Square-Victoria (Montreal Metro)

Infobox Montreal Metro
station= Square-Victoria


inaugurated=6 February, 1967
line=Orange Line
architect= Irving Sager
depth=16.2 metres
depth-rank= 31st deepest
traffic= 4,133,844 entrances in 2002
traffic-rank= 18th busiest
distances=392.60 metres to Bonaventure
356.60 metres to Place-d'Armes
addresses= 605, Belmont Street
601, Viger Avenue
601, Saint Antoine Street W (within Victoria Square)
605, Saint Jacques Street W (within Victoria Square)
??? Beaver Hall Hill (ICAO Building)
intersections= Belmont Street / Beaver Hall Hill
Viger Avenue / Beaver Hall Hill
Saint Antoine Street W / Square-Victoria Street [ [http://www.stm.info/English/metro/Square-Victoria.pdf Square-Victoria Station Neighbourhood Map] ] |

Square-Victoria is a station on the Orange Line of the Montreal Metro rapid transit system, operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM). It is located in Victoria Square near the Quartier international de Montréal district, in the borough of Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec, Canada [ [http://www.stm.info/English/metro/a-m14.htm Square-Victoria Metro Station] ] .

It was inaugurated on February 6, 1967, four months after most of the initial network, and was briefly the terminus of the orange line until Bonaventure station was opened a week later.

The metro station is a normal side-platform station; its central mezzanine is connected to a very long tunnel running along Beaver Hall Hill and under Victoria Square, giving access to its various exits.

Each of the station's exits is connected to another building or buildings via the underground city. The Belmont exit is connected to and located in the 1080 Beaver Hall Hill building; the Viger exit is likewise connected to and located in the Bell Tower/National Bank complex. The Saint Antoine exit is a link in the main part of the underground city, linking the ICAO building with the Centre CDP Capital, while the rotunda at the south end of the tunnel, leading to the Saint Jacques exit, links the Tour de la Bourse with the Centre de commerce mondiale.

The station was designed by Irving Sager. Two steel murals by Robert Savoie, entitled "Kawari Kabuto", grace the walls of the great volume over the tunnel vaults; a mural in the pedestrian tunnel, by Jean-Paul Mousseau, has been temporarily removed. The southern rotunda contains a multimedia installation entitled "Ars Natura", promoting Montreal's science museums.

The most famous artwork, however, is one of Hector Guimard's art nouveau entrance porticos from the Paris Métro. One of the few authentic installations on a metro station outside Paris, it was given in 1967 by the RATP (Régie autonome des transports parisiens) to commemorate the collaboration of French and Canadian engineers in building the metro. It is located within Victoria Square on the Saint Antoine entrance, one of only four open-air entrances on the network (the others are located at Place-Saint-Henri and Bonaventure stations). It was recently removed, completely restored, and reinstalled.

Origin of the name

This station is named for Victoria Square, which has existed since 1813; it was renamed for Queen Victoria on the occasion of the visit of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) to Montreal in 1860.

Connecting bus routes

Regular STM routes

TM night routes

Nearby points of interest

=Connected via the underground city =

*International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
*Tour Bell
*Tour Banque Nationale
*1080 Beaver Hall Hill
*Place de la Cité internationale - Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec
*Centre de commerce mondial de Montréal (Edifice Canada Steamship Lines, Hôtel Inter-Continental)
*Tour de la Bourse (Bourse de Montréal, Place Victoria, Hôtel Delta Centre-Ville)
*Bonaventure metro station and points west
*Place-d'Armes metro station and points east

Other

*Quartier international de Montréal
*Saint Patrick's Basilica
*Victoria Square
*Place Félix-Martin - American Consulate-General
*Le Curateur public du Québec
*TD Canada Trust Building
*Royal Bank Building

References

External links

* [http://www.stm.info/English/metro/a-m14.htm Square-Victoria Station - official site]
* [http://www.metrodemontreal.com/orange/squarevictoria/ 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]