Jeanne Mance Park (french: Parc Jeanne-Mance), formerly known as Fletcher's Field (french: Champ de Fletcher), is an

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...

in the

Plateau Mont-Royal Le Plateau-Mont-Royal () is a borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Plateau-Mont-Royal takes its name from its location on a plateau, on the eastern side of Mont-Royal and overlooking downtown Montreal, across ...

borough of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the 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 one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. Named after the co-founder of Montreal,

Jeanne Mance Jeanne Mance (November 12, 1606 – June 18, 1673) was a French nurse and settler of New France. She arrived in New France two years after the Ursuline nuns came to Quebec. Among the founders of Montreal in 1642, she established its first hospit ...

, the park is located along

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...

, opposite

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 ...

, and just south of

Mount Royal Avenue Mount Royal Avenue (officially in french: avenue du Mont-Royal), once named Tannery Road (french: chemin des Tanneries), is a street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The main part of the street transects the borough of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, from Pa ...

. It has an area of 14 hectares. It is considered to be one of

's large parks.

History

The park was previously known as Fletcher's Field. According to local tradition, the park was named after one

Fletcher Fletcher may refer to: People * Fletcher (occupation), a person who fletches arrows, the origin of the surname * Fletcher (singer) (born 1994), American actress and singer-songwriter * Fletcher (surname) * Fletcher (given name) Places United ...

, who lived on the outskirts of the grounds and pastured his cows there. The history of the park began at the end of the 19th century with the planning of

Mount Royal Park 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 ...

and the city's acquisition of land on Mount Royal, which ran from the summit of the mountain to Esplanade Avenue, between

Pine Avenue Pine Avenue (french: avenue des Pins) is an east–west street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This street serves as the dividing line between the downtown Ville-Marie borough and borough of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, and also serves as the northern ...

and Mount Royal Avenue. In 1878, Montreal's

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

was relocated to Fletcher's Field. The structure was destroyed by fire in July 1896. In 1879, Fletcher's Field was identified by the

Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) existed from its founding as the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain in 1841 until 2010. The word "Royal" was added to its name in 1988. It was the statutory regulatory and professional ...

as a notable source of

Hyoscyamus niger ''Hyoscyamus niger'', commonly known as henbane, black henbane, or stinking nightshade, is a poisonous plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is native to temperate Europe and Siberia, and naturalised in Great Britain and Ireland. Histor ...

, a psychoactive plant. The park used as a

military parade A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the lat ...

ground, as was Logan's Farm (now part of

La Fontaine Park La Fontaine Park (french: Parc La Fontaine) is a urban park located in the borough of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Named in honour of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, The park's features include two linked ponds with a fountai ...

). During the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, troops were trained on Fletcher's Field. The

Montreal Lacrosse Club The Montreal Lacrosse Club was a lacrosse club in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Club is notable in the history of lacrosse as it was responsible for establishing the first set of written rules of the game. The Club was established in 1856 by the ...

and

Royal Montreal Golf Club The Royal Montreal Golf Club ( French: Le Club de Golf Royal Montréal) is the oldest golf club in North America, and the oldest in continuous existence. In 2023, it will be celebrating 150 years. It was founded in Montreal by eight men in 1873. ...

(as well as youth lacrosse and football clubs) also used Fletcher's Field. In September 1910, during the Montreal Eucharistic Congress, there was a campaign to rename the park in recognition of the founder of the

Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal The Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal (founded in 1645) was the first hospital established in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ''Hôtel-Dieu'', literally translated in English as ''Hotel of God'', is an archaic French term for hospital, referring to the origi ...

. The city of Montreal officially changed the name of the park to Jeanne Mance Park in 1990. The plaza entrance of Jeanne Mance Park opposite the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Monument is affectionately known as Place Fletcher's Field, serving as a reminder of the park's former name.

Features

* The park features playgrounds, one softball field, tennis courts with night lights, a soccer/football field with artificial turf, a children's swimming pool (in the summer) and an outdoor skating rink (in the winter). * An

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

drinking fountain A drinking fountain, also called a water fountain or water bubbler, is a fountain designed to provide drinking water. It consists of a basin with either continuously running water or a tap. The drinker bends down to the stream of water and s ...

with an inscription in honour of

Louis Rubenstein Louis Rubenstein (September 23, 1861, in Montreal – January 3, 1931) was a Canadian figure skater, sportsman and politician. Rubenstein is considered the "Father of Canadian Figure Skating." After retirement from skating in 1892, Rubenstein beca ...

is located at the corner of Mount Royal Avenue and Park Avenue. * Public washrooms beneath Place Fletcher's Field, the plaza opposite the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Monument on Park Avenue.

References

{{Authority control Le Plateau-Mont-Royal Mount Royal Parks in Montreal