ABOUT PEACE PARK

In 1986 Montreal became a nuclear free zone. In the city’s commitment to nuclear disarmament and global peace Peace Park was built in 1994.

The announcement to build Peace Park came during the Jean Doré administration. He announced in 1989 that he would build a place of peace in remembrance of the tragedies of nuclear warfare, located on Saint-Laurent Boulevard in front of the Monument-National and the Montreal Pool Room.

Robert Desjardins designed the park. It’s construction started in April of 1994 and it was inaugurated on November 20th the same year. Peace Park  won the Association des architectes payagistes du Quebec (AAPQ) Citation Nationale Grand Prize of Excellence.

Skateboarders and street life quickly found it’s into the park. By 2001 Peace Park became an international know skate spot.

In 2013 Peace Park a documentary film by David Boots co-written by Jessica McIntyre played in the park as the closing presentation for Cinéma, DJ, et chef invite as the For the People Premier. The premier consisted of a skateboard contest, free food, and music performances. It was the most successful event in the park to date with a 1000 people attending.

In 2014 David Boots with support from the Society for Arts and Technology [SAT] approached the mayor Denis Coderre at a city council meeting in June 2014 and proposed a pilot project to legalize skateboarding in the park. The pilot project was a success and in April 2015 skateboarding in Montreal was officially legalized.

Since then to help skateboarders keep their claim to Peace Park, the SAT in collaboration with MQC has been hold weekly Skate Jams with a free BBQ every Tuesday through out the summer.

Peace Park is now in need a maintenance, so the SAT, MQC, David Boot and the renowned architectural firm Rayside La- bossière are proactively working on a proposal for the city to renovate Peace Park. If all goes well Peace park will get a face lift in 2018.