Red Light Walking Tour

Join us in welcoming Karen Herland for a special walking tour of Montreal’s historic Red Light District!

Sex work, especially in its most visible forms, tends to be recognized as a problem, requiring intervention and eradication. As a major transportation hub and port city, many sectors of Montreal’s economy were intertwined with the sex trade, even as police and politicians manipulated social responses (positive and negative) to the presence of a thriving Red Light District. From Maimie Pinzer to Harry Ship and through to the present day, this tour explores the social, economic, labour, cultural, racial, and gender history of Montreal through its former Red Light, which for decades thrived in the heart of Montreal’s burgeoning Jewish community.

This tour covers 150 years and 10 city blocks over 1.5-2 hours. The tour begins on the southeast corner of Boulevard René Lévesque and Boulevard St. Laurent and ends near St. Laurent metro station. The tour will be taking place in English.

Tickets are $21 general admission and $10 for students. Spots are limited, and tickets can be purchased only in advance using this link: https://kiosk.eztix.co/kiosk-optimised/1262428

Karen Herland is an author, independent researcher, and educator, currently teaching at Concordia University in the Interdisciplinary Program on Sexuality Studies and Fine Arts. She published “People, Potholes and City Politics”, a guide to municipal politics in Montreal in 1994 with Black Rose Books. She began researching the history of Montreal’s Red Light District after working as coordinator for Stella, a community development organization for sex workers in Montreal.