Mont-Royal Park is much more than a simple park; it’s Montreal lung. At the end of 1870’s, Montreal’ town council decides to buy land necessary to the construction of a large park for Montrealers. Time was short because cemeteries already monopolized about half of the mountain for their needs. The new park design where entrusted to Fédérick Law Olmsted, the same landscape gardener who made the plans of the Central Park in New York City a few years ago. The Mount-Royal Park was inaugurated in 1876.
With the coming of trams 11 line, Montrealers can finally discover the large park made for them. A funicular was also climbing the east side. Mont-Royal then became a center of leisure with many installations like lake of the Beavers and the construction of a large public house at the mountain top.
Later the Mountain will be crossed by a road, the Camilien Houde road, allowing an easy access to cars and bus.
Facing increasing needs for grounds around the mountain, Quebec government recently decides to make an area of protection with the whole mountain.
More recently many projects still came to downsize mountains green area in particular project of enlarging of the Molson Stadium as well as the successive enlarging of Royal Hospital Victoria parking and Polytechnique School. The mountain can at least count on defenders like the group called Les Amis de la Montagne AKA “Friends of the Mountain”.
