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| Location | Montreal,Quebec, Canada; some segments inWestmount |
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| Opening date | 1962 |
| Stores and services | +1600 |
| Floors | Usually 3 or 4, sometimes 2 |
RÉSO, commonly referred to as theUnderground City (French:La ville souterraine), is the name applied to a series of interconnected office towers, hotels, shopping centres, residential and commercial complexes, convention halls, universities and performing arts venues that form the heart ofMontreal'scentral business district, colloquially referred to asDowntown Montreal. The name refers to the underground connections between the buildings that compose the network, in addition to the network's complete integration with the city's entirely undergroundrapid transit system, theMontreal Metro.
The first iteration of the Underground City was developed out of the open pit at the southern entrance to theMount Royal Tunnel, wherePlace Ville Marie andCentral Station stand today.
Though most of the connecting tunnels pass underground, many of the key passageways and principal access points are located at ground level, and there is also one skybridge (betweenLucien-L'Allier Metro station andGare Lucien L'Allier). In this regard, the Underground City is more of an indoor city (ville intérieure) than a truly subterranean city, although there are vast commercial sectors located entirely underground.
The network is particularly useful during Montreal's long winters, during which time well over half a million people are estimated to use it every day. The network is largely climate controlled and well-lit, and is arranged in a U-shape with two principal north–south axes connected by an east–west axis. Combined, there are 32 kilometres (20 mi) of tunnels over 12 square kilometres (4.6 sq mi) of the most densely populated part of Montreal. In total, there are more than 120 exterior access points to the network, not including the sixty or so Metro station entrances located outside the official limits of the RÉSO, some of which have their own smaller tunnel networks. Some of the city's larger institutions, namelyMcGill University, theMontreal Museum of Fine Arts,Concordia University,Université de Montréal and theUniversité du Québec à Montréal also have campus tunnel networks separate from the underground city.
In 2004, the downtown network of the underground city was re-branded and given the nameRÉSO, which is ahomophone of the French wordréseau, or network. The "O" at the end of the word is stylized as the logo of the Montreal Metro. Schematic maps bearing the RÉSO logo are found throughout the network. The largest and best-known segment is located in the centre of downtown, delimited by thePeel andPlace-des-Arts Metro stations on theGreen Line and theLucien-L'Allier andPlace-d'Armes stations on theOrange Line.
The underground city is promoted as an important tourist attraction by most Montreal travel guidebooks.[1][2] For most Montrealers, however, it tends to be considered more as a large mall complex[citation needed] linking Metro stations—they may not even know they are in it. Many Canadian cities have some kind of tunnel or skywalk system downtown to help people avoid the weather. Most parts of the Montreal underground city are open while the Metro is in operation (5:30 AM to 1:00 AM), though some are closed outside of business hours. Maps of the underground city and the Metro can be obtained free of charge from all Metro stations, and the network of buildings is indicated on most maps of the downtown core.
Nearly 500,000 people use it per day.[3] It is also the largest underground complex in the world.[citation needed] It stretches for 32 kilometers (20 miles) and covers 4 million square meters (one and a half square miles). According to official statistics, its corridors link up with 10 metro stations, 2 bus terminals, 1,200 offices, about 2,000 stores including 2 major department stores, approximately 1,600 housing units, 200 restaurants, 40 banks, movie theatres providing 40 screens and other entertainment venues, 7 major hotels, 4 universities, Place des Arts, a cathedral, the Bell Centre (home of the Montreal Canadiens), and 3 exhibition halls: the Place Bonaventure, the Convention Centre (Palais des Congrès de Montréal) and the Olympic Centre.
The vision for the underground city was originally that ofurbanistVincent Ponte, for whom a commemorative plaque was unveiled in November 2006 at Place Ville Marie.[4] The first link of the underground city arose with the construction of thePlace Ville Marie office tower and undergroundshopping mall, opened in 1962 and built to cover an unsightly pit of railway tracks north of theCentral Station. Two tunnels linked it to Central Station and theQueen Elizabeth Hotel.
The advent of theMontreal Metro in 1966, in time forExpo 67, brought tunnels joiningBonaventure station to the Château Champlain hotel, the Place du Canada office tower,Place Bonaventure, Central Station, andWindsor Station, forming the core of the Underground City.Square-Victoria–OACI station connected to the Tour de la Bourse, Montreal'sstock exchange building.
Adding to the development of the underground city was the Montreal Urban Community Transit Commission's policy of offering the aerial rights above Metro station entrances for construction throughemphyteutic leases, an advantageous way to acquire prime real estate. When the Metro began running in 1966, ten buildings were already connected directly to Metro stations; development would continue until only three free-standing station entrances (Square-Victoria–OACI,Saint-Laurent andPlace-des-Arts) remained in the central segment.
In 1974, theComplexe Desjardins office tower complex was constructed, spurring the construction of a "second downtown" underground city segment betweenPlace-des-Arts andPlace-d'Armes stations, via Place des Arts,Complexe Desjardins, the ComplexeGuy Favreau federal government building, and thePalais des Congrès (convention centre).
Between 1984 and 1992, the underground city expanded, with the construction of three major linked shopping centres in the Peel and McGill Metro station areas: Cours Mont-Royal, Place Montréal-Trust, and thePromenades Cathédrale (built underneathChrist Church Cathedral). McGill station was already linked withThe Bay,Eaton's (now theComplexe Les Ailes),Centre Eaton, and two other office/mall complexes. Between 1984 and 1989, the underground city grew from 12 km (7 mi) of passages to almost 22 km (14 mi).
Mega-projects added to the size of the network throughout the 1990s, including Le1000 De La Gauchetière (the tallest building in Montreal),Le 1250 René-Lévesque, and theMontreal World Trade Centre. Although these buildings have only a secondary commercial sector, they use their connection to the underground city as a selling point for their office space.[citation needed] Also, the construction of a tunnel between Eaton Centre andPlace Ville-Marie consolidated the two central halves of the underground city. The construction of theBell (originally Molson) Centre connected Lucien-L'Allier Metro station to the underground city, as well as replacing Windsor Station with the newGare Lucien-L'Allier commuter train station.
Most recently, in 2003, the complete redevelopment of theQuartier international de Montréal consolidated several segments of the central underground city with continuous pedestrian corridors. The construction of theICAO headquarters joinedPlace Bonaventure toSquare-Victoria-OACI station, which in turn was joined to thePalais des Congrès andPlace-d'Armes station via the newCaisse de dépôt et de placement building and a tunnel underPlace Jean-Paul Riopelle. Uniquely, the new tunnel sections in the Quartier International contain educational and artistic displays sponsored by major Montreal museums. As a result of this construction, one can now walk all the way across the centre of downtown, from theUQAM Sherbrooke Pavilion at the corner of Sainte Famille Street andSherbrooke Street to theLucien-L'Allier Metro station just south-west of theBell Centre, without going outside—a span of 1.7 km (1.1 mi) as the crow flies, or approximately 3 kilometres (2 mi) walking distance.
On Friday, August 24, 2007, construction crews discovered a seven-meter (23 foot) long fissure in the ceiling of an underground corridor linking theMcGill station toThe Bay store located underde Maisonneuve Boulevard, between Aylmer Street and Union Avenue.[5] The station, the Underground City shops, and above ground streets and buildings were closed to assess whether there was any risk of collapse of the structure. Service on theMétroGreen Line was halted betweenBerri-UQAM andLionel-Groulx stations until Sunday evening. According to a spokesperson for theHudson's Bay Company, city workers may have caused the damage by hitting a nearby pillar.[6]
During the weekend, city workcrews worked non-stop to shore up the sagging slab of concrete, installing more than 1,000 temporary metal supports.
On Monday, August 27, 2007, service was restored to the Green Line, and all streets but the block of de Maisonneuve boulevard between Union and Aylmer were reopened to traffic. The one block that was not open to traffic was open to pedestrians. All buildings reopened, including The Bay. Officials said that it would take months to fix the problem.[7][8][9] While inspecting the site, it was discovered that 2021 Union, the Parkade Montreal building, was in danger of having concrete side panels fall off.[citation needed] City engineers performed emergency repairs. A report later blamed the construction of a bike path for the damage.[10] Street traffic on De Maisonneuve resumed in March 2008.
The central segment interconnects the following seven Metro stations via indoor walkway. As theBerri-UQAM station, which allows transfers between theGreen,Orange andYellow lines, is two Metro stops from the closest station in this segment, in many cases it is quicker to walk than to take the Metro. The lists of connected facilities which follow are grouped by segment and nearest Metro station.
The hub of the Metro network located two Metro stations east ofPlace-des-Arts at the eastern edge of downtown is the transfer point for changing between theGreen,Orange andYellow lines.
Located one Metro station west ofPeel, this station is at the center of the Sir George Williams campus ofConcordia University.
One Metro station west ofGuy-Concordia, this station is at the western edge of downtown and just inside the territory ofWestmount.
One metro station away from Place D’Armes, Champ-de-Mars is located right next to the newCentre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM). It is located near Montreal’s historic buildings and streets inOld Montreal as well as theOld Port.
This station is the eastern transfer point between theOrange andBlue lines.
Situated on the Blue line in betweenCôte-des-Neiges andÉdouard-Montpetit stations, this station serves the main campus of the university on the northwest slope ofMount-Royal. Although part of the campus has its own private network of underground tunnels including one opening next to the station, no part of the campus is directly connected to the Metro.
Situated on the blue line betweenUniversité-de-Montréal andOutremont stations, this station serves manyUniversité de Montréal buildings and is connected to theRéseau express métropolitain.
As the terminus of theOrange Line, this station is a major hub for bus transportation inLaval and thenorth shore.
As the terminus of theYellow Line, this station is a major hub for bus transportation on thesouth shore.
Every February,Art Souterrain presents a journey through the central segment of the Underground City during the Montreal Highlights Festival, showing contemporary artistic projects.[11]
45°30′11″N73°34′19″W / 45.503°N 73.572°W /45.503; -73.572
