When J.W. Link, attorney and former mayor of Orange, developed the Montrose neighborhood in 1910 (or 1911, depending on whom you ask), he probably had no idea it would become a sanctuary for artists, hipsters, teenage runaways and gay nightclub owners. Named after a Scottish port town, the area’s eponymous boulevard is home to some of the city’s finest restaurants, museums, galleries, bars and architecture. Here’s just a sampling of what Montrose will take you past, heading north from Hermann Park: museums for contemporary and fine arts; the University of St. Thomas; Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral; the Black Labrador’s walk-on chessboard; Condoms Galore; the swanky Colombe d’Or banquet hall; Niko Niko’s heavenly gyros; and the world’s most surreal Kroger (trust us).
This article appears in Sep 29 – Oct 5, 2005.