Lecture – Parc Avenue and its History: A Witness to Montréal’s Diversity

A fascinating history to (re)discover!

Over its 150 years of existence, Parc Avenue has gone from being a private road leading to opulent villas, to a gateway to Mount Royal Park, a prestigious residential avenue reserved for the privileged classes, a “boulevard of dreams” for several generations of immigrants, and the site of unprecedented citizen mobilization to prevent the demolition of a heritage area.

Down through the years, Parc Avenue has developed a particularly heterogeneous character due to its jumble of many functions. Despite this, it inspires a strong sense of attachment, as evidenced by the protests—unparalleled in Montréal’s history—against any attempts to rename the avenue. A must for all those who love Montréal and its history!

Yves Desjardins

After a 34-year journalism career at Radio-Canada, Yves Desjardins returned to his first passion: history. A director of Mile End Memories, he published Histoire du Mile End in 2017 and L’avenue du Parc et son histoire in 2023 through Éditions du Septentrion. The Société historique de Montréal has twice awarded him the Robert Prévost Prize: this prize is awarded every three years to the author of a book most likely to spark Montrealers’ interest in their city’s history.

This lecture is presented by the Société historique de Montréal.