René Lévesque Boulevard
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René Lévesque Boulevard (boulevard René-Lévesque in French) is one of the main streets in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
It is a main east-west thoroughfare passing through the downtown core in the borough of Ville-Marie. The street begins on the west at Atwater Avenue (though see below) and continues until it merges with Notre Dame Street East just east of Parthenais Street.
Much of René Lévesque Boulevard is lined with highrise office towers. Notable structures bordering René Lévesque Boulevard include, from west to east, the Montreal Children's Hospital, the Canadian Centre for Architecture, the Cité du commerce électronique, 1250 René-Lévesque, Tour CIBC, Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral, the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, Place Ville-Marie, Central Station, Tour Telus, St. Patrick's Basilica, Complexe Desjardins, Complexe Guy-Favreau, the Hydro-Québec building, UQAM and the Maison Radio-Canada.
[edit] Dorchester
From the time of its formal naming in 1844, the street was known as "Dorchester Boulevard" in honour of Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester (1724-1808), Governor of the Province of Quebec and Governor General of Canada.
Shortly after Jean Drapeau was elected mayor in 1954, his administration ordered the destruction of hundreds of buildings along Dorchester. In 1955, the street was widened into an eight-lane boulevard. [1]
[edit] Renaming
The name was changed in 1987 after the death of Quebec premier René Lévesque. A portion of the thoroughfare located in the largely anglophone city of Westmount, between Clarke Street and Atwater Avenue, retains the name "Dorchester Boulevard West". As does a portion in the mainly French-speaking Montréal-Est, where it is known as "rue Dorchester".
[edit] References
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