PARC

Architects

Blouin, Blouin & Associés; Paul Faucher¹
Gare Jean-Talon (1931): Colin M. Drewitt

Artists

Start of service

June 15, 1987
Commuter train station: May 12, 1997

Art & Architecture

The main volume of Parc metro station. On either end are the portions of the trainroom built in tunnel. Overhead, arches supporting the roof are highlighted by light fixtures. To the right is the parapet of the ticket hall mezzanine, with its porthole-like openings. The platform walls and side walls of the volume are clad in Huguette Desjardins' multicoloured frieze, interrupted by white doors and fittings.

The underground portion of this eclectic station is of an innovative postmodern design. The most noticeable decorative feature is the brightly coloured triangle-ridged frieze across the whole length of the platforms and up into the mezzanine and the stairwell to the ground floor. High walls beside the staircases to the platforms connect the frieze on the platform level to the mezzanine. On the platforms, the coloured mural is set off by the plain white benches and service area doors and by the pale grey ceramic floor tiles.

The stairwell leading from the Snowdon platform up to the mezzanine. The wall above the stairs is decorated with Huguette Desjardins' multicoloured frieze.

Looking west from the main volume towards the parapet of the ticket hall mezzanine and the platforms below.

Stepped arches on the tympanum wall above the trainroom vault on the east side of the main volume.

Looking east from the western part of the trainroom built in tunnel. At left, an overlook on the west side of the mezzanine admits light from the light shaft above.

The western part of the trainroom, looking west from the Snowdon platform under the mezzanine. Shallow concrete arches support the mezzanine.

A white platform bench with granite surrounds, amid Huguette Desjardins' frieze.

Huguette Desjardins' mural friezes reach the platform end walls, which are set diagonally.

Looking down the stairs from the mezzanine to the Saint-Michel platform. Huguette Desjardins' mural frieze lines the wall at right.

The various sides of the frieze ridges are decorated in different colours and patterns of swirling lines rendered in enamelled steel, in such a way that a passenger passing on foot or by train sees a continually shifting field of colour and scheme—a technique called tabula scalata or triscenorama. The frieze is by Huguette Desjardins.

A portion of Huguette Desjardins' mural frieze on the platform, showing the tabula scalata effect. Seen from the left, the frieze appears blue.

The same portion of Huguette Desjardins' mural frieze on the platform, showing the tabula scalata effect. Seen from the front, the frieze appears yellow-orange and lime green, with white swirling lines.

The same portion of Huguette Desjardins' mural frieze on the platform, showing the tabula scalata effect. Seen from the right, the frieze appears red and purple.

The broad mezzanine sits under an arcade of wide-spanning arches set with fluorescent lights, forming three domes that make up the roof of the main volume; the tunneled trainroom projects from either end of the volume. Both ends of the mezzanine overlook the platforms, with concrete parapets pierced with large circular “portholes.”

The ceiling above the ticket hall, with multiple transverse arched beams and two lines of longitudinal ones ending at large pillars, forming a series of three domed vaults over the main volume. Each arch is emphasized by rows of fluorescent lights. The stairwell to the exit is at the rear at centre-left.

Panorama of the ticket hall. The stairs to the exit are behind the viewer. At right is the gateline and ticket booth, leading to the stairs to the platforms and the parapet at the eastern edge of the mezzanine.

The parapet at the western edge of the mezzanine, overlooking the platforms. The light shaft is overhead, above the foot of the stairs to the exit.

Looking toward the ticket hall from the landing at the foot of the stairwell down from the entrance. The parapet at its western edge is at centre, overlooking the platforms; the gateline is at centre-right.

View facing the gateline in the ticket hall; behind it is the arched concrete parapet overlooking the platforms, pierced with porthole-like openings.

One of the unique porthole-like openings in the concrete parapets at either end of the ticket hall mezzanine.

At the foot of the stairs to the exit, a skylight washes the mezzanine with sunlight. Inside the light shaft, a brightly coloured acrylic sculpture is infinitely reflected on the mirrored walls. This beautiful work by Claire Sarrasin is entitled Métamorphose d’Icare (“metamorphosis of Icarus”), a reference to Ancient Greek mythology in homage to the surrounding area’s Greek community; the placement of the work represents the ascension of Icarus from the “labyrinth” of the metro to the sunlight above.²

The landing at the foot of the stairwell to the exit. Overhead is the mouth of the triangular light shaft, lined with mirrors.

The triangular light shaft above the foot of the stairwell to the exit. Claire Sarrasin's work Métamorphose d'Icare, actually located at the top of the image, is seen near the bottom reflected on the mirrored lining of the shaft.

Claire Sarrasin's acrylic sculpture Métamorphose d'Icare in the light shaft, reflected on its mirrored walls. The semicircular work incorporates brilliant rainbow colours.

Looking up the stairwell from the ticket hall to street level. The stairwell walls are lined with Huguette Desjardins' mural frieze.

After the resolutely postmodern underground portion of the station, the passenger is surprised to emerge from the escalators to find a splendid old Beaux Arts train station. In fact, the entrance occupies the west wing of the historic Jean-Talon or Park Avenue train station, built in 1931 by the Canadian Pacific Railway. The access occupies what was once the station’s waiting room, with the stairwell and the vestibule of the north entrance occupying the smoking room and men’s washroom, respectively.³

The interior of the station entrance, built into the former waiting room of the historic Jean-Talon train station, looking northwest. The entrances are on the left (Rue Hutchison) and right (Avenue Ogilvy). The Art Deco-style room is clad in pale beige travertine, with the original ceiling with decorative reliefs and terrazzo floors. Restored copper and glass Art Deco lamps hang from the ceiling. A group of benches similar to those on the platform stand at the centre of the room.

The interior of the entrance, looking northeast. The stairwell down to the ticket hall is at left.

Exterior of the historic Jean-Talon train station building, with the entrances to Parc metro station on the north (left) and west (right) sides marked by concrete pergolas. The green triangular structure at left houses the light shaft.

Exterior of the station seen from across the street. The station entrance is contained in the low wing on the west side of the train station (right).

The main façade of the historic Jean-Talon train station, seen from the south (Place de la Gare-Jean-Talon). Classical elements such as the building's symmetry and its colonnade mark it as belonging to the Beaux-Arts architectural style, complementing the art deco style of the interior. The metro station entrance is in the wing on the left side of the building, with doors on the side and rear, not visible here.

The western façade of the Jean-Talon train station, with doors to the metro under the original awning, on either side of the modern concrete pergola.

An original awning shelters the metro entrances on the west façade of the historic train station.

Oblique view of the west side of the train station, with entrances to the metro and the concrete pergola (right) connecting them to the sidewalk.

While the main elements of the station show the neoclassicism typical of the Beaux Arts style, such as the exterior colonnade, the coffered ceiling, and the travertine walls, many of the carefully restored decorative elements derive from the Art Deco movement,³ including the copper and glass lamps, decorative friezes and medallions, metal grilles, and patterned terrazzo floors. A handsome black marble drinking fountain with a graceful bronze fish sculpture remains in situ on the east wall.

Detail of the decorative reliefs on the west façade of Jean-Talon train station, over the metro entrance. Here, a relief featuring imaginary animals highlights one of the brackets that hold up the awning over the entrance.

Detail of the decorative reliefs on the west façade of Jean-Talon train station, over the metro entrances. The surfaces are punctuated by medallions; on the upper level, a bust of an Indigenous man wearing a headdress forms the keystone of a window arch.

An example of the decorative moulding in the ceiling of the metro entrance.

One of the handsome original Art Deco-style glass and copper lamps in the metro entrance.

A brass grille on the south wall of the metro entrance, with Art Deco-style decorative patterns.

A former drinking fountain of black granite, decorated with a graceful bronze sculpture of a fish, stands in its original location on the eastern wall of the metro entrance.

Detail of the fish sculpture on the drinking fountain.

The metro station access opens to the north and west. Outside, concrete pergolas were constructed between the station entrances and the sidewalks. In the northwestern part of the site, a sunken area with a semicircular bench and a planter faces an air shaft and the prominent triangular head of the skylight.

The concrete pergola leading to the north door of the metro station, seen from head on.

The concrete pergola leading to the north door of the metro station, seen from an angle.

The concrete pergola leading to the north door of the metro station, seen from underneath it and showing its transparent roof.

A circular area in front of the station's north façade houses the triangular lantern of the station's light shaft, along with a planter and seating.

The commuter train station, opened in 1997, has no connection with the historic train station; it consists of a pair of nondescript side platforms connected by a level crossing, located at the end of Avenue Ogilvy. Transfer to the metro, the only metro-commuter train connection on the blue line (indeed the only one not on the orange line), is via about a hundred-metre walk along the sidewalk. After prolonged wrangling, a fence on the east side of the station was removed in December 2021, allowing pedestrians to access the area east of the rail line by crossing through the train station, avoiding a lengthy detour.⁴

Parc commuter train station, looking north from the pedestrian crossing towards the platforms. The metro station and historic train station are in the background at left.

Panorama of Parc commuter train station seen from the pedestrian crossing, facing the shelters on the outbound platform (left).

Panorama of Parc commuter train station from further along the outbound platform. The inbound platform features newer but smaller glass shelters (centre).

One of the shelters on the outbound platform of the commuter train station.

The sign indicating Parc commuter train station.

Matt’s Rating

Accessibility

This station is not currently wheelchair-accessible. In the STM’s 2020-2029 capital expenditures program, this station was targeted for the installation of elevators by 2027, and the STM’s 2022 accessibility report indicated that planning for elevators was underway. However, it no longer appears in the 2023-2032 program, the construction of new elevators has stalled due to budget cuts by the provincial government,⁵ and no construction work has yet been announced.

History & Trivia

Traffic

2,232,984 entrances in 2023 (metro only)
44th busiest station

Platform Depth

15.1 m deep
37th deepest station

Interstation Distances

To Acadie: 727.60 metres
To De Castelnau: 490.60 metres

Origin of the Name

Avenue du Parc. This major street is so called as it runs past the Parc du Mont-Royal between Avenue des Pins and Avenue du Mont-Royal. (See also Mont-Royal.) The street was built in 1876 to provide access to the park and to the cemeteries in the northwest. Previously known as Upper Bleury Street, following several petitions it was renamed Park Avenue in 1883.⁶ The French form Avenue du Parc was made official in 1961.

The metro station is located at the northern end of the avenue, which had been extended here in the early 20th century. This gave the surrounding area the name Parc-Extension. The area was annexed to the city of Montreal in 1910.

Name during the planning stage: Avenue du Parc;⁷ Du Parc.¹

Commuter train station formerly called: Gare Jean-Talon (until 2000). The name was changed to match that of the metro station and to avoid confusion with Jean-Talon metro station.

Avenue du Parc, near Parc du Mont-Royal

1976 BTM map of planned extensions showing the station’s name as “Avenue du Parc”
(Source⁸)

1982 CTCUM map showing the planned station under the name “du Parc”
(Source⁹)

Trivia

The station’s entrance occupies part of the Canadian Pacific Railway’s former Jean-Talon or Park Avenue train station. Built in 1931 to replace Mile End station, the station served trains to Ottawa, Quebec City, and the Laurentians along the line terminating at Viger Station downtown, offering access to these interurban trains in the north of the city. Its architecture, rather imposing for a suburban train station, was meant to project a confident image in spite of the Great Depression, and offered an impressive perspective capping off the end of Avenue du Parc. The station building was connected by a tunnel to the platforms along the railway tracks some distance away. Prophetically, when it was first built, some anticipated it would one day serve as the terminus of a metro or underground streetcar line, running under Avenue du Parc.
Following the closure of Viger station in 1951, Jean-Talon station’s importance sharply declined in the 1950s, and it finally closed in 1984 when the last passenger services were transferred to the lines serving Central Station. It was purchased by the city shortly after, and its west wing was ceded to the MUC for the construction of the metro station. Various public uses were planned for the rest of the station, such as a Maison de la culture, but it remained empty for many years before being sold to private interests in 1996.³^,⁶^,¹⁰
Although a number of other stations were also built with entrances integrated into existing buildings (Berri-UQAM, McGill, Côte-des-Neiges, De Castelnau), this is the only case in Montreal of a disused historic building being (partially) recycled as a metro entrance. A similar case is Spadina station in Toronto, where a historic house was converted for use as a metro entrance to avoid demolishing it. Compare also the air shaft near Guy-Concordia metro that was concealed behind the façade of a historic house, again instead of demolishing it.

Gare Jean-Talon under construction, April 24, 1931
(Source¹¹)

Gare Jean-Talon under construction, 1931
(Source¹²)

The main (south) façade of Gare Jean-Talon soon after its construction
(Source¹³)

The central concourse of Gare Jean-Talon, 1931
(Source¹²)

The waiting room of Gare Jean-Talon, today the entrance to the metro station, seen in 1931. The open doorways in the back of the room, closed off today, lead to the central concourse. Note the ceiling lamps and the drinking fountain in the rear, which are still in situ.
(Source¹²)

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth arrive at Gare Jean-Talon during their visit to Montreal, May 18, 1939
(Source¹⁴)

Although the commuter train station only came into service ten years after the metro station did, using the adjacent rail line for some sort of public transit was already being considered when the metro station was being designed. Accordingly, its plans allowed the construction of a second entrance on the north side of the ticket hall, for a direct connection (either within or outside the fare-paid zone) to a future station on the rail line.¹
This station received an honourable mention from the Ordre des Architectes du Québec.
This station served as the terminus of the blue line for about six months, between its opening and the line’s extension to Snowdon.
Jean-Talon (now Parc) commuter train station served as the terminus of the Montreal-Blainville commuter train line from 1997 to 1999. It began as a temporary service to compensate for the closure of Pont Marius-Dufresne between Laval and Rosemère, but it proved so popular that it became permanent. In 1999, due to problems with the shuttle buses connecting the station with downtown (Trainbus 935), service was extended to the downtown Terminus Windsor (now Gare Lucien-L’Allier), and this station became an intermediate stop. However, certain inbound weekday trains still terminate here. The line was extended to Saint-Jérôme in 2007.
In 2014, the Kevric real estate company proposed converting the building at 280 Rue Gary-Carter, adjacent to the commuter train line, into an indoor train station building, with services, washrooms, a café, and a waiting room.¹⁵ However, nothing came of the project.

Architectural maquette of the ticket hall and platforms
(Source¹)

The station's inauguration. At centre (left to right): STCUM president Louise Roy; MUC chairman Michel Hamelin; city councillor André Berthelet; and Claire Sarrasin, sculptor of Métamorphose d'Icare.

The metro station’s inauguration. At centre (left to right): STCUM president Louise Roy; MUC chairman Michel Hamelin; city councillor André Berthelet; and Claire Sarrasin, sculptor of Métamorphose d’Icare.
(Source¹⁶)

Scenes from Sébastien Rose’s film Life With My Father (La vie avec mon père) (2005) were filmed in this station.

Raymond Bouchard and Anka Rouleau in La vie avec mon père (2005)

Raymond Bouchard and Anka Rouleau in Life With My Father (2005)
(Source¹⁷)

General Information

Platform diagram

Most convenient metro cars to use when travelling to this station

Station surroundings

Station address

Borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension
Metro station:
7245 Rue Hutchison, at Avenue Ogilvy

Commuter train station:
300 Avenue Ogilvy, east of Rue Hutchison

OpenStreetMap link
Google Maps link

STM neighbourhood map (PDF)

Nearby attractions

Official website

Service information, opening hours, frequency, bus routes

Most recent update: September 22, 2026

References

Blouin, Blouin et associés, architectes. Station du Parc (presentation document for the Bureau de transport métropolitain). August 8, 1983. Archives de la Ville de Montréal, dossier CA M001 XCD001-D19, item 1D-06-01-32F. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
Info-STM. (2003, February 4.) “Les artistes du métro de Montréal: Claire Sarrasin.” Métro, p. 7. ↩
Delli-Colli, Vittoria. (2009). Les grandes gares ferroviaires du Québec 1888-1945. Master’s thesis, Université Laval. ↩ ↩ ↩
Brunet-Kirk, Matias. (2021, December 17). “Passage à niveau Ogilvy/De Castelnau: Le passage tant attendu finalement ouvert.” Nouvelles Parc-Extension News. ↩
Ouellette-Vézina, Henri. (2025, April 16). “Faute de financement: L’installation d’ascenseurs encore à l’arrêt dans le métro.” La Presse. ↩
Desjardins, Yvon. (2023). L’avenue du Parc et son histoire: témoin privilégié de la diversité montréalaise. Montreal: Éditions du Septentrion. ↩ ↩
Gaston, J. (1976.) Le métro de Montréal. Montreal: Bureau de transport métropolitain. ↩
Image source: Gaston (1976), op.cit. ↩
Image source: CTCUM (1982, January). Plan du réseau C.T.C.U.M. [Map.] Montreal: author. Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, 0006815348. ↩
Leduc, Michael. (1996.) Montreal Island railway stations: CP & constituent companies. Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC: author. ↩
Collection: McCord Stewart Museum, no. MP-0000.2094.5. ↩
Source: La Presse, 1931. Fonds La Presse, BANQ, P833,S3,D418. ↩ ↩ ↩
Source: Canadian Pacific Railway Co., c. 1931. Fonds L’Action catholique, BANQ, P428,S3,SS1,D10,P27. ↩
Source: Associated Screen News, May 18, 1939. Fonds Ésioff-Léon Patenaude, BANQ, P16,S4,D15. ↩
“Kevric propose un projet de gare intérieure à la station Parc.” (2014, January 22). Portail Constructo. ↩
Photograph by Jean-Yves Létourneau, La Presse, June 10, 1987. Fonds La Presse. Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, P833,S4,D41, no. 12. ↩