Art & Architecture

In order to reduce the amount of demolition necessary in a densely built neighbourhood,¹ this station was mined at quite a deep level and planned essentially as three parallel vaulted tunnels: the blue line platforms stacked on one side, the orange line on the other, with a central tunnel for transfers and connection to the exit. The three main vaults are connected by four smaller transverse tunnels.

(Source²)

Due to these space constraints, the stairs between platform levels have had to be positioned quite creatively in the central tunnel. Three stairwells in the middle of the tunnel each house two flights facing opposite directions: in two of them, an escalator is paired with a staircase, with the last housing two fixed staircases. Additionally, two more escalators are located at the entrance end, one along each side of the tunnel, to more efficiently direct passengers entering or exiting the metro here.

The escalators at platform level (and in the headhouse) are a space-saving extra-narrow model not found elsewhere in the metro. The stairs lack risers and are supported on space frames to provide a sense of openness and lessen visual obstruction.

Although the station is arranged for cross-platform transfer like Lionel-Groulx, an odd discrepancy soon becomes apparent. Lionel-Groulx station has both inbound platforms on one level and both outbound platforms on another. Since most transferring passengers are continuing their trip into or out of downtown, this allows the majority of transfers to be made by simply walking straight across the platform.

At Snowdon, conversely, the upper level has the outbound Côte-Vertu and inbound Snowdon terminus platforms, while the lower level has the inbound Montmorency and outbound Saint-Michel platforms. Passengers coming from the blue line and continuing toward downtown, or the reverse, thus have to go down stairs to transfer.

The reason for this is that the station was designed based on plans to extend the blue line from Snowdon westward into Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. If that had happened, passengers from NDG would have enjoyed the same cross-platform advantage as at Lionel-Groulx. As things are, the current layout at least allows cross-platform transfers between the blue line and the north end of the orange line, facilitating trips within the Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood (Snowdon to Plamondon and Côte-des-Neiges), as well as for Université de Montréal students coming from northern neighbourhoods. Also, since the blue line terminus platform is on the upper level, all other possible transfers involve going downstairs, not up.

The station’s single access is integrated into a four-story brick building housing STM facilities. There are two sets of entrance doors, at either end of a diagonal walkway below the building’s overhang. The walkway runs along a sunken area that previously featured a unique, attractive garden, with public access from the ticket hall. However, the space was requisitioned for a temporary access during extensive renovations in 2013-2016, and there are sadly no current plans to restore the garden.³

From the entrances, a fairly small landing gives access to the elevator, escalator, and stairs down to the ticket hall. This landing overlooks a two-storey volume over the stairs, filled with light from the windows that continue below street level and admit light from the sunken area.

On an overhanging wall facing the entrance, a sculptured metal grille with two rectangular elements filled with curving shapes is suspended. This work, created by the station’s architect Jean-Louis Beaulieu, originally served as a gate closing off a driveway at the rear of the station building. However, the renovations in 2013-2016 eliminated the gate, so the artwork was reinstalled here as part of the redevelopment of the entrance area.

The ticket booth and turnstiles are located just beyond this volume. The elevator down to the platforms is located a short distance away, with its own fare gate; however, the gateline runs along the north edge of the volume to include it within the same fare-paid zone. The main section of the gateline leads to a landing at the top of the stairs and escalators down to the platforms.

These are housed in a monumental escalator well, a succession of lofty square volumes separated by arches, made more dramatic by two huge, impressive circular chandeliers.

A ventilation shaft over the escalators is concealed by a companion to the sculpture mentioned above, a grille with tree-like forms in terra-cotta-coloured metal, also by Jean-Louis Beaulieu.

The walls and floors, from the building’s exterior to the platforms, are of Eastern Townships red clay bricks, and are complemented by yellow and burgundy accents. Another unifying feature is the use of globe-shaped lamps in fixtures with classic styles; these, along with the station’s red brick and the sunken garden, were meant to recall the surrounding neighbourhood by suggesting a residential street underground.⁴ Besides the chandeliers in the main stairwell, the central vault features triple lampposts on the corners of the stairwells on the upper level and wall sconces on the lower level, accompanied by interesting vertical light panels. Light strips along either side of the central vault were added in 2025.

The upper platforms, for their part, use their vaulted ceilings to full effect, emphasizing them with rows of curved lampposts on either side of the platform benches.

The lower platforms have fairly low ceilings interrupted by corbels holding up the platforms above. The lower level features burgundy benches and yellow accents; these colours are reversed on the upper level.

On the upper level in the three transverse tunnels closest to the exit, six windows with interpretive panels have been placed looking in on the natural rock formations from which the station was excavated. Unfortunately, the displays have been allowed to deteriorate somewhat; the glass has been defaced, one of the six interpretive panels is missing, and the three on the blue line side are located behind grilles that are used to close off the blue line platforms after they close. Nevertheless, these views are an interesting look at what was here before the metro.

Another unique feature is the imposing information modules in the station’s central core. As these are unable to accommodate the standardized signs used in the rest of the stations, they went without updates for a long time (for example, they displayed the name Berri-De Montigny for some 18 years after the station was renamed Berri-UQAM), until the opening of the Laval metro in 2007 forced the issue. The STM is now able to keep them updated with specially formatted system maps, line maps, and directional signs.

The station’s main artwork has had an eventful history. The work by Claude Guité, entitled Les quatre saisons, originally consisted of four immense murals, one for each platform, each one stretching the entire length (152.4 m) of the platform. The murals were conceived to brighten up the deep, hard-surfaced underground environment with lively colours and a joyful, accessible, natural subject suggested by the presence of four platforms.

Unfortunately, all four were damaged by graffiti soon after the station opened, then further damaged by cleaning attempts.⁵ “Spring” and “Winter,” on the Montmorency and Côte-Vertu platforms respectively, were left in an especially pitiable state of disrepair; about fifty percent of the Montmorency mural’s panels and nearly all of those of the Côte-Vertu mural were partially obliterated.

This deplorable situation endured for some twenty years. Finally, in 2004, the murals were removed in 2004 and repainted or restored with the collaboration of the artist. Sections of the work (four each on the Côte-Vertu, Montmorency, and Snowdon terminus platforms and three on the Saint-Michel platform) were reinstalled, protected by transparent panels, in front of the entrances to each platform. The remaining sections have been stored and may be reinstalled in the future.