Berri-UQAM (Montreal Metro)

Infobox Montreal Metro
station= Berri-UQAM


inaugurated=14 October 1966
line=Green Line
Orange Line
Yellow Line
architect= Longpré et Marchand
Gaétan Pelletier (new kiosk built in 1999)
depth=16.8 metres (Green Line)
10.7 metres (Orange Line)
27.4 metres (Yellow Line)
depth-rank= 2nd deepest
traffic= 12,053,754 entrances in 2006
pass_percent = 2
traffic-rank=Busiest (not counting transfers)
distances=Green Line:
336.80 metres to Saint-Laurent
378.36 metres to Beaudry----Orange Line:
720.50 metres to Champ-de-Mars
579.10 metres to Sherbrooke----Yellow Line:
2362.10 metres to Jean-Drapeau (longest distance in the system)
addresses= 1470, rue Saint-Denis
1500, rue Berri
1635, rue Berri
850, boul. de Maisonneuve
505, rue Sainte-Catherine est
intersections= rue Saint-Denis / boul. de Maisonneuve
rue Berri / boul. de Maisonneuve
boul. de Maisonneuve / rue Saint-Christophe
rue Sainte-Catherine / rue Berri [ [http://www.stm.info/English/metro/Berri-UQAM.pdf Berri-UQAM Neighbourhood Mqp] ] |

Berri-UQAM is the central station of the Montreal Metro rapid transit system operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM). It is in the Quartier Latin in the borough of Ville-Marie, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada [ [http://www.stm.info/English/metro/a-m11.htm Berri-UQAM Station] ] . It was inaugurated on October 14, 1966, as part of the original network of the metro. It is the busiest station in the network, transfers not included. If transfers were included, the 12 million passengers number would rise to about 35-40 million a year.

Overview

Designed by Longpré and Marchand, the station serves three lines: the Green, Orange, and Yellow lines.

The main part of the station is a cruciform cut and cover volume built underneath the intersection of rue Berri and boul. de Maisonneuve; the volume is so large that the station's design had to include massive pillars to support the street.

This central volume contains three levels. The upper level contains the rectangular mezzanine at its centre, with fare barriers on all four sides; the arms extend out to the station's entrances, with two more entrances at the crossing, and are also lined with shops and services.

Staircases lead from the mezzanine to the landings on either side of the orange line. These landings provide views of the great volumes over the green line platforms below.

From the Green Line level, escalators and hallways connect the rest of the station to the Yellow Line terminus, built in tunnel a block away under rue Saint-Denis. Due to limited space in the tail tracks, trains reverse both in the tail tracks and in the foretracks leaving the station.

All three lines have side platforms.

Architecture and art

The station has a total of four independent exits: three integrated into buildings (the Berri, Saint-Denis, and Place Dupuis exits) and one free-standing kiosk (the Sainte-Catherine exit). The station also contains several underground city connections, listed below.

The work of five artists is exhibited in this station. The largest work is a stained-glass mural by Pierre Gaboriau and Pierre Osterrath entitled "Hommage aux fondateurs de la ville de Montréal" (homage to the founders of the city of Montreal). A gift of the Union régionale de Montréal des caisses populaires Desjardins and installed in 1969, it depicts Jérôme le Royer de la Dauversière, Jeanne Mance, and Paul Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve. It is located over the eastern portal of the Green Line tunnel.

Three paintings by Robert LaPalme are located over the main staircase leading to the Yellow Line terminus. Originally located at the entrance to Expo 67, they represent three themes of the Expo: science, recreation, and culture.

A plaque by LaPalme and Georges Lauda, commemorating the inauguration of the metro, is located at the centre of the mezzanine. It is enclosed in a black circular bench, a popular meeting site, referred to as "la rondelle" (the hockey puck) or "la pilule" (the pill) or "le banc des fous" (the crazy bench).

The most recent work is located in the new Sainte-Catherine entrance pavilion, by architect Gaétan Pelletier. The work is a statue of Mother Émilie Gamelin by Raoul Hunter, commemorating Place Émilie-Gamelin (also called Berri Square) in which the entrance is located. The statue is owned by the City of Montreal.

History

The Berri-UQAM station was the site of the Metro's inauguration on October 14, 1966.

On September 2, 2001, a canister of tear gas was set off inside Berri-UQAM, forcing the evacuation of the 300 passengers inside.

Origin of the name

Berri-UQAM is named for both Rue Berri, so called since 1663 and named for landholder Simon Després dit Berry, and the Université du Québec à Montréal. (The University has taken to using UQAM as its abbreviation which it displays as UQÀM (with a grave accent over the a) as its logo; the metro station retains the UQAM form.)

The station was originally named Berri-de Montigny; rue de Montigny is the former name of boul. de Maisonneuve in this area. The station is still, very occasionally, called this in speech; it is more often referred to as simply Berri.

A small stub of de Montigny street still survives, between St-Laurent and St-Urbain [ [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Rue+de+Montigny,+Montr%C3%A9al,+QC,+Canada&ie=UTF8&z=17&ll=45.510166,-73.565655&spn=0.005413,0.012177&om=1&iwloc=addr Google map] ] .

Connecting bus routes

Regular STM routes

TM night routes

Inter city buses

See Station centrale d'autobus de Montréal

Nearby points of interest

=Connected via the underground city =

*Université du Québec à Montréal
*Station centrale d'autobus de Montréal
*Place Dupuis - Hôtel des Gouverneurs
*Grande Bibliothèque

Other

*Quartier Latin
*Cégep du Vieux Montréal
*Hôpital Saint-Luc du CHUM
*Cinémathèque québécoise
*National Film Board of Canada
*Place Émilie-Gamelin ("Berri Square")
*Théâtre Saint-Denis
*Cinéma du Quartier-Latin
*Service Canada

References

External links

* [http://www.stm.info/English/metro/a-m11.htm Société de transport de Montréal] - official web page of the station
* [http://mtlmap.com/index.php?mapcategory=metro&locationid=11 Berri-UQAM metro station geo location]
* [http://www.metrodemontreal.com/orange/berri/ Montreal by Metro, metrodemontreal.com] - photos, information, and trivia
* [http://www.stm.info/English/info/reseau2008.pdf 2008 STM System Map]
* [http://www.stm.info/English/info/centre-ville2008.pdf 2008 Downtown System Map]
* [http://www.stm.info/English/metro/a-mapmet.htm Metro Map]