Jeanne-Mance Park
| Jeanne Mance Park Parc Jeanne-Mance |
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Jeanne-Mance Park in the foreground, and Mount Royal in the background.
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 Location of Jeanne-Mance Park in Montreal
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| Location | Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Operated by | City of Montreal |
Jeanne-Mance Park (French: Parc Jeanne-Mance), is an urban park in Montreal's Plateau Mont-Royal borough and situated along Park Avenue, opposite Mount Royal, and just south of Mount Royal Avenue.[1] It is named after the co-founder of Montreal, Jeanne Mance.
History
The park was previously also known as Fletcher's Field.[2]
This great common in the heart of the city was part of the public domain, and it was used as a military parade ground as was Logan's Farm which is now Lafontaine park. During the Great War troops were trained on Fletcher's Field. Fletcher being the name of a farmer near the property. The Lacrosse and football clubs also used Fletcher's Field. The Royal Mount Royal Golf Club also used Fletcher's Field. It was called Fletcher's Field for well over a hundred years.[3]
The history of this park began at the end of the 19th century with the planning of Mount Royal Park, and the city's acquisition of land on Mount Royal, that included the summit of the mountain to Esplanade Avenue, between Pine Avenue and Mount Royal Avenue.
In 1878, Montreal's Crystal Palace was relocated to Fletcher's Field. The structure was destroyed by fire in July 1896.
In 1879, Fletcher's Field was identified by the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain as a notable source of Hyoscyamus niger, a psychoactive plant.[4]
In 1910, at the time of the Congrès eucharistique de Montréal (Montreal Eucharistic Congress), popular support orchestrated by a publicity campaign demanding that the park pay homage to founder of the first Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal located near the present site of the hospital. The name had quickly become popular, and the name of the park was unofficially known as Jeanne-Mance Park until 1990, when the city of Montreal made the name change official.
Features
- The park features playgrounds, two softball fields, courts, a soccer field, a children's swimming pool (in the summer) and outdoor skating rinks (in the winter).[1]
- An Art Deco drinking fountain with an inscription in honour of Louis Rubenstein is located at the corner of Mount Royal Avenue and Park Avenue.
