Landscape Information
Located in Ville-Marie, this 2.7-acre rectilinear park was established in 1880 on the site of Saint-Antoine Cemetery. The park includes two sections divided by René-Lévesque Boulevard. Rehabilitated by Claude Cormier + Associés and Cardinal Hardy (now IBI Group, Inc.) the southeastern portion opened in 2010 and the northwestern portion in 2019.
Square pavers of different dimensions, textures, and grey tones differentiate the park’s interior and perimeter paths. Latin crosses interpose the interior walkways, commemorating the approximately 50,000 human remains still buried on site. Inspired by Adolphe Alphand, lawn panels are slightly bowed to hide paths and streets from view, and are planted with canopy trees, including maple. Both sections include rehabilitated late-nineteenth and twentieth century monuments.
The northwestern portion, Dorchester Square, is traversed by symmetrical walkways that follow historic alignments. Diagonal paths lead from the square’s respective corners to its center, marked by the equestrian Boer War Memorial (1907). At the site’s northwestern end, two arched, Venetian-inspired pedestrian bridges cover underground parking access ramps and reestablish original path alignments. The bridges restore the historic axes, provide critical access from the northern perimeter corners, and provide informal seating.
A linear, axial path extends the length of Dorchester Square, connecting the central monument with a half-fountain that appears whole when viewed from the park and sliced in half when viewed from the street. Resembling an ornate Victorian-style fountain, its unusual design is a response to the city's late addition in the design process of a tourist bus/fire lane.
The project received the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects’ Regional Award for Planning and Analysis in 2012 and for Design in 2013; and the National Award for Small-Scale Landscapes in 2020.
