Park Extension
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Park Extension (Parc-Extension in French) is a neighbourhood in the city of Montreal, Quebec. It is located in the borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension and has a population of 35,000 and an area of 1,6 km². The name derives from the fact that it is situated at the north end of Parc Avenue and is literally an "extension" of the artery. The area is known by locals as "Park X."
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[edit] Geography
The area is bounded by Acadie, to the West; Canadian Pacific Railway, to the South and East; and the Metropolitan Autoroute 40, to the North. The surrounding neighborhoods are Villeray and Little Italy to the east, Mile End and Outremont to the south, the Town of Mont-Royal to the west and Ahuntsic-Cartierville to the north.
Most of the buildings were built between 1930 and 1980.[citation needed] Over 35,000 people live in only 1.6 square kilometres, more than the average population density in Montreal, but the same density as the Plateau, Villeray, St-Michel and Mile End.
[edit] Government
[edit] Municipal
The current district councillor is Mary Deros. Mary Deros, City Councillor for Parc-Extension under the Union Montreal banner, has been a very active resident of Park Extension since 1970. She was elected city councillor under Vision Montreal for Park Extension in 1998 and re-elected in November 2001.
Former city councillors
Konstantinos Georgoulis
Stavros Zagakos
Sofoklis Rasoulis
Demetrios Manolakos
The district is part of the borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension.
[edit] Federal and provincial
The district is part of the following federal riding:
It is part of the following provincial electoral district:
[edit] History
The area has always been a working class neighborhood. From the early 1950s there was rapid housing development in the northern reaches of Park Extension. Understanding Park X's place in Montreal is to know how Montreal developed. Montreal started from a small fortified city by the st-lawrence river (St-laurent); and grew north towards the laurentians. Park X was a 19th century suburb. It was literally the 'sticks' back in the 20's to 50's. Being at the head of Park avenue, its the culmination of the immigrant corridor. Back in those days a trolley car ran from Down Town north to Park X. Before Airplanes most immigrants arrived in Montreal by Train; and Boat before that. The history of all immigrants is through a 'gate' to a new city. From Montreal's old Port and later Grand central station is how most folks arrived in Montreal. Today Park X is an inexpensive place which welcomes less fortunate new immigrants with little money. This explains the low median income. It's their first stop to the Canadian dream. Park X welcomes all, it is an integral part of the Canadian Mosiac. All ethinc groups have been represented in Park X through it long history.
A significant Jewish population migrated there, mostly from the Plateau Mont-Royal area, and established a thriving community. Several hundred families built and maintained a synagogue, Congregation Beth Aaron. By the mid-70's, the Jewish community was diminishing. Congregation Beth Aaron merged with the Beth Israel Congregation in 1986 [1], and the building was sold.
Many Greek immigrants settled in the neighborhood in the 1960s, 70's and 80's, from the Plateau Mont-Royal area and directly from Greece, and at one time the area was 70% Greek. Almost all the businesses along Jean-Talon street between L'Acadie and Parc Avenue were Greek owned in 1977 (over 100) whereas today there are only a dozen left. There are still four Greek churches, many Greek building owners and mostly older Greek residents still in the area. Many Greeks have since moved to suburbs such as Chomedey, Laval and the West Island.
Today, most of the population is made up of South East Asians from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, as well as Latin American and Caribbean immigrants, and a dwindling population of Greek immigrants. Park Extension is one of the most ethinically diverse places in Canada, and has great restos from South East Asia and Greece.
[edit] Points of Interest
- Parc metro station
- Parc commuter train station
- The Park Extension library in the William Hingston community centre
- The old Parc Avenue train station
- Saint-Roch street
- The former studios for CFCF-TV, now empty
[edit] Sports
Though many sports are played in the Parc-Extension area, dating back to the Montreal Expose Baseball team at Jarry Park. The primary sport of choice for the locals is ball hockey and cricket.
The Province wide QBHA(Quebec Ball Hockey Association) has two Parc-Extension area teams that rival for success. "The Hellenic Republic of Parc-Ex" and the "Park-X Streets" bring a huge following to their games at Howie Morenz arena during the summer months. This year's battle of Parc-Ex was met with a huge upset as the Hellenic Republic of Parc-Ex were able to defeat the heavily favored Park-Ex Streets by a score of 1-0.
Most of the parks and arenas are filled with kids and adults who contest in a variety of sports year round. Also of note, the city wide soccer league has a strong connection to Parc-Extension as the local "Panellinios" soccer team has been dominant in recent years.
[edit] Fence with Mont-Royal (TMR) along L'Acadie
A fence runs along the western border of Park Extension, on the opposite side of L'Acadie Boulevard. While the stated purpose of the fence is to prevent children from running into the busy thoroughfare, some have contended that it was built to keep residents of the working-class Park Extension neighbourhood out of TMR.][1]
The north-south streets of Parc Extension have the same names as those in line with them in Outremont, south of the railway tracks, from Hutchison in the east to Birnham in the west. McEachran Street was renamed Rockland Boulevard when the street was widened in the late '50s.[2] The area covered by the residences in the Town of Mount Royal from L'Acadie in the east to Rockland in the west and between Lockhart in the south to Cremazie in the north was once an 9 hole golf course. The golf course was sub-divided during the 1950s and the fence was erected after all the houses covered the golf course land.
This fence originally had several gates built into it, which then became a subject of controversy when they were locked one year at Halloween, preventing children from Park Extension from trick-or-treating in TMR. The Mount Royal town council responded by removing the gates. As of 2007, the gates were restored, with signs stating that this is for the safety of children and pedestrians.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Kristian Gravenor, "Segregation fence to live on." Montreal Mirror, November 8, 2001.
- ^ (French) "Station de métro Acadie." Retrieved November 7, 2007.
[edit] External links
- (French) Borough website
- http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/1999/040199/cover.html
- http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/2003/090403/kristian.html
- http://www.px-news.com/
