View source for Saint Denis Street

{{Short description|Thoroughfare in Montreal, Canada}}
{{for|Rue Saint-Denis in Paris|Rue Saint-Denis (Paris)}}
{{onesource|date=January 2012}}

{{Infobox street
| name        = Saint Denis Street
| native_name = {{native name|fr|Rue Saint Denis}}
| marker_image = 
| image       = Rue Saint-Denis (quartier latin de Montréal) 2005-09-02.JPG
| caption     = Saint Denis Street in the [[Quartier Latin, Montreal|Quartier Latin]]
| former_names = Rue Albert, rue Fénélon, rue Berri
| part_of     = {{jct|province=QC|R|335}}<br>
| postal_code = 
| addresses   = 
| length_m    = 
| length_ft   = 
| length_mi   = 
| length_km   = 11
| length_ref  = 
| width       = 
| location    = [[Montreal]]
| client      = 
| maint       = 
| coordinates = 
| direction_a = South
| terminus_a  = [[Saint-Antoine Street]], [[Old Montreal]]
| direction_b = North
| terminus_b  = Rue Sommerville, [[Ahuntsic]]
| junction    = {{jct|province=QC|TCH|40}}<br>{{jct|province=QC|R|138}}<br>
| commissioning_date = 
| construction_start_date = 
| completion_date = 
| inauguration_date = 1818
| demolition_date = 
| north       = 
| south       = 
| east        = 
| west        = 
}}
'''Saint Denis Street''' (officially in {{langx|fr|'''Rue Saint-Denis'''}}) is a major north–south thoroughfare in [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]].

It extends from the [[Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel]] on [[Rue Saint-Paul (Montreal)|Saint Paul Street]] in [[Old Montreal]] to the bank of the [[Rivière des Prairies]] at the north end of the island. It is designated [[Quebec Route 335|Route 335]] from [[Sherbrooke Street]] to the [[Quebec Autoroute 40|Metropolitan Expressway]], and is known as Bonsecours Street south of [[Saint Antoine Street]]. Along its length, it passes through the [[Boroughs of Montreal|boroughs]] of [[Ville-Marie, Montreal|Ville-Marie]], [[Le Plateau-Mont-Royal]], [[Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie]], [[Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension]], and [[Ahuntsic-Cartierville]].

Saint-Denis serves as one of the primary thoroughfares of both the [[Quartier Latin (Montreal)|Latin Quarter]], where it plays host to a number of bars and restaurants, to the [[The Plateau|Plateau Mont-Royal]], where it is known as one of the best places to view Montreal's distinct style of architecture.  It becomes primarily a residential street north of the Metropolitan Expressway. [[Sauvé station|Sauvé train station]] is located on the street but not the metro station itself. The eastern portion of the [[Montreal Metro]]'s [[Line 2 Orange (Montreal Metro)|Orange Line]] runs parallel to the street, two blocks to the east except for [[Berri–UQAM station]] which has an entrance on the street. [[Rosemont station (Montreal Metro)|Rosemont station ]]is located on Saint Denis street but doesn’t have an entrance to the street.

It is named for [[Saint Denis of Paris]].

==Route description==
South of the [[Ville-Marie Expressway]], the street crosses [[Old Montreal]] and is named rue Bonsecours. North of the Ville-Marie Expressway, it becomes Saint Denis Street and crosses the [[Quartier Latin, Montreal|Quartier Latin]]. In the Quartier Latin, its vocation is primarily touristic and leisure-related, with restaurants and theatres located along this stretch. Near [[Saint Catherine Street]], it crosses the downtown [[Université du Québec à Montréal]] (UQAM) campus while a little further north, it borders the [[Cégep du Vieux Montréal]].

North of Sherbrooke Street, Saint Denis Street enters the borough of [[Le Plateau Mont-Royal]]. In the Plateau-Mont-Royal and [[Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie]] to the north, it is a commercial street lined with small stores. Parallel streets are mostly residential. To the west, [[Saint Laurent Boulevard]] also serves a commercial purpose.

In the boroughs of [[Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension]] and [[Ahuntsic-Cartierville]], Saint Denis Street is mainly residential. However, several businesses including green grocers and Vietnamese restaurants are located on the street. It is also one of the gateways to the [[Metropolitan Expressway]]. North of [[Crémazie Boulevard]], it is a one-way northbound street with little traffic since the northbound Highway 335 continues along the Lajeunesse Street and [[Berri Street]].

==History==
[[File:Université Laval à Montréal 1903.jpg|thumbnail|Université Laval à Montréal in 1903]]
Saint Denis Street opened in the early nineteenth century on land acquired by [[Louis-Joseph Papineau]] (1786−1871) and his aunt Perine Charles Cherrier, widow of [[Denis Viger]] (1741−1805).

Extended several times, Saint Denis Street developed gradually after the construction of [[Saint-Jacques Cathedral (Montreal)|Saint Jacques Cathedral]] in 1836, facing Place Pasteur. Subsequently, it reached [[Sherbrooke Street]] near the end of the 19th century. During the mid-nineteenth century, this tree-lined residential street was inhabited by several representatives of the [[French Canadian]] elite. Before the end of the century, it began to transform into a commercial street, ascending slowly northward.

In the early 20th century, the section of the Saint Denis Street between Dorchester Street (now [[René Lévesque Boulevard]]) and Sherbrooke Street became the centre of a francophone intellectual elite. Located in the area were the [[Université de Montréal|Université Laval à Montréal]] (current site of Le pavillon Hubert-Aquin de l’UQÀM), the [[École Polytechnique de Montréal]], the [[Saint-Sulpice Library]] and many bookstores. It was deserted by academics following the relocation of Université of Montreal and École Polytechnique on the northern slope of [[Mount Royal]]. From the late 1970s, the academic character of the neighbourhood returned with the construction of pavilions for the [[Université du Québec à Montréal]], around the steeple of the old Saint Jacques Cathedral.

== See also ==
* [[Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine#Family|Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine]] who lived on Saint Denis Street

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{inline|date=June 2024}}
*Christiane Abboud (dir.), Les rues de Montréal, Répertoire historique, Montréal, Éditions du Méridien, 1995, 23&nbsp;cm, 547 p. ({{ISBN|2-89415-139-X}}), p.&nbsp;423.

==External links==
* [http://www.rue-st-denis.ca/en/home.aspx Official site of Saint-Denis Street]

{{Streets in Montreal}}

{{coord|45.514059|N|73.56109|W|source:frwiki_region:CA|format=dms|display=title}}

[[Category:Streets in Montreal]]
[[Category:Quartier Latin, Montreal]]
[[Category:Le Plateau-Mont-Royal]]
[[Category:Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie]]
[[Category:Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension]]
[[Category:Ahuntsic-Cartierville]]
[[Category:Shopping districts and streets in Canada]]
[[Category:Restaurant districts and streets in Canada]]