Sherbrooke Street
Encyclopedia
Island of Montreal
The Island of Montreal , in extreme southwestern Quebec, Canada, is located at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. It is separated from Île Jésus by the Rivière des Prairies....
. The street begins in the town of Montreal West
Montreal West, Quebec
Montreal West is a town in southwestern Quebec, Canada on the Island of Montreal. On January 1, 2002 it, along with its neighboring suburbs of Côte Saint-Luc and Hampstead, was merged into a borough of the City of Montreal to be known as Côte-Saint-Luc—Hampstead—Montréal-Ouest, though 97% of the...
and ends on the extreme tip of the island in Pointe-aux-Trembles
Pointe-aux-Trembles
Pointe-aux-Trembles was a municipality, founded in 1674, that was annexed by Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1982. This was the last city to be merged into Montreal until the 2002 municipal reorganization of districts and municipalities as boroughs....
, intersecting Gouin Boulevard
Gouin Boulevard
Gouin Boulevard is the longest street on the Island of Montreal, stretching across the north side of the island from Senneville in the west to Pointe-aux-Trembles in the east at Sherbrooke Street ....
and joining up with Notre-Dame Street
Notre-Dame Street
Notre-Dame Street is a historic east-west street located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It runs parallel to the Saint Lawrence River, from the eastern tip of the island to Lachine . In French, it is known as rue Notre-Dame....
. It is part of Quebec Route 138
Quebec route 138
Route 138 is a major highway in the Canadian province of Quebec, following the entire north shore of the Saint Lawrence River past Montreal to the eastern terminus in Natashquan on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The western terminus is in Elgin, at the border with New York State south-west of Montreal...
.
The street is divided into two portions. Sherbrooke Street East is located east of Saint Laurent Boulevard and Sherbrooke Street West is located west. Sherbrooke Street West is home to many historic mansions that comprised its exclusive Golden Square Mile
Golden Square Mile
The Golden Square Mile was the name of a luxurious neighbourhood at the foot of Mount Royal in the west-central section of downtown Montreal, Canada...
district, including the now-demolished Van Horne Mansion
Van Horne Mansion
The Van Horne Mansion was a classic greystone house in the Golden Square Mile district of Montreal that once belonged to Canadian railway magnate William Cornelius Van Horne. It existed on Sherbrooke Street at the corner of Stanley Street. It was torn down by developer David Azrieli in 1973 under...
as well as the imposing Beaux-Arts style Montreal Masonic Memorial Temple
Montreal Masonic Memorial Temple
The Montreal Masonic Memorial Temple is an historic masonic temple in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on the corner of Sherbrooke Street and St-Marc Street, in the Golden Square Mile district...
.
Sherbrooke Street East runs along the edge (both administrative and topographic) of the Plateau Mont-Royal, at the top of a marked hillside known as Côte à Baron, and continues between the Jardin Botanique de Montréal
Jardin botanique de Montréal
The Montreal Botanical Garden is a large botanical garden in Montreal, Quebec, Canada comprising of thematic gardens and greenhouses. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2008 as it is considered to be one of the most important botanical gardens in the world due to the extent...
and Parc Maisonneuve to the north and Parc Olympique
Olympic Park, Montreal
The Olympic Park is a district in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, which was home to many of the venues from the 1976 Summer Olympics....
to the south.
The street is named for John Coape Sherbrooke
John Coape Sherbrooke
Sir John Coape Sherbrooke was a British soldier and colonial administrator. After serving in the British army in Nova Scotia, the Netherlands, India, the Mediterranean , and Spain, he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia in 1811.His active defense of the colony during the War of 1812...
, the Governor General of British North America
British North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
from 1816 to 1818.
Educational institutions
Three of Montreal's four major universities are present on Sherbrooke. Downtown, the street is home to the main campus of McGill UniversityMcGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
; further west, the Loyola Campus of Concordia University. Sherbrooke is also home to UQAM's Complexe des sciences Pierre-Dansereau,http://www.octgm.com/download/pdf/behind_scene_janvier2006.pdf and INRS's Montréal campus as well as the Dawson College
Dawson College
Dawson College was the first English CEGEP and is located in Westmount, just west of downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Dawson College is located near the heart of downtown Montreal in a former nunnery on 4.85 hectares of green space...
, Collège de Maisonneuve
Collège de Maisonneuve
Collège de Maisonneuve is a francophone Cégep pre-university and technical college located at 3800 Sherbrooke Street East in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Partnerships:...
CEGEP
Cégep
CEGEP is an acronym for , which is literally translated as "College of General and Vocational Education" but commonly called "General and Vocational College" in circles not influenced by Quebec English. It refers to the public post-secondary education collegiate institutions exclusive to the...
s, and the Collège de Montréal
Collège de Montréal
The Collège de Montréal is a private secondary school for students attending grades 7–11 located in Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A former Roman Catholic Seminary, it was founded 1 June 1767 as the Petit Séminaire of Montreal by the Suplician Order...
.
Attractions
Other key attractions on the street include the Montreal Museum of Fine ArtsMontreal Museum of Fine Arts
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is a major museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1860, making it Canada's oldest art institution, it moved to its current location in 1912 thanks to a large donation from businessman James Ross....
, McCord Museum
McCord Museum
The McCord Museum is a public research and teaching museum dedicated to the preservation, study, diffusion, and appreciation of Canadian history...
, Ritz-Carlton Montreal
Ritz-Carlton Montreal
The Ritz-Carlton Montréal is a 229 room luxury hotel situated at 1228 Sherbrooke Street West in Montréal, Quebec. This Montreal property is not part of the widely-known Ritz-Carlton hotel chain. It has forty-eight suites including a "Royal Suite" and a "Presidential Suite"...
, Holt Renfrew
Holt Renfrew
Holt Renfrew is a chain of high-end Canadian department stores. It is comparable to Barneys New York and Saks Fifth Avenue in the United States, and to two other upmarket chains owned by the same family, Britain's Selfridges and Ireland's Brown Thomas...
, Parc Lafontaine
Parc Lafontaine
Parc La Fontaine is a 36-hectare urban park located in Montreal's Plateau Mont-Royal district. Named in honour of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, features include two linked ponds with a fountain and waterfalls; the Théâtre de Verdure open-air venue; the Calixa-Lavallée cultural centre, a monument to...
, and further east, the Château Dufresne
Chateau Dufresne
The former residence of Marius Dufresne and Oscar Dufresne, the Château Dufresne was originally divided into two separate households, one for each brother...
, Olympic Stadium
Olympic Stadium (Montreal)
The Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics...
, Montreal Botanical Garden and the Montreal Biodome
Montreal Biodome
The Montreal Biodome is a facility located in Montreal that allows visitors to walk through replicas of four ecosystems found in the Americas. The building was originally constructed for the 1976 Olympic Games as a velodrome. It hosted both track cycling and judo events...
.
History
In 1976, the street was to be venue for an eight-kilometre exhibit of art entitled CorridartCorridart
Corridart was an eight-kilometer exhibit of artworks that took place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on Sherbrooke Street. It was intended to be part of the arts and cultural component of the 1976 Summer Olympics. The exhibit was showed many different Quebec artists...
during the 1976 Summer Olympics
1976 Summer Olympics
The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...
. However, in a controversial decision, former Mayor Jean Drapeau
Jean Drapeau
Jean Drapeau, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as mayor of Montreal from 1954 to 1957 and 1960 to 1986...
had the exhibition torn down two days before the Games began.