__NOTOC__ René Lévesque Park (french: Parc René-Lévesque) 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 ...

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. It is located in the borough of Lachine on a

jetty A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...

between the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...

and the end of the

Lachine Canal The Lachine Canal ( in French (language), French) is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running 14.5 kilometres (9 miles) from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis, through the boroug ...

. Approximately in area, it is named after

René Lévesque René Lévesque (; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Québécois politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to attempt ...

, the prime minister of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. The park features a bicycle path, an

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

and several species of birds. Road access to the park is mainly through the Chemin du Canal, an extension of

Saint Patrick Street Saint Patrick Street (officially in French: ''Rue Saint-Patrick'') is a street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It runs for on an east-west course (according to Montreal street directions) along the entire southern edge of the Lachine Canal. It be ...

History

The jetty was created in 1883 during a late expansion of the Lachine Canal. A parallel jetty, created in 1848 during the canal's first major expansion, is used as a

yacht club A yacht club is a sports club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mari ...

Sculpture Garden

There is a sculpture garden consisting of twenty two sculptures by Quebec artists in the park. The sculptures were unveiled during three sculpture symposiums, the first having taken place in 1985. The sculpture garden is part of the

Lachine Museum Lachine (French: ''La Chine'', China) may refer to: * Lachine, Quebec, a borough of Montreal ** Lachine (electoral district), a federal electoral district from 1968 to 1988 * Lachine Rapids, Quebec * Lachine Canal, Quebec * The Fur Trade at Lachine ...

. Among the sculptures are:

C

* ''Les cariatides '' (1988), by Takera Narita * ''Cheval à plume'' (1988), by Miroslav Frederik Maler * ''China Wall'' (1986), by Jean-Marie Delavalle

D

* ''Le déjeuner sur l'herbe'' (1997), by Dominique Rolland * ''Détour : le grand jardin'' (1994), by

Michel Goulet Michel Bernard Goulet (born April 21, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played for the Birmingham Bulls in the World Hockey Association and the Quebec Nordiques and Chicago Blackhawks in the National Hockey League. H ...

E

* ''Écluses'' (1994), by Octavian Olariu * ''Explorer'' (1994), by

Mark Prent Mark Prent (born Poland, 1947, died USA, 2020) was a Canadian sculptor and performance artist that lived in the United States and was best known for the graphic realism of his figurative sculpture. Prent's sculptures have been described as dis ...

F

* ''From A'' (1986), by Dominque Valade

H

* ''Hermès'' (1988), by Graham Cantieni * ''Hommage à René Lévesque'' (1988), by Robert Roussil

P

* ''The Passing Song'' (1992), by

Catherine Widgery Catherine Widgery (born 1953) is an American artist. Widgery is known for both her studio-based sculpture work and her public sculpture. Early life Widgery was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale ...

* ''Le phare d'Archimède'' (1986), by Dominque Rolland * ''La pierre et le feu'' (1985), by Jean-Pierre Morin

S

* ''Signal pour Takis'' (1986), by Pierre Leblanc * ''Site/Interlude'' (1994), by David Moore * ''Souvenir de 1955 ou 2026 Roberval '' (1992), by Pierre Leblanc * ''Story Rock'' (1986), by

Bill Vazan Bill Vazan (born 1933) is a Canadian artist, known for land art, sculpture, painting and photography. His work has been exhibited in North America and internationally. Career Born in Toronto, Ontario, Vazan studied Fine Arts at the Ontario Colle ...

V

* ''La ville blanche'' (1986), by André Fournelle * ''Vire au vent'' (1988), by Gilles Boisvert * ''Vortexit II '' (2009), by

* ''Les voûtes d'Ulysse'' (1992), by Guy Nadeau

References

Lachine, Quebec Parks in Montreal Sculpture gardens, trails and parks in Canada René Lévesque {{montreal-stub