Atwater Avenue (officially in french: avenue Atwater) is a major north–south street located 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 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 links

Doctor Penfield Avenue Doctor Penfield Avenue (officially in french: Avenue du Docteur-Penfield) is a one-way eastbound street located in the Golden Square Mile neighbourhood of the borough of Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Spanning 1.7 kilometres, it begins a ...

in the Ville-Marie

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

to the north, and Henri Duhamel Street in the

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

borough to the south. It is named for

Edwin Atwater Edwin Atwater (September 14, 1808 in Williston, Vermont – June 18, 1874 in Montreal) was a Canadian businessman, corporate director and municipal politician in Montreal. Atwater immigrated to Lower Canada in 1830 settling in Montreal. He se ...

. The street runs through the Atwater Tunnel near the Atwater Market in Saint-Henri, before climbing and straddling the border of the city of Westmount. The

Montreal Forum Montreal Forum (french: Le Forum de Montréal) is a historic building located facing Cabot Square in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by '' Sporting News'', it was an indoor arena which served as the ...

, Place Alexis-Nihon,

Dawson College Dawson College (French: ''Collège Dawson)'' is an English-language public general and vocational college in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The college is situated near the heart of Downtown Montreal in a former nunnery on approximately 12 acr ...

, Atwater and Lionel-Groulx stations of the Montreal Metro, and the Atwater Market are located on this street. Below downtown Montreal, it runs through the

Little Burgundy Little Burgundy (french: La Petite-Bourgogne) is a neighbourhood in the South West borough of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Geography Its approximate boundaries are Atwater Avenue to the west, Saint-Antoine to the north, Guy Street ...

district and, by way of the Atwater Tunnel under the

Lachine Canal The Lachine Canal ( in 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 boroughs of Lachine, ...

, through the Pointe Saint-Charles district.

History

Atwater Avenue owes its name to a local businessman and city councilor by the name of

(1808-1874), who participated in the foundation of the ''Montreal City and District Savings Bank'' (later known as

Laurentian Bank of Canada The Laurentian Bank of Canada (LBC; french: Banque Laurentienne du Canada, link=no) is a Schedule 1 bank that operates primarily in the province of Quebec, with commercial and business banking offices located in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbi ...

), and the

Montreal Telegraph Company The Montreal Telegraph Company was the first significant telegraph company in Canada. In 1847, early telegraph pioneer Orrin S. Wood was recruited to be president of the company, which rapidly established telegraph lines to Toronto and Quebec City ...

.Commission de toponymie du Québec
/ref> It was in 1871, that Montreal City Council named the street after Atwater.

References

Streets in Montreal Ville-Marie, Montreal Le Sud-Ouest Westmount, Quebec {{Quebec-road-stub