Place Émilie-Gamelin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Place Émilie-Gamelin |
|
|---|---|
Outdoor chess at Place Émilie-Gamelin.
|
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Type | Town square |
| Location | Quartier Latin, Ville-Marie Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Created | May 17, 1992 |
| Operated by | City of Montreal |
| Status | Open all year |
| Public transit access | Berri-UQAM (Montreal Metro) |
| Website | https://jardinsgamelin.com/en/home |
Place Émilie-Gamelin (known informally as Berri Square, French: Square Berri) is a city square in central Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was created to mark the 350th anniversary of the city. Bordered by Berri Street, Saint Hubert Street, Sainte Catherine Street, and De Maisonneuve Boulevard, the square is adjacent to the entrances of transportation hubs Berri-UQAM Metro Station and the former Station centrale d'autobus, as well as the Université du Québec à Montréal and the Grande Bibliothèque du Québec.
History
The park is named for Roman Catholic nun Émilie Gamelin, founder of the Sisters of Providence religious community, which had operated a convent on the land. Émilie Gamelin and her sisters were known for running a soup kitchen (l'Œuvre de la Soupe) for the homeless community, as well as other needy people, of Montreal, until the demolition of the Asile of Providence building on August 14, 1963 for the construction of the Montreal Metro. Once the construction of the metro station was completed, the roof formed the newly formed place, then called Berri Square (at that time the metro station was named Berri-de-Montigny station), which was nothing more than a patch of concrete. Due to its history, for a long time many homeless people camped on this square.
Art at Place Émilie-Gamelin
The north end of the square features the metal sculpture Skyscraper, Waterfall, Roads, Brooks... a Construction (French: Gratte-ciel, cascades d'eau / rues, ruisseau… une construction) by artist Melvin Charney.
Inside the metro entrance on the south-west corner of the park (corner rue Sainte-Catherine and rue Berri) is a bronze statue of Gamelin, called Mère Émilie Gamelin (Mother Émilie Gamelin). The 1,9m high work of art, made by sculptor Raoul Hunter in 1999, was inaugurated on May 25, 2000 commemorating both the 200th anniversary of her birth and the renovation of the rue Sainte-Catherine kiosk, located in the Place Émilie-Gamelin where the shelter she founded once stood. The bronze on her right hand, which is symbolically stretched out toward people in need, is slowly fading because of all the people that shake her hand for fun. The statue is owned by the City of Montreal.
Images for kids
-
Memorial in park to Émilie Gamelin.
