1980: The Start of Operations for a Metro Station in Montreal’s Little Burgundy Neighborhood

April 28, 1980

In the Canadian province of Quebec, Georges-Vanier station in southwest Montreal’s Little Burgundy neighborhood first went into service. This station was one of three built on the Orange Line of the Montreal Metro to be opened on the same day.

Georges-Vanier station was named after a boulevard in that part of Montreal. That boulevard, in turn, had been named in honor of a Montreal native who gained widespread prominence as a military officer, diplomat, and statesman. Georges-Vanier (1888-1967) served as Canada’s 19^th governor general from 1959 until his death. He was the first person from Quebec and only the second Canadian-born person to serve in that position.

The station bearing his name was designed by architect Pierre-W. Major. One of this structure’s key features is a tree-like figure, specifically a large concrete pillar fitted with illuminated branches. This work, which is titled “Un arbre dans le parc,” was created by Michel Dernuet.

Photo Credit: Alexcaban (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Alexcaban) at English Wikipedia – licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license at  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

For more information on Georges-Vanier station, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges-Vanier_station