Beaver Lake (Montreal)
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The Beaver Lake (french: Lac aux Castors) is an artificial basin fitted in 1938 on a former swamp located on the
Mount Royal Mount Royal (french: link=no, Mont Royal, ) is a large intrusive rock hill or small mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The best-known hypothesis for the origin of the name Montreal is the hi ...
, in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
,
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...
, Canada. It was designed by architect Frederick Todd. It takes its name from an old
beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...
dam discovered during the work.


Description

About by , Beaver Lake is shaped like a four-leafed clover. It was traditionally used an outdoor rink in winter, but this practice was ended in 2017 and skating now takes place on an artificial rink nearby. The surroundings of the lake are equipped for various recreational activities: skating and sliding in the winter, vast lawns in summer.


History

Image:Park. Beaver Lake BAnQ P48S1P02985.jpg, Workers adjusting the lake in 1938 Image:Snow Picture. Skating on Beaver Lake BAnQ P48S1P05794.jpg, Skaters on the lake in 1940 Image:Views. Beaver Lake BAnQ P48S1P12614.jpg, Walkers in 1945 Image:Views. Beaver Lake BAnQ P48S1P12612.jpg, Ducks stand next to a shelter on a raft floating on the lake


The Beaver Lake pavilion

Built between 1956 and 1958, inaugurated in 1961, the pavilion is located west of the lake. Designed by architects Hazen Sise and Guy Desbarats of montreal-based architectural firm
Arcop Arcop (also ARCOP) was an architectural firm based in Montreal, renowned for designing many major projects in Canada including Place Bonaventure, Place Ville-Marie and Maison Alcan. The firm was originally formed as a partnership under the name Af ...
, it was considered one of the most innovative buildings in Montreal, with a corrugated roof and large windows. It was renovated in 2005-2007. The pavilion houses a restaurant named ''The Pavilion''. In 2007, the Ordre des architectes du Québec (Order of Architects of Quebec) awarded the Excellence Award in architecture to architects Pierina Saia and Réal Paul and to the
City of Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...
for the conservation and heritage restoration of the Beaver Lake pavilion.


See also

* List of rivers and water bodies of Montreal Island


External links


Official site of Mount Royal Park

Calypso: equipment image collection from the University of Montreal Mount Royal Pavilion web site
{{authority control Beavers Beavers Landforms of Montreal