Jarry station - Large image

Ligne 2 orange JARRY

Ligne 2 orange  Côte-Vertu

Left arrow Jean-Talon

Architect

Architect

Roy E. LeMoyne1, 2 (Bland, LeMoyne, Edwards)3

Artist

Artist

Labrona

Start of service

Start of service

October 14, 1966

Ligne 2 orange  Mont­morency

Crémazie Right arrow

Art & Architecture

Panorama of the trainroom seen from the Côte-Vertu platform. The trainroom is built in tunnel; the transept providing access is at far left, at the north end of the platform. The platform walls are clad in small circular grey ceramic tiles; the floors are in brown ceramic.

This is a very plain station, built in tunnel with an access at the north end. The platform walls are clad in small, grey ceramic disks (not unlike the former wall tiling at Berri-UQAM); the floors are done in brown tiles, which, unusually, vary between a grid pattern and a running bond pattern. Another minor but unusual feature is the lowered seating, with the nameplate strips being significantly lowered into the seat bays.

Close-up of the wall and floor finishes: small grey circular ceramic tiles on the walls, brown tiling on the floor. One of the platform seating niches. Unusually, the benches are off-centre in the niches, and the nameplate strips are lowered into them.

The most interesting part of the station is its transept, at the northern end of the station, which also incorporates the ticket hall. Its vaulted ceiling is composed of attractive diamond-shaped coffers, illuminated with fluorescent tubes. Unfortunately, the pattern depends on uniformity for its effect, so any burned-out tubes that go unreplaced tend to stand out sharply and give it an unkempt appearance. The crossover has an unusual curved shape with slanted balustrades.

View of the transept and crossover from the platform level. The crossover is flanked by two staircases to each platform. Overhead is the vaulted ceiling with its diamond-shaped coffers. The transept bridge seen from its far end, over the Côte-Vertu platform, and looking toward the ticket hall. The station's signature transept vault with its diamond-shaped coffers is overhead. The crossover bulges outward in the centre, creating an unusual optical effect.
The nearer end of the crossover, looking toward the ticket hall that occupies the east end of the transept vault. The ceiling with its diamond coffers is overhead. The diamond-shaped coffers of the transept vault enclose fluorescent lamps.

The white tiled floor of the crossover and ticket hall is interrupted by large circles filled with coloured stripes, reminiscent of those at Peel. Similar circles can also be found at platform level, at the feet of the crossover.

The platforms underneath the crossover. The foot of the crossover on either side is surrounded by a tiled circle in green, blue, turquoise, and black amid the surrounding white floor tiles. The ticket hall is located at the east end of the transept vault. A large tiled circle in green, blue, turquoise, and black marks the beginning of the crossover, and another circle in yellow, orange, mauve, and black emphasizes the gateline. The station's ticket hall, seen from the escalators leading down to it. The ticket hall makes a 90-degree turn to the left from the foot of the escalators. A diagonal screen wall in grey bricks concealing service areas truncates the corner of the 90-degree turn, and houses a niche for the ticket machines. The gateline, the ticket machines, and the foot of the escalators are marked with tiled circles or semicircles in yellow, orange, mauve, and black, amid the white floor tiles.

The entrance hall is integrated into the ground floor of a social housing tower. The entrance to the escalator well down to the station is at the centre, exiting onto a large open area at the rear of the hall. Aisles on either side of the well lead to the front entrances (toward Rue Jarry) on each side of the façade, with a broad picture window and bus waiting area between them. Side corridors lead to the entrances on either side of the building, on Rue Berri and Rue Lajeunesse.

The rectangular concrete arches supporting the ceiling are painted bright yellow, as are the balustrades around the escalator well, contributing another splash of colour. The walls are off-white brick, and there are off-white false ceilings with fluorescent tubes over the stairwell and aisles. The floor is in light brown ceramic. The natural light and the colours provide a spacious effect.

The escalator well down to the ticket hall. The ceiling above consists of a succession of arches. At the foot of the escalators is a colourful tiled circle. The entrance hall, located in the ground floor of a social housing tower. Broad windows on the front of the hall, light colours on the walls, ceiling, and floor, and bright yellow accents provide a spacious feeling.
The social housing tower in whose ground floor the station entrance is located. A concrete colonnade stands in front of the building, offering shelter to bus passengers. Large, brightly-coloured letters saying 'Jarry' are perched atop the colonnade, part of a commercial promotion for Rue Jarry. One of the secondary entrances on the side of the social housing tower, opening onto Rue Berri.
Finally, a needed touch of art was provided in 2013-2014 by the graffiti artist Labrona, part of the MU collective of mural artists, who decorated the concrete colonnade in front of the station with a lively wrap-around mural entitled Rencontre au sommet. The ceiling and pillars of this once-grim construction are now home to brilliantly coloured human figures, birds, and plants.
The concrete colonnade sheltering the area in front of the station entrance. The inner surfaces of the columns and roof are decorated in brightly coloured murals by Labrona, a work entitled Rencontre au sommet. Detail of Rencontre au sommet by Labrona, on the columns of the concrete shelter in front of the station entrance. Detail of Rencontre au sommet by Labrona, on the ceiling of the concrete shelter in front of the station entrance.

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. However, it no longer appears in the 2023-2032 program, and no construction work has yet been announced.

According to the Plan de développement d’accessibilité universelle de la STM 2012-2015 (p. 40), the predicted complexity of adding elevators at this station was rated as high (estimated cost over $18 million).

History & Trivia

Traffic

Ridership

2,789,067 entrances in 2025

32nd busiest station

Platform depth

Interstation distances

Interstation Distances

To Jean-Talon: 977.10 metres
To Crémazie: 825.60 metres

Origin of the Name

Rue Jarry. This street is named for Bernard Bleignier dit Jarry (1679-1736), a French colonist and soldier who received a concession on April 5, 1700 in what would later become the village of Saint-Laurent.4

The first part of this street was built in 1907 between Rue Boyer and today’s Rue des Belges,5 through land which had belonged to Stanislas Jarry père (1844-1901), the great-great-great-grandson of Bernard Jarry.6 In 1907, his son Stanislas Jarry fils (1876-1936) was mayor of the parish municipality of Saint-Laurent,7 which the roadway straddled.

Although Rue Jarry leads to Parc Jarry, the park is actually not named for the same Jarry, but for Raoul Jarry (1885-1930), another son of Stanislas Jarry père. He was a Montreal city councillor for Villeray who played a role in the park’s creation.8

1879 map of lands owned by the Bleignier and Jarry families.

1879 map of lands owned by the Bleignier dit Jarry family
(Source9)

Stanislas Jarry fils, mayor of the parish of Saint-Laurent

Stanislas Jarry fils, mayor of the parish of Saint-Laurent
(Source10)

Trivia

Mayor Jean Drapeau speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony for the initial network of the metro, at the future site of Jarry station, May 23, 1962. Blessing of the work site at the groundbreaking ceremony for the initial network of the metro, at the future site of Jarry station, May 23, 1962. Work officially begins at the groundbreaking ceremony for the initial network of the metro, at the future site of Jarry station, May 23, 1962.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the initial network of the metro, at the future site of Jarry station, May 23, 1962.
(Source12)

  • The never-completed program of works of art on historical subjects proposed by the metro’s first art director, Robert LaPalme, anticipated that this station would feature two mosaic maps by Mario Merola depicting Montreal at the end of the French regime and in the mid-19th century.13 Another source mentions two murals depicting the British conquest and Montreal’s first charter in 1833.14 Another project proposed to Merola was two murals depicting the French and British monarchs who had reigned over Canada, a subject also considered for Atwater and Rosemont. However, Merola turned down the commission when LaPalme refused to allow him to interpret the subject in an abstract style.15
  • This station was the epicentre of the metro’s busiest day ever, when two million people came to see the Pope in Parc Jarry on September 11, 1984.
    • Architectural sketch of the transept.

    Architectural sketch of the transept
    (Source16)

    Aerial view of the station's original headhouse.

    Aerial view of the station’s original headhouse
    (Source17)

    A sign directing passengers to the papal mass, September 11, 1984.

    A sign directing passengers to the papal mass, September 11, 1984
    (Source17)

    Commemorative plaque located in the ticket hall.

    Text of the commemorative plaque located in the ticket hall:

    National Historic Civil Engineering Site
    Montreal Metro

    A tribute to the civil engineers, architects, artists and constructors involved in the building of the Montreal Metro subway system, inaugurated on October 14, 1966. Built in only four years under the direction of Lucien L’Allier and Gérard Gascon of Le Bureau du Métro, this was one of the largest civil engineering undertakings in the country at that time. In North America, the metro is the only all-underground subway and the first to use pneumatic tires. It also achieved the first tunnel crossing under the St. Lawrence River, and features unique station designs that display local artists’ works.

    2019 – Canadian Society for Civil Engineering

    General Information

    Platform diagram

    Most convenient metro cars to use when travelling to this station

    Platform diagram - Jarry station

    Station surroundings

    Jarry - Station surroundings

    Station address

    Borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension
    504 Rue Jarry Est, at Rue Berri

    OpenStreetMap link
    Google Maps link

    STM neighbourhood map (PDF)

    Nearby attractions

    Official website

    Service information, opening hours, frequency, bus routes

    STM logo

    Most recent update: October 14, 2026

    References
    1. "Construction des stations de métro: Artistes et ingénieurs." (1963, May 29). Ville de Montréal. Source: Archives de la Ville de Montréal, CA M001 VM166-1-1-D5332, pp. 24-28. ↩
    2. Margraff, Yves. (1966, April 19). "À 50 milles à l'heure rue Berri (en sous-sol): le métro fait la démonstration de son indispensable efficacité." Le Devoir, p. 3. ↩
    3. McGill University. "Series 41.08 - Bland, Lemoyne, Edwards." McGill Archival Collections Catalogue. ↩
    4. Histoire de Saint-Laurent: Premiers colons. Ville de Montréal. ↩
    5. See Pinsonneault, A.R. (1907). Atlas of the island and city of Montreal and Ile Bizard: a compilation of the most recent cadastral plans from the book of reference. Montreal: Atlas Publishing Co. Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, G/1144/M65G475/P5/1907 DCA. Plate 45. The street also appears in Lovell’s Montreal Directory for the first time in 1907-08: see Lovell’s Montreal Directory for 1907-08 (1907), Montreal: John Lovell & Son, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, 0005993752, p. 535 (“Streets received too late for insertion in Alphabetical Order,” s.v. “Jarry”). ↩
    6. Généalogie Stanislas Jarry. Généalogie du Québec et d’Amérique française. ↩
    7. Histoire de Saint-Laurent: Les maires de la municipalité de paroisse de Saint-Laurent. Ville de Montréal. ↩
    8. Fiche descriptive : Parc Jarry. Commission de toponymie du Québec. ↩
    9. Image source: Hopkins, H.W. (1879). Atlas of the city and island of Montreal, including the counties of Jacques Cartier and Hochelaga from actual surveys, based upon the cadastral plans deposited in the office of the Department of Crown Lands. Quebec City: Provincial Surveying and Pub. Co. pp. 98-99. Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, 0000174244.  ↩
    10. Photo of Stanislas Jarry. Archives de la ville de Saint-Laurent, P749. Source: Ville de Montréal (archived on archive.org). ↩
    11. STM. “Le métro de Montréal devient un site historique national de génie civil.” (2019, June 13). [Press release.] ↩
    12. Source: Archives de la Ville de Montréal, VM94-M002-006, VM94-M002-010, and VM94-M003-007. Used under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 2.5 CA License. ↩
    13. Gagnon, Lysiane. (1967, March 25.) "On va décorer notre métro." La Presse, supplement 1, pp. 4-9. Source: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. ↩
    14. "Une fois décoré, le métro sera un livre d'images sur Montréal." (1968, February 25). Le Petit Journal, p. 7. Source: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. ↩
    15. Info-STM. (2002, December 12). “Les artistes du métro de Montréal: Mario Merola.” Métro, p. 9. ↩
    16. Image source: Architecture Bâtiment Construction, vol. 19, no. 214 (February 1964), p. 33. Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, 0004881656.  ↩
    17. © STM archives. ↩ ↩