Place des Montréalaises

Place des Montréalaises is a living corrective. Built over the scar of an expressway, this inclined urban meadow reconnects Old Montreal with the downtown core—visually, physically, and symbolically. Each of its 21 garden plots honours a different woman who shaped this city, from Jeanne Mance to the 14 victims of the École Polytechnique massacre, blooming in sequence across the seasons. Their names are etched into the steps and reflected in Angela Silver’s mirrored sculpture, a column that lets passersby see themselves inside the memorial. The project—part public artwork, part civic infrastructure—emerged from a rare, years-long transdisciplinary collaboration between Lemay, Silver, and AtkinsRéalis. It doesn’t just commemorate; it reframes who gets remembered, and how. With stained glass from Marcelle Ferron and quotes from Afua Cooper anchoring the site, Place des Montréalaises invites Montrealers to sit, move, gather—and see the city through a different lens.