A tradition Montrealers have enjoyed for generations has come to an end.
The Christmas display gracing Ogilvy’s window for 70 years has been discontinued.
The collection of toys and its mechanical display have been donated to the McCord Museum.
Holt Renfrew says the decision is in part a matter of space. The toys were also getting old and in need of repair.
“It was a very hard decision for us,” said Norman Ciarlo, Holt-Renfrew’s vice-president. “It was a question of space and doing the right thing for the window. So instead of putting risk of losing the window, we did not want to do that.”
Last fall, the retailer also decided to get rid of another tradition — their bagpipers.
The decisions come a few months after Ogilvy and Holt Renfrew merged.
Holt Renfrew says as they move on to become a luxury shopping destination, they are making way for new traditions.
The retailer said they decided to donate the collection to the McCord museum because they have the right expertise to care for the toys.
In addition to the toys, the store also gave $50,000.
The museum says it will use the money to restore the toys and put together an exhibit available for free to all Montrealers this coming Christmas.
They don’t know exactly how it’s going to look like yet, but they are set on keeping faithful to Ogilvy’s tradition.
Comments