Jeanne-Mance Park

Jeanne Mance Park
French: parc Jeanne-Mance
Jeanne Mance Park in the foreground, with Mount Royal in the background.
Location of Jeanne Mance Park in Montreal
Location Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Coordinates 45°30′57″N 73°35′03″W / 45.5158°N 73.5842°W / 45.5158; -73.5842Coordinates: 45°30′57″N 73°35′03″W / 45.5158°N 73.5842°W / 45.5158; -73.5842
Operated by City of Montreal

Jeanne Mance Park is an urban park in Montreal's Plateau Mont-Royal borough and is located along Park Avenue, opposite Mount Royal, and just south of Mount Royal Avenue.[1] It is named after the co-founder of Montreal, Jeanne Mance.

History

The park was previously known as Fletcher's Field/Champ de Fletcher,[2][3][4][5] ("Fletcher" being the name of a farmer near the property).

This great common in the heart of the city was part of the public domain and it was used as a military parade ground, as was Logan's Farm (which is now part of La Fontaine Park). During the Great War, troops were trained on Fletcher's Field. The lacrosse and football clubs as well as the Royal Montreal Golf Club also used Fletcher's Field, the name by which it was called for well over a hundred years.[6]

The history of this park began at the end of the 19th century with the planning of Mount Royal Park and the city's acquisition of land on Mount Royal, which ran from the summit of the mountain to Esplanade Avenue, between Pine Avenue and Mount Royal Avenue.

In 1878, Montreal's Crystal Palace 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 as a notable source of Hyoscyamus niger, a psychoactive plant.[7]

In 1910, during the Montreal Eucharistic Congress (Congrès eucharistique de Montréal), there was a campaign for the park to recognize the founder of the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal, which had been relocated from Old Montreal to its present site. The name of the park was unofficially known as Jeanne Mance Park until 1990, when the city of Montreal made the name change official.

The plaza entrance of Jeanne-Mance Park opposite the Sir George Etienne Cartier Monument is affectionately known as Place Fletcher's Field, serving as a reminder of the park's former name. It is the starting location for ghost walks on Mount Royal with Haunted Montreal.[8]

Features

  • The park features playgrounds, two softball fields, courts, a soccer field, a children's swimming pool (in the summer) and outdoor skating rinks (in the winter).[1]
  • An Art Deco drinking fountain with an inscription in honour of Louis Rubenstein 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 Etienne Cartier Monument on Park Avenue.

References

  1. 1 2 "Parc Jeanne-Mance". Ville de Montréal. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "Plateau Mont Royal history".
  3. ↑ "City of Montreal archives".
  4. ↑ "Taylor Noakes website".
  5. ↑ Colombo, John Robert (June 1984). Canadian literary landmarks. Hounslow Press. p. 72. ISBN 0-88882-073-9.
  6. ↑ "Fletcher's Field". The Gazette (Montreal). CLVI (164). 11 July 1927. p. 12 – via news.google.com.
  7. ↑ Claypole, E.W. (22 November 1879). "The Migration of Plants from Europe to America, With An Attempt to Explain Certain Phenomena Connected Therewith". Pharmaceutical Journal and Transactions. Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain: 405–406.
  8. ↑ http://hauntedmontreal.com/haunted-mountain
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