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 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. Three years later, the city expropriated homes on the city block and in the park. In 1909, the federal government donated almost all of the western section. The illuminated fountain, which was designed by
Léon Trépanier and commissioned by the
Westinghouse Electric Company, was erected in the north basin in 1929. At the same time, the monument in honor of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine was installed. A few years later, under the direction of Claude Robillard, the director of the Municipal Parks Service, La Fontaine Park was completely redesigned. This also marked the beginning of the construction of the chalet restaurant according to the plans by architect Donat Beaupré (the previous chalet had been destroyed by fire in 1944). The new building is part of an overall plan which includes a central pavilion, a conch for symphony concerts, an amphitheater with a capacity of 4,000 seats, a new bridge and a modification of the two ponds. The greenhouses, caretaker's house, the waterfall and the Grenelle-built bridge were demolished. In 1953 the chalet restaurant was opened by the Mayor of Montreal,
Camillien Houde. On July 8, 1956, the Théâtre de Verdure was inaugurated. It was also built by Claude Robillard, and was intended to host outdoor theatrical performances inspired by ancient
amphitheatres. In 1965, under the direction of
Germaine Dugas, the theatre produced many singers, including among others,
Clémence DesRochers,
Raymond Lévesque,
Pauline Julien and
Yvon Deschamps. For over 50 years, the outdoor theatre offered free cultural programming in a natural setting until its temporary closure in 2014 due to decaying facilities. On June 30, 2022, the Theatre de Verdure reopened with a new modernized design and equipment adapted to outdoors by the architectural firm Lemay. The amphitheatre now seats upwards of 2,500 spectators. For many years the park also hosted the "Garden of Wonders" (), a small urban zoo built by the city, which opened on July 5, 1957. The garden closed in 1989. Its buildings were inspired by fables and tales, it had farm animals and other more exotic animals, including its sea lions. Beautification works were initiated in the park in 1990: a new pathway leads visitors to a lookout above the upper pool, while a second lookout, where the works of
Michel Goulet can be observed, dominates the lower pond in the axis of Roy Street. The statues of
Charles de Gaulle and
Félix Leclerc were installed. In 1992, the park came under full legal ownership of the City of Montreal. The park is occupied by many buildings such as the École supérieure du Plateau and Calixa Lavallée pavilion. Over the years, many monuments were added, such as the one dedicated to
Adam Dollard des Ormeaux (1920). Today, La Fontaine Park continues to host the Théâtre de Verdure and the Espace La Fontaine cultural café. On December 20, 2020, a protest against the sanitary measures imposed on the population in response of
COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec gathered thousands of Canadiens at La Fontaine Park. A total of 280 people were fined including
Lethwei World Champion fighter
Dave Leduc who was detained after his speech and fined 1546
CAD$ by the
SPVM police force for not wearing a facial covering outside. ==Art==