Park Avenue, Montreal
Encyclopedia
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
major north-south streets. It derives its name from Mount Royal park, by which it runs. Between Mount Royal Avenue
Mount Royal Avenue
Mount Royal Avenue is a street in Montreal. The main part of the street transects the borough of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, from Park Avenue at the foot of Mount Royal, for which the road is named, to rue Frontenac. Another section in Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie runs from rue Molson to Pie-IX Boulevard...
and Pine Avenue, the street serves as the boundary between the mountain, to the west, and the smaller Jeanne Mance Park to the east. South of Sherbrooke Street
Sherbrooke Street
Sherbrooke Street is a major east-west artery and at in length, is the second longest street on the Island of Montreal. The street begins in the town of Montreal West and ends on the extreme tip of the island in Pointe-aux-Trembles, intersecting Gouin Boulevard and joining up with Notre-Dame...
, the street's name changes to Bleury Street (rue de Bleury), and south of Saint Antoine Street
Saint Antoine Street
Saint Antoine Street is a street located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It runs to the south of Downtown Montreal and north of Old Montreal and Griffintown and Saint-Henri. It crosses the Quartier international de Montréal....
in Old Montreal
Old Montreal
Old Montreal is the oldest area in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, dating back to New France. Located in the borough of Ville-Marie, the area is bordered on the west by McGill St., on the north by Ruelle des Fortifications, on the east by Berri St. and on the south by the Saint Lawrence River...
, the name changes again to Saint Pierre Street. The northern end of Park Avenue is Jean Talon Street and the former Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
Park Avenue station, now serving, in part, as the Parc metro station
Parc (Montreal Metro)
Parc is a station on the Blue Line of the Montreal Metro rapid transit system, operated by the Société de transport de Montréal . It is located in the Park Extension district of the Villeray–Saint Michel–Park Extension borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
and commuter train station
Parc (AMT)
Parc is an Agence métropolitaine de transport commuter rail station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.It is served by commuter trains of the AMT and is part of the Blainville-Saint-Jérôme Line....
.
However, there is also a short stretch of Park Avenue between Crémazie Boulevard (A-40
Quebec Autoroute 40
Autoroute 40 is a major highway on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada. It is one of the two main connections between Montreal and Quebec City...
) and Chabanel Street .
Once one of Montreal's
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
most elegant residential avenues, Park Avenue is now a busy commercial street, home to the former Rialto Theatre
Rialto Theatre (Montreal)
The Rialto Theatre is a former movie palace located on Park Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is designated as a National Historic Site of Canada....
. Since 1924, it has also been an important part of Montreal's Greek
Greektown, Montreal
Montreal's Greektown is a proposed name for a neighbourhood located on Park Avenue, Montreal between Mount Royal Avenue and Van Horne Avenue. Historically Greek influence has been very strong in this area along with the adjoining Park Extension neighbourhood...
community.
Park also lends its name to the residential neighbourhood Park Extension
Park Extension
Park Extension is a neighbourhood in the city of Montreal, Quebec. It is located in the borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension and has a population of 35,000 and an area of 1.6 km². The name derives from the fact that it is situated at the north end of Park Avenue and is literally an...
, at its northern end.
Park Avenue name change controversy
On November 28, 2006 Montreal city council voted in favour (40-22) of renaming Park Avenue after former Quebec premier Robert BourassaRobert Bourassa
Jean-Robert Bourassa, was a politician in Quebec, Canada. He served as the 22nd Premier of Quebec in two different mandates, first from May 12, 1970, to November 25, 1976, and then from December 12, 1985, to January 11, 1994, serving a total of just under 15 years as Provincial Premier.-Early...
, as announced on October 18 by Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay
Gérald Tremblay
Gérald Tremblay is a Canadian politician and businessman currently serving his third term as mayor of Montreal and as president of the Montreal Metropolitan Community...
. If Quebec's Toponymy
Toponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...
Commission had approved the change, all of Park Avenue and its continuation would have been renamed Robert Bourassa Avenue.
The proposal was controversial, especially in light of the historical nature of the name. (The STM
Société de transport de Montréal
The Société de transport de Montréal is a public transport agency that operates transit bus, and rapid transit services in Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
's Parc
Parc (Montreal Metro)
Parc is a station on the Blue Line of the Montreal Metro rapid transit system, operated by the Société de transport de Montréal . It is located in the Park Extension district of the Villeray–Saint Michel–Park Extension borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
metro station (and AMT
Agence métropolitaine de transport
The Agence métropolitaine de transport is the umbrella organization that plans, integrates, and coordinates public transportation services across Canada's Greater Montreal Region, including the Island of Montreal, Laval , and communities along both the North Shore of the Rivière des Mille-Îles...
commuter rail station) were to remain "Parc" due to a moratorium on renaming metro stations. )
After Bourassa's family publicly expressed reservations about the controversy, Tremblay announced on February 6, 2007 that he would not pursue the issue further and that the council would be presented with a motion to withdraw the resolution of November 28.
