way for the newer buildings which according to their developers are "more efficient". These newer buildings lack the history and soul that a building like Ben's provides. Don't lose you soul Montreal, for once it's gone, it cannot be replaced.

it's a hideous building and

Submitted by PeaceKeeper (not verified) on Thu, 2007-06-14 19:15.
it's a hideous building and a filthy restaurant. rip it down and built something proper. Some thing this outdated and in such ill-repair needs to go. Not appropraite for the core of the city. Now if Ben's was to stay open, that's anohter thing. but it's not. so let the demolition commence! we'll have a party!

It was an awful restaurant

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 2007-06-10 22:34.
It was an awful restaurant with bad service and subpar food. Simply because a building or business has been around for a certain period of time does not make it classic or timeless. People simply can't get around the nostalgia factor of old things to be able to realize that some things are better condemned to the garbage can of history. The only thing that will be destroyed by demolishing Ben's is the fleeting memory of a world that never really existed and we are better off for having our illusions dispelled.

i disagree with the analysis

Submitted by m (not verified) on Thu, 2007-06-14 08:36.
i disagree with the analysis offered by this philosophical powerhouse (i wonder if he'd consider his house an illusion), but it was a crappy overpriced restaurant - i'd love to see the building saved, so long as they don't serve any more of their sweaty smoked meat sandwiches (and make nice with their employees) - perhaps this page isn't getting many visits, but i can't help but notice that this post has been up since sunday night with no pro-ben's responses
 

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