Place-Saint-Henri

Place-Saint-Henri is a station on the Orange Line of Montreal's Metro. It is named after a street and public square located between rue Saint-Jacques and rue Notre-Dame.

The station has 3 entrances, two of which are located in bus loops, while the third is an open-air entrance (one of only three on the Metro, with Bonaventure and Square-Victoria-OACI being the other two). 

The entrances are bright with lots of windows, allowing plenty of natural light to enter the space. The stairs that lead down to the mezzanine level are showered in even more natural light thanks to skylights positioned above. The framing for the windows casts beautiful shadows that move with the passage of the day, and transform this area into a grand staircase, regardless of whether you are going up or down.

The mezzanine contains the fare gates. Off to the side of this area is a bench with a glassed-in stainless steel structure, which protrudes and opens up to the train platform area below.

Continuing down more escalators to reach the train platforms and the full size and scale of the station quickly becomes apparent. In this area, the ceiling is spectacularly high and tapers down to match up with the tunnelled section at the far end of the station. Florescent lighting is integrated into the ceiling to help highlight this architectural delight. 

The platforms themselves are decorated with various shades of yellow to red tiling on the walls, which starts off as yellow by the stairs and escalators and gradually becomes a dark red in the far distance. Simple wooden benches finish off the look of the platforms by providing a clean look throughout.

UNIQUE FEATURES

There are a few architectural features that add to the uniqueness of Place-Saint-Henri station. The first is the grand staircase by the main entrance, which is both large, open and bright, creating a great first or last impression of the station. The second is the sweeping ceiling of the platforms that tapers down as it moves away from the escalators. The same goes for the coloured wall tiles that darken with increasing distance.

PUBLIC ARTWORK

There are three artworks in this station. The first is "Bonheur d'occasion' created by Julien Hébert. A mural of coloured glazed bricks creating the words Bonheur d'occasion is embedded on the mezzanine level and located just after passing through the fare gates. The second is a metal sculpture created by Jacques de Tonnancour, and is six truncated cylinders, made of aluminum, painted steel and stainless steel. It is located at one end of the mezzanine level and hangs through the floor into the platform area. Interestingly, the sculpture was originally planned to rotate by a motor. The third art piece is a copper and wood statue of Jacques Cartier (who discovered the St. Lawrence River), created by Joseph-Arthur Vincent in 1893. The statue had been damaged by the passage of time, and the City of Montreal restored it and then relocated it inside the station for protection from the elements in 2001.

STATION RIDERSHIP (2019)

• Total Entries: 2,867,001
• Weekday Average: 10,224
• Saturday Average: 5,200
• Sunday Average: 3,817

_{The numbers above are the total sum of entries at the station for the year 2019. Transfers between lines and exits from the station are not counted. The weekday and weekend averages are based on the fall 2019 period of Sept 3 to Dec 6, 2019.}