Saint Urbain Street (french: rue Saint-Urbain) is a major one-way street located in

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 Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The original, southernmost section of the street was built by

Urbain Tessier Urbain is a name of French origin which may refer to: ;Family name * Achille Urbain (1884–1957), French biologist * Georges Urbain (1872–1938), French chemist * Ismael Urbain (1812–1884), French journalist and interpreter * Jacques Urbain, ...

(c. 1624–1689), a farmer and carpenter who settled in the area. The name also makes reference to Saint Urbain. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the street, now stretching northward, was home to several of Montreal's prominent British and French merchants, notably the explorer

Alexander Henry the elder Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

. By the turn of the 20th century, sections of the street were industrialised and became run down, and were settled by

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, predominantly from Eastern Europe. Writer

Mordecai Richler Mordecai Richler (January 27, 1931 – July 3, 2001) was a Canadian writer. His best known works are ''The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (novel), The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1959) and ''Barney's Version (novel), Barney's Versi ...

immortalised the Mile End section as a centre of the

Jewish community Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

in Montreal, and he documented the life there in novels such as ''

St. Urbain's Horseman ''St. Urbain's Horseman'' is the seventh novel by Canadian author Mordecai Richler. First published in 1971 by McClelland & Stewart, it won the Governor General's Award for 1971. Plot and setting The novel is set in London and Montreal during th ...

''. From roughly 1970 onwards, the Jewish community uprooted to

Outremont Outremont is an affluent residential borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. The neighbourhood is inhabited largely by fran ...

and the street was settled by Greek, Portuguese and Caribbean immigrants.Canadian Literary Landmarks (1984), by John Robert Colombo Today, much of the street has been

gentrified Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...

Place-d'Armes station Place-d'Armes station is a Montreal Metro station in the borough of Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) and serves the Orange Line. It is located in Old Montreal. The statio ...

is located on the street while the

Place-des-Arts station Place-des-Arts station is a Montreal Metro station in the borough of Ville-Marie (Montreal), Ville-Marie, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) and serves the Line 1 Green (Montreal Metro), Gree ...

and De Castelnau station are right nearby. It traverses the boroughs of Ville-Marie,

Le 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 ...

Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie is a borough (''arrondissement'') in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located in the centre-east of the city. Geography The borough is bordered to the northwest by Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension ...

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 ...

and

Ahuntsic-Cartierville Ahuntsic-Cartierville ( (local accent)) is a borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The borough was created following the 2002 municipal reorganization of Montreal. It comprises two main neighbourhoods, Ahuntsic, ...

References

Streets in Montreal Downtown Montreal Quartier des spectacles Le Plateau-Mont-Royal Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension Ahuntsic-Cartierville Jews and Judaism in Montreal Historic Jewish communities in Canada Mordecai Richler {{Quebec-road-stub

See also

References