Underground city, Montreal

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Montreal's Underground City (French: La ville souterraine) is the set of interconnected complexes (both above and below ground) in and around downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is also known as the indoor city (ville intérieure), and is the largest underground complex in the world.

In 2004 the downtown segments of the underground city were rebranded and given the name RÉSO. The name RÉSO is a homonym of the French word réseau, or network (as in a network of tunnels). The circle and downward pointing arrow which make up the logo or symbol of the Montreal metro (and can be seen outside all metro stations) is integrated within the RÉSO logo, as the "O" at the end of the word. Schematic maps bearing the RÉSO logo are found throughout the network. The largest and best-known segment is located in the centre of downtown, delimited by the Peel and Place-des-Arts metro stations on the Green Line and the Lucien-L'Allier and Place-d'Armes stations on the Orange Line.

With over 32 km of tunnels spread over an area of twelve square kilometres, the 60 residential and commercial complexes comprise 3.6 square kilometres of floor space, including 80% of all office space and 35% of all commercial space in downtown Montreal. Services include shopping malls, hotels, banks, offices, museums, universities, seven metro stations, two commuter train stations, a bus terminal and the Bell Centre. There are more than 120 exterior access points to the underground city. Some 500,000 people use the underground city every day, especially to escape the traffic and/or Montreal's harsh winter or hot summer.

The underground city is promoted as an important tourist attraction by most Montreal travel guidebooks, and as an urban planning achievement it is impressive. Most parts are open during the entire hours of operation of the metro (5:30 AM to 1:00 AM); though many accesses are closed outside of business hours, others remain open. However, the tunnels between the Bell Centre arena and Bonaventure metro station cannot be used before and after events at the arena, owing to fire regulations (access is via Lucien-L'Allier station instead). Maps of the underground city and the metro can be obtained free of charge from all metro stations, and the network of buildings is usually indicated on maps of the downtown core.

Contents

[edit] History of the central segment

The first link of the underground city arose with the construction of the Place Ville-Marie office tower and underground shopping mall, built in 1962 to cover an unsightly pit of railway tracks north of the Central Station. A tunnel linked it to Central Station and the Queen Elizabeth Hotel.

Directional panels to buildings accessible through the underground city, in Bonaventure metro station
Directional panels to buildings accessible through the underground city, in Bonaventure metro station

The advent of the Montreal metro in 1966 brought tunnels joining Bonaventure station to the Château Champlain hotel, the Place du Canada office tower, Place Bonaventure, Central Station, and Windsor Station, forming the core of the Underground City. Square-Victoria station connected to the Tour de la Bourse, Montreal's stock exchange building.

Adding to the development of the underground city was the Montreal Urban Community Transit Commission's policy of offering the aerial rights above metro station entrances for construction through emphyteutic leases, an advantageous way to acquire prime real estate. When the metro began running in 1966, ten buildings were already connected directly to metro stations; development would continue until not a single free-standing entrance to Peel, McGill, Guy-Concordia, or Place-d'Armes stations was left.

In 1974, the Complexe Desjardins office tower complex was constructed, spurring the construction of a "second downtown" underground city segment between Place-des-Arts and Place-d'Armes station, via Place des Arts, Complexe Desjardins, the Complexe Guy Favreau federal government building, and the Palais des Congrès (convention centre).

Between 1984 and 1992, the underground city expanded, with the construction of three major linked shopping centres in the Peel and McGill metro station areas: Cours Mont-Royal, Place Montréal-Trust, and the Promenades Cathédrale (built underneath Christ Church Cathedral). McGill station was already linked with The Bay, Eaton's (now the Complexe Les Ailes), Centre Eaton, and two other office/mall complexes. Between 1984 and 1989, the underground city grew from 12 km of passages to almost 22.

Mega-projects added to the size throughout the 1990s, including Le 1000 De La Gauchetière (the tallest building in Montreal), Le 1250 René-Lévesque, and the Montreal World Trade Centre. Although these buildings have only a secondary commercial sector, they use their connection to the underground city as a selling point for their office space. Also, the construction of a tunnel between Eaton Centre and Place Ville-Marie consolidated the two central halves of the underground city. The construction of the Bell (originally Molson) Centre connected Lucien-L'Allier metro station to the underground city, as well as replacing Windsor Station with the new Gare Lucien-L'Allier commuter train station.

The tunnel between the Centre CDP Capital and the Palais des Congrès. A display case sponsored by the Canadian Centre for Architecture holds a video artwork about the underground city.
The tunnel between the Centre CDP Capital and the Palais des Congrès. A display case sponsored by the Canadian Centre for Architecture holds a video artwork about the underground city.

Finally, in 2003, the complete redevelopment of the Quartier international de Montréal consolidated several segments of the central underground city with continuous pedestrian corridors. The construction of the ICAO headquarters joined Place Bonaventure to Square-Victoria station, which in turn was joined to the Palais des Congrès and Place-d'Armes station via the new Caisse de dépôt et de placement building and a tunnel under Place Jean-Paul Riopelle. Uniquely, the new tunnel sections in the Quartier International contain educational and artistic displays sponsored by major Montreal museums. As a result of this construction, one can now walk all the way across the centre of downtown, from the UQAM Sherbrooke Pavillion at the corner of Sainte Famille and Sherbrooke streets to the Lucien-L'Allier metro station just south-west of the Bell Centre, without going outside — a span of 1.7 km as the crow flies, or approximately 3 kilometres walking distance.

The central segment interconnects the following seven STM metro stations via indoor walkway. As the Berri-UQAM station which allows transfers between the Green, Orange and Yellow lines is two metro stops from the closest station in this segment, in many cases it is quicker to walk than to take the metro. The lists of connected facilities which follow are grouped by segment and nearest metro station.

[edit] Central segment

[edit] Peel

  • Carrefour Industrielle-Alliance (formerly Simpson's)
    • Paramount (IMAX)
    • Simons
    • (access to McGill metro via Place Montréal Trust)
  • Royal & Sun Alliance
  • Tour La Maritime
  • Place Canada Trust
  • Tour Scotia
  • Centre Mont-Royal
  • Le 2000 Peel
  • Roots
  • Les Cours Mont-Royal

[edit] McGill

McGill Metro
McGill Metro

[edit] Bonaventure

Halles de la gare, going from Gare centrale to Place Ville-Marie
Halles de la gare, going from Gare centrale to Place Ville-Marie

[edit] Lucien-L'Allier

[edit] Square-Victoria

Square Victoria Metro entrance, featuring the Parisian metro style entrance which was restored in 2003
Square Victoria Metro entrance, featuring the Parisian metro style entrance which was restored in 2003

[edit] Place-d'Armes

[edit] Place-des-Arts

Skylight in Place des Arts corridor towards metro
Skylight in Place des Arts corridor towards metro

[edit] Berri-UQAM segment

[edit] Berri-UQAM

The hub of the metro network located two metro stops east of Place-des-Arts at the eastern edge of downtown is the transfer point for changing between the Green, Orange and Yellow lines.

[edit] Guy-Concordia segment

Guy-Concordia segment
Guy-Concordia segment

[edit] Guy-Concordia

Located one metro stop west of Peel, this station is at the center of the Sir George Williams campus of Concordia University.

  • Concordia University
    • Guy Metro Annex (GM) Building
    • Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Complex

Planned:

  • John Molson School of Business
    • Under construction, this major new building will connect to the metro station from the south-western corner of the intersection between Guy and de Maisonneuve streets.
  • JW McConnell Library Building
    • Construction plans have been established to link this to the Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Complex, contingent on the funds being raised. Henry F. Hall Building can currently be reached via tunnel from the Library building.

[edit] Atwater segment

[edit] Atwater

One metro stop west of Guy-Concordia, this station is at the western edge of downtown and just inside the territory of Westmount.

[edit] Vendôme segment

[edit] Vendôme

Planned:

[edit] Longueuil segment (off-island)

[edit] Longueuil—Université-de-Sherbrooke

Situated two metro stops south of Berri-UQAM, this station is a major hub for bus transportation on the south shore.


[edit] Other stations

[edit] Sherbrooke

  • Holiday Inn Quartier Latin
  • ITHQ

[edit] Pie-IX

  • Olympic Stadium
  • RIO (Régie des installations olympiques)
  • Regroupement Loisirs Québec

[edit] Jean-Talon

This station is the eastern transfer point for changing between the Orange and Blue lines.

  • Tour Jean-Talon

[edit] Édouard-Montpetit

  • CEPSUM (Centre d'éducation physique et des sports de l'Université de Montréal)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links


Montreal landmarks
Buildings Biodome | Biosphère | Bell Centre | Canadian Centre for Architecture | Montreal Casino | Complexe Desjardins | Montreal Forum | Grande Bibliothèque du Québec | Habitat '67 | Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral | McCord Museum | Montreal Science Centre | Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica | Olympic Stadium | Palais des congrès de Montréal | Place des Arts | Place Ville-Marie | Redpath Museum | Saint Joseph's Oratory | Tour de la Bourse | Underground City | World Trade Centre Montreal
Neighbourhoods Chinatown | Old Montreal | Old Port | Quartier international de Montréal
Nature and
Parks		 Jardin botanique de Montréal | Mount Royal
Islands Île Bizard | Island of Montreal | Île Notre-Dame | Nuns' Island | Saint Helen's Island
Transportation Montréal-Mirabel International Airport | Montreal Metro | Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport | Windsor Station | Central Station
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