Saint Denis Street

For Rue Saint-Denis in Paris, see Rue Saint-Denis (Paris).

Saint Denis Street
Construction
<span class="nickname" ">French: Rue Saint Denis
Saint Denis Street in the Quartier Latin
Former name(s)	Rue Albert, rue Fénélon, rue Berri
Length	11 km (7 mi)
Location	Montreal
South end	Saint-Antoine Street
North end	Rue Sommerville
Inauguration	1818

Saint Denis Street (officially in French: Rue Saint-Denis) is a major north-south thoroughfare in Montreal, Quebec.

It extends from the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel on Saint Paul Street in Old Montreal to the bank of the Rivière des Prairies at the north end of the island. It is designated Route 335 from Sherbrooke Street to the Metropolitan Expressway, and is known as Bonsecours Street south of Saint Antoine Street. Along its length, it passes through the boroughs of Ville-Marie, Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension, and Ahuntsic-Cartierville.

Saint-Denis serves as one of the primary thoroughfares of both the Latin Quarter, where it plays host to a number of bars and restaurants, to the Plateau Mont-Royal, where it is known as one of the best places to view Montreal's distinct style of architecture. It becomes primarily a residential street north of the Metropolitan Expressway. The eastern portion of the Montreal Metro's Orange Line runs parallel to the street, two blocks to the east.

It is named for Saint Denis of Paris.

Route description

South of the Ville-Marie Expressway, the street crosses Old Montreal and is named rue Bonsecours. North of the Ville-Marie Expressway, it becomes Saint Denis Street and crosses the Quartier Latin. In the Quartier Latin, its vocation is primarily touristic and leisure-related, with restaurants and theatres located along this stretch. Near Saint Catherine Street, it crosses the downtown Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) campus while a little further north, it borders the Cégep du Vieux Montréal.

North of Sherbrooke Street, Saint Denis Street enters the borough of Le Plateau Mont-Royal. In the Plateau-Mont-Royal and Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie to the north, it is a commercial street lined with small stores. Parallel streets are mostly residential. To the west, Saint Laurent Boulevard also serves a commercial purpose.

In the boroughs of Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension and Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Saint Denis Street is mainly residential. However, several businesses including green grocers and Vietnamese restaurants are located on the street. It is also one of the gateways to the Metropolitan Expressway. North of Crémazie Boulevard, it is a one-way northbound street with little traffic since the northbound Highway 335 continues along the Lajeunesse Street and Berri Street.

History

Université Laval à Montréal in 1903

Saint Denis Street opened in the early nineteenth century on land acquired by Louis-Joseph Papineau (1786−1871) and his aunt Perine Charles Cherrier, widow of Denis Viger (1741−1805).

Extended several times, Saint Denis Street developed gradually after the construction of Saint Jacques Cathedral in 1836, facing Place Pasteur. Subsequently, it reached Sherbrooke Street near the end of the 19th century. During the mid-nineteenth century, this tree-lined residential street was inhabited by several representatives of the French Canadian elite. Before the end of the century, it begun to transform into a commercial street, ascending slowly northward.

In the early 20th century, the section of the Saint Denis Street between Dorchester Street (now René Lévesque Boulevard) and Sherbrooke Street became the center of Montreal's francophone intellectual elite. Located in the area were the Université Laval à Montréal (current site of the pavilion Hubert Aquin, UQAM), the École Polytechnique de Montréal, the Saint-Sulpice Library and many bookstores. It was deserted by academics following the relocation of Université of Montreal and École Polytechnique on the northern slope of Mount Royal. From the late 1970s, the academic character of the neighbourhood returned with the construction of pavilions for the Université du Québec à Montréal, around the steeple of the old Saint Jacques Cathedral.

Bibliography

Christiane Abboud (dir.), Les rues de Montréal, Répertoire historique, Montréal, Éditions du Méridien, 1995, 23 cm, 547 p. (ISBN 2-89415-139-X), p. 423.

External links

Official site of Saint-Denis Street

Roads, bridges and tunnels in Montreal

North–south streets	Greene Avenue Atwater Avenue Côte-des-Neiges Road Guy Street Mackay Street Bishop Street Crescent Street Mountain Street Drummond Street Stanley Street Peel Street Metcalfe Street McTavish Street Mansfield Street McGill College Avenue Robert-Bourassa Boulevard/University Street McGill Street Park Avenue Jeanne-Mance Street Saint Urbain Street Saint Laurent Boulevard Saint Denis Street Berri Street Saint Hubert Street Christophe Colomb Avenue Papineau Avenue De Lorimier Avenue Saint Michel Boulevard Pie-IX Boulevard Langelier Boulevard De L'Assomption Boulevard

East–west streets	Gouin Boulevard Henri Bourassa Boulevard Jarry Street Jean Talon Street Beaubien Street Queen Mary Road Côte-Saint-Luc Road Laurier Avenue Saint Joseph Boulevard Mount Royal Avenue Pine Avenue Doctor Penfield Avenue Sherbrooke Street Ontario Street De Maisonneuve Boulevard Saint Catherine Street René Lévesque Boulevard De la Gauchetière Street Viger Avenue Saint Antoine Street Saint Jacques Street Notre-Dame Street Rue Saint-Paul Wellington Street Rue de la Commune

Expressways	10 (Bonaventure Expressway) 13 (Chomedey Expressway) 15 (Laurentides Expressway) 19 (Papineau Expressway) 20 25 (Louis-H-Lafontaine Expressway) 40 (Metropolitan Expressway) 520 (Côte-de-liesse Expressway) 720 (Ville-Marie Expressway) Anjou Interchange Turcot Interchange

Routes	Route 112 (Bridge & Mountain) Route 117 (Laurentian & Marcel Laurin) Route 125 (Pie-IX) Route 138 (Sherbrooke Street) Route 335 (St. Denis)

Bridges and tunnels	List of bridges to the Island of Montreal Champlain Bridge Charles de Gaulle Bridge Galipeault Bridge Honoré Mercier Bridge Jacques Cartier Bridge Île aux Tourtes Bridge Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge–Tunnel Louis Bisson Bridge Médéric Martin Bridge Olivier-Charbonneau Bridge Papineau-Leblanc Bridge Pie IX Bridge Le Gardeur Bridge Viau Bridge Victoria Bridge Tunnel de la mort

Category:Montreal Portal:Montreal WikiProject:Montreal

Coordinates: 45°30′51″N 73°33′40″W / 45.514059°N 73.56109°W / 45.514059; -73.56109

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