La Fontaine Park
| La Fontaine Park Parc La Fontaine |
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 Location of La Fontaine Park in Montreal
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| Location | Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Coordinates | 45°31′36″N 73°34′08″W / 45.52666°N 73.56889°WCoordinates: 45°31′36″N 73°34′08″W / 45.52666°N 73.56889°W |
| Area | 34 hectares (84 acres) |
| Operated by | City of Montreal |
La Fontaine Park (French: Parc La Fontaine) is a 34 ha (84 acres) urban park located in the borough of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Named in honour of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, The park's features include two linked ponds with a fountain and waterfalls, the Théâtre de Verdure open-air venue, the Calixa-Lavallée cultural centre, a monument to Adam Dollard des Ormeaux, playing fields and tennis courts.
Its outdoor swimming pools are a popular attraction during Montreal's hot summers, with outdoor ice skating in winter. Bike paths run along the park’s western and northern edges.
Parc Lafontaine is surrounded by Sherbrooke Street on the South, Parc-La Fontaine Avenue on the West, Rachel Street on the North, and Papineau avenue on the East.
La Fontaine Park (formerly Logan Park) is located on the grounds of the old Logan farm. This land was sold in 1845 to the Government of Canada, which then used it for military practice until 1888. The soldiers of the British garrison housed there and were trained in the surrounding wilderness.
The City of Montreal rented part of the Logan farm to create a park that was inaugurated in 1874 under the name "Logan Park". In 1888, the park underwent its first major landscaping work. It was part of the first phase of the development of the city's large nature parks, which also included Mount Royal and St. Helen's Island. Two years later, the greenhouses from Viger Square were moved to the park. This is where all the flowers that adorn the city were grown, until 1952.
In 1900, the city dug two basins at different levels, in the center of the park. They were separated by a waterfall over which the French landscape architect Clovis Degrelle built a bridge.
Occupying increasing importance to the Francophone population, Logan Park was renamed La Fontaine Park, in 1901, at the time of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day parade. The park was named not for its famous fountain, but instead to honor the memory of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, the first francophone prime minister of the Province of Canada.
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Wikipedia