Parc station, also known as Park Avenue station and formerly Jean-Talon station (french: Gare Jean-Talon, links=no), is a historic

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

building in

Montreal, Quebec 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-pe ...

, Canada. Its western end currently houses the Montreal Metro's Parc station, while businesses occupy the rest of the building. Although the main building no longer serves the railway, the

Exo Exo ( ko, 엑소; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai ...

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...

Parc station is adjacent to it. It is located on

Jean-Talon Street Jean Talon Street (officially in french: rue Jean-Talon) is one of the longest streets on the Island of Montreal. It runs from Decarie Boulevard in the west through Anjou in the east to Galeries d'Anjou. Jean Talon was the first Intendant of New ...

at the end of

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 Av ...

in the

Park Extension Park Extension (french: Links=no, Parc-Extension) is a neighbourhood in the city of Montréal, Québec. It is located in the borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension and has a population of 33,800 and an area of 1.6 km² (400 acres ...

neighbourhood of the borough of

Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension is a borough (''arrondissement'') in the city of Montreal, Quebec. It had a population of 143,853 according to the 2016 Census and a land area of . The borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension ...

. The station was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1931. Its traffic declined in the 1950s and it closed in 1984 when

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...

transferred service to lines headed into

Montreal Central Station Montreal Central Station (french: Gare centrale de Montréal) is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Nearly 11 million rail passengers use the station every year, making it the second-bu ...

. The City of Montreal purchased the building and the western end was converted as a metro station and the remainder of the building was adapted for business use. It currently houses a

Joe Fresh Joe Fresh is a Canadian fashion brand and retail chain created by designer Joe Mimran for Canadian food distributor Loblaw Companies Limited. It was formed in 2006. The label includes adult and children's wear, shoes, handbags, jewelry, beauty pr ...

outlet.

History

The Canadian Pacific Railway built the Park Avenue station, which was designed by architect Colin Drewitt and opened in 1931. It was inaugurated in the presence of

Camillien Houde Camillien Houde (August 13, 1889 – September 11, 1958) was a Quebec politician, a Member of Parliament, and a four-time mayor of Montreal – one of the few Canadian politicians to have served at all three levels of government. Political c ...

, the mayor of Montreal at the time. Park Avenue station replaced the

Mile End Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...

railway station, which was located near the corner of

Saint Laurent Boulevard Saint Laurent Boulevard, also known as Saint Lawrence Boulevard (officially in french: boulevard Saint-Laurent), is a major street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A commercial artery and cultural heritage site, the street runs north–south through ...

and Bernard Street. In its time, all trains headed toward

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

, Ottawa and the Laurentians, including ''Le Petit Train du Nord'', travelled through Park Avenue Station. The station's role as an important railway stop permitted the station to host many important figures. One such event occurred in 1939, when the station was the site of a

royal visit A state visit is a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country, at the invitation of the head of state of that foreign country, with the latter also acting as the official host for the duration of the state visit. Speaking for the host ...

by King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth, who were accompanied by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A L ...

. Park Avenue station was an important stop for railway passengers until the early 1950s. Following the closure of

Place Viger Place Viger was both a grand hotel and railway station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, constructed in 1898 and named after Jacques Viger, the first Mayor of the city. Although combined stations and hotels were common in the United Kingdom in the la ...

in 1951, Park Avenue station suffered a swift decline in traffic. It was closed itself in 1984 when

Via Rail Canada Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...

transferred the southern terminal of the Montreal-Quebec City ( Sainte-Foy) via

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...

train service from Windsor Station to

. The same year, the city of Montreal acquired the building and ceded part of the building to the

Montreal Urban Community The Montreal Urban Community (MUC) (''Communauté Urbaine de Montréal'' – ''CUM'') was a regional government in Quebec, Canada, that covered all municipalities located on the Island of Montreal and the islands of L'Île-Dorval and Île ...

for the construction underground of the Montreal Metro's Parc station, which opened in 1987. In 1997, Exo's commuter rail station opened, using the name ''Jean-Talon''; but this was later changed in 2000 to Parc in order to avoid confusion with the

Jean-Talon Jean-Talon is a provincial electoral riding in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada. It consists of part of the Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge borough of Quebec City. It was named after former French colonial administrator of New ...

Metro station. The central portion of the building became an

Indigo Books and Music Indigo Books & Music Inc., known as "Indigo" and stylized "!ndigo", is Canada's only major English-language bookstore chain. It is Canada's largest book, gift, and specialty toy retailer, operating stores in all ten provinces and one terr ...

store, which closed and was replaced by a

Société des alcools du Québec The Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ; ) is a provincial Crown corporation and monopoly in Quebec responsible for the trade of alcoholic beverages within the province. Organization The official legislation governing the SAQ's operations a ...

store, which itself closed in 2010.

Current use

The central portion of the building currently houses a

outlet. The Montreal Metro's Parc station occupies the western end of the building. Adjacent is the separate Parc

station.

Montreal Metro station

Parc station serves the Blue Line of the Montreal Metro. It is operated by the

Société de transport de Montréal The Société de transport de Montréal (STM; en, Montreal Transit Corporation) is a public transport agency that operates transit bus and rapid transit services in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Established in 1861 as the "Montreal City Passenger Ra ...

(STM).Parc Metro Station
/ref> The Metro station was built after the city purchased Jean-Talon station in 1984, and opened in 1987. The entrance was built in and under the building's far west end, with the entrance in the former men's smoking room. It is a normal

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platform ...

station. The platform level features a frieze by Huguette Desjardins, and the skylight at the foot of the stairs to the exit contains a sculpture called ''Métamorphose d'Icare'' by Claire Sarrasin, an homage to the local Greek community.

Commuter trains

The

operates a station immediately adjacent to the historic building. Parc station is part of Exo's

Saint-Jérôme line Saint-Jérôme (also designated exo2, formerly known as Blainville–Saint-Jérôme) is a commuter railway line in Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is operated by Exo, the organization that operates public transport services across this re ...

. The Exo station's platforms are built along the main line; the space between the old Jean-Talon railway station building and the railway line, where the original platforms were located, is now occupied by a Maxi & Cie.

Connecting bus routes

Nearby points of interest

CLSC CLSCs (''centre local de services communautaires'', local community service centre) in Quebec are free clinics and hospitals run and maintained by the Quebec government. They are a form of community health centre. The service was launched in the e ...

Parc Extension *

IGA Stadium IGA Stadium (French: Stade IGA) (formerly Stade Du Maurier and Stade Uniprix) is the main tennis court at the Canadian Open (tennis), Canadian Open tournament in Montreal, Quebec. Built in 1996, the centre court stadium currently holds 11,815 sp ...

References

External links

Parc station on STM website

Montreal by Metro, metrodemontreal.com

2011 STM System Map

Parc Commuter Train Station Information (RTM)

Parc Commuter Train Station Schedule (RTM)
{{Public transport Art Deco architecture in Canada Art Deco railway stations Blue Line (Montreal Metro) Exo commuter rail stations 1997 establishments in Quebec Canadian Pacific Railway stations in Quebec Disused railway stations in Canada Landmarks in Montreal Railway stations in Montreal Railway stations closed in 1983 Railway stations in Canada opened in 1931 Railway stations in Canada opened in 1997 Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension