Saint Lawrence Boulevard

Saint Lawrence Boulevard or Saint Laurent Boulevard (officially boulevard Saint-Laurent, in French) is a major commercial artery that runs north-south through the near-centre of Montreal, Quebec.

Related Topics:
Montreal - Quebec

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Beginning at De la Commune Street at the edge of the Saint Lawrence River, it crosses the whole island through the boroughs of Ville-Marie, Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Rosemont?La Petite-Patrie, Villeray?Saint-Michel?Parc-Extension, and Ahuntsic-Cartierville to Gouin Boulevard at the edge of Rivière des Prairies.

Related Topics:
Saint Lawrence River - Boroughs - Ville-Marie - Le Plateau-Mont-Royal - Rosemont?La Petite-Patrie - Villeray?Saint-Michel?Parc-Extension - Ahuntsic-Cartierville - Rivière des Prairies

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The Main, as it is affectionately called by many Montrealers, serves as the city's physical division of east and west. Street numbers begin at Saint Lawrence and continue outward, with street names being suffixed by Ouest (west) or Est (East), depending on their orientation.

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This physical "divide" also created a linguistic one; Saint Lawrence was, for generations, the symbolic dividing line between the English and immigrant communities to the west and the francophone community to the east. This distinction is not as strong; people of all linguistic groups now inhabit both sides of the island.

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The southern section of the street in downtown Montreal and the Plateau is lined with trendy shops and restaurants, and is the site of many street-fairs and festivals. It runs through many of Montreal's older ethnic communities, including Italian, Greek, Portuguese, Jewish, and Polish. What were once run-down factories have been turned into expensive lofts. Saint Lawrence Boulevard is representative of Montreal's shift out of the economic decline in the 1980's and 90's (since the first referendum) into a new gear. The corner of Saint Lawrence and Saint Catherine streets is still known as a red-light district.

Related Topics:
The Plateau - Referendum - Saint Catherine - Red-light district

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Today, Saint Lawrence is home to Montreal's Chinatown (between Viger Street and René Lévesque Boulevard), a bar district (roughly between Sherbrooke and Duluth streets), and Little Italy (between Saint Zotique and Jean-Talon streets).

Related Topics:
Montreal's Chinatown - René Lévesque Boulevard - Little Italy

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Many well known music venues can be found on The Main, including Casa del Popolo, Sala Rosa, Club Soda, Barfly and Le Cabaret Music-hall, in the building also housing the Just for Laughs Museum.

Related Topics:
Casa del Popolo - Sala Rosa - Club Soda - Barfly - Le Cabaret Music-hall - Just for Laughs Museum

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