Westmount Summit

Coordinates: 45°29′31.03″N 73°36′25″W / 45.4919528°N 73.60694°W / 45.4919528; -73.60694
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Westmount Summit
Sommet de Westmount
Outremont (left), Saint Joseph's Oratory and Westmount
Highest point
Elevation201 m (659 ft)[1]
Coordinates45°29′31.03″N 73°36′25″W / 45.4919528°N 73.60694°W / 45.4919528; -73.60694
Geography
Westmount Summit Sommet de Westmount is located in Quebec
Westmount Summit Sommet de Westmount
Westmount Summit
Sommet de Westmount
Parent rangeMonteregian Hills
Topo mapUSGS Mount Katahdin
Geology
Age of rockEarly Cretaceous
Mountain typeIntrusive stock
Climbing
Easiest routeHiking or Cycling
A trail in the summit woods.
Westmount Summit
Le sommet de Westmount
Westmount Summit is located in Montreal
Westmount Summit
Location of Westmount Summit on Montreal Island
LocationWestmount, Quebec, Canada
Coordinates45°29′31″N 73°36′25″W / 45.491954°N 73.606943°W / 45.491954; -73.606943
Area23.087 hectares (57.05 acres)[2]
Operated byCity of Westmount

Westmount Summit (French: Sommet de Westmount) is the summit of one of the three peaks of Mount Royal (along with Mount Royal proper and Outremont) located in the City of Westmount, Quebec, Canada. Part of the geographical summit is located adjacent to the Montreal borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.

The summit is approximately 201 metres (659 ft) above sea-level.[1] The park occupies approximately 23.087 hectares (57.05 acres) of land at the summit, making it the largest park in Westmount.[2]

A lookout is located on its southern face, providing views over Westmount, Montreal, the south shore and the Eastern Townships. Saint Joseph's Oratory is on the northern side, on Queen Mary Road in Côte-des-Neiges.

Summit Woods[edit]

In 1895, McGill University purchased several tracts of land covering Westmount Summit, using funds donated by William Christopher Macdonald. These properties were acquired for the construction of an observatory and access roads, to be used by McGill's Survey School. Many of the purchased lots were subject to a perpetual servitude restricting building heights, so as not to block views from the planned observatory.[3][4]

In the late 19th century, interest in astronomical observatories was growing due to the importance of celestial references for standardized timekeeping, which was in turn crucial for emerging railway networks and shipping. Use of the observatory was short-lived however, due to increasing light and air pollution from the growing City of Montreal.[3][5] In 1940 McGill sold the land that is now Summit Woods to the City of Westmount for CAD$300,000, under the condition that the property be used "as a park or playground in perpetuity."[6]

The forested area of the park is bordered on three sides by Summit Circle, a picturesque residential portion of Westmount. Some of the nearby homes are still subject to the height restriction servitudes introduced in 1895 for the McGill observatory.[3] The Northern section, featuring more rugged terrain, extends to the boundary with the Montreal neighbourhood of Côte-des-Neiges.

The Woods are home to many species of animals including approximately twenty species of mammals, 150 species of birds, and thousands of insect species as well as snakes and other reptiles. There are also many species of wild plants, fungi, and flowers located in the forested areas.[1]

In 2005, Summit Woods was included as part of the Mount Royal Heritage Zone created by the Quebec Government, along with other portions of Mount Royal in Montreal and Outremont.[7] The current name of Summit Woods was assigned by Westmount in 2010, replacing the previous name of Summit Park, in order to better reflect its status as an urban forest.[8]

Summit Woods is now a popular spot for bird watchers and dog walkers,[9] although the massive foundation blocks once used for telescopes remain prominently visible in their original locations.

Dog Run[edit]

Summit Woods is recognized by the City of Westmount as a public dog run facility [10] , a use which has been permitted at certain times of the year since the 1940s.[11] Since 1995, seasonal leashing rules have been in place to harmonize with the park's designation as an urban forest and bird and wild flower sanctuary.[12]

Dog drinking water from a tree hollow in Summit Woods while two others wait in line.

The Summit Woods park is one of two dog run facilities located within the Mount Royal Heritage Zone, the other being Sir Percy Walters Park.[13] Owners wishing to bring their dogs to Summit Woods must first obtain a license from the City of Westmount.[14]

Bird Sanctuaries[edit]

Westmount Summit is home to two parks historically recognized as unofficial bird sanctuaries.

The older of these is Argyle Park, a small triangular strip of land bounded by Argyle Avenue, Westmount Avenue, and the Boulevard. In 1926, the Quebec Society for the Protection of Birds presented the City with a Bird Bath to be erected in this park, which remains to the present day.[15][16]

Bird bath in the Argyle Park bird sanctuary on the Southern slope of Westmount Summit.

The other is Summit Woods. From 1940 to around 1945, the Verdun and District Sportsmen's Association introduced various game birds including pheasants, quail, and grouse with the aim of increasing hunting stocks in the area [15]. The birds were fed and watered by a gamekeeper but were gradually stolen until all were gone.[17][18]

Although Summit Woods is not protected under Federal or Provincial law as a bird sanctuary, wildlife preserve, or nature preserve, it was officially designated by the City of Westmount "as a municipal park established as an urban forest and bird and wild flower sanctuary" in 1991.[19]

Montreal Botanical Gardens[edit]

In 1885 McGill University established a Chair of Botany and Vegetal Physiology, which was first held by David P. Penhallow. Penhallow and other local botanists sought to establish a botanical garden in Montreal, but struggled to secure a suitable site. From 1890 to around 1901, McGill leased 3.6 hectares (nine acres) of land on the lower slopes of Westmount Summit, along Côte-des-Neiges Road just South of what is presently the Boulevard.[20][21] This site was to be the temporary home for McGill's botanical studies program,[22] until the opening of McGill's Macdonald Campus in the early 20th century.

Excerpt from Topographical Map of Mount Royal by A. de Grandpré showing location of McGill's botanical gardens on Côte-des-Neiges Road circa 1898. Summit Woods is situated above the gardens, on the hilltop plateau near the letter "N" in the upper left corner of the map.

The site was known as the Montreal Botanical gardens and was open to the general public.[23] The Gardens included greenhouses with a total area of 455 square metres (4,900 square feet), comprising "three temperate houses and one mixed stove house." The collection included "a large representation of type groups suited to purposes of instruction, and an especially valuable collection of Australasian plants chiefly derived from donations by the late Baron Von Mueller of Melbourne."[24]

It appears that the Montreal Botanical Gardens on Côte-des-Neiges Road ceased to exist around 1901, with no further mentions of their use or even their closure in the historical record.[21] In 1907 McGill opened MacDonald College in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, which became the nexus for plant and agricultural sciences at McGill.[25]

In 1931, the City of Montreal founded what is now the Montreal Botanical Garden, a site comprising 75 hectares (190 acres) of thematic gardens and greenhouses, in the East End of Montreal.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Poitras, Claire; Burgess, Joanne (December 2005). Étude de caractérisation de l'arrondissement historique et naturel du Mont-Royal (PDF) (Report). Commission des biens culturels du Québec. p. 18. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
  2. ^ a b "Summit Woods and Summit Lookout". City of Westmount. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Dodge, Andy (2015-11-10). "54 Summit Circle: Part of Notman legacy" (PDF). Westmount Independent. p. 14. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
  4. ^ "Deeds of Sale". Registre foncier du Québec. Retrieved 2024-04-01. Deed numbers 57280, 57353, 57120, 57349, 57352, and 57121
  5. ^ Bignell, Nancy (Summer 1962). "MCGILL OBSERVATORY THROUGH 100 YEARS" (PDF). McGill News. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
  6. ^ "Summit Woods Deed of Sale by McGill University to the City of Westmount in 1940, Registration No. 489613" (PDF). Registre foncier du Québec. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Site patrimonial du Mont-Royal". patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca. Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  8. ^ "MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WESTMOUNT" (PDF). westmount.org. City of Westmount. 1 November 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2024. She further reported on the rebranding of Summit Park to Summit Woods...
  9. ^ Graham, Taryn (2013). Encounters with Difference and Politics of Place: Meanings of Birdwatchers and Dog Walkers at a Multiple-Use Urban Forest (PDF) (Master's thesis). University of Waterloo. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
  10. ^ "BY-LAW AMENDING BY-LAW 1522 CONCERNING DOGS AND THE LICENSING THEREOF" (PDF). westmount.org. City of Westmount. 6 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  11. ^ "BY-LAW 535 CONCERNING DOGS AND THE LICENSING THEREOF" (PDF). westmount.org. City of Westmount. 2 April 1946. Retrieved 3 April 2024. If at any time in the months of May, June, July, August and September, any dog is found in any public place, and is not held securely on a leash not more than six feet in length, the keeper of such dog, as well as the person who caused such dog to be in such place shall be deemed to have infringed this by-law.
  12. ^ "BY-LAW 1190 TO FURTHER AMEND BY-LAW 535 CONCERNING DOGS AND THE LICENSING THEREOF" (PDF). westmount.org. City of Westmount. 5 June 1995. Retrieved 3 April 2024. Notwithstanding the provisions contained in Sections 7A and 7C, from April 15th to June 15th of each year, any dog, must be held securely on a leash at all times, in Summit Park.
  13. ^ "Parc Percy-Walters dog park". montreal.ca. City of Montreal. 10 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  14. ^ "Dog Runs, Regulations & Licences". westmount.org. City of Westmount. 10 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  15. ^ a b Lighthall, Alice (7 July 1944). "Know Your Westmount - Is there a bird sanctuary in Westmount?". The Westmount Examiner. Westmount. p. 2. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  16. ^ "MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WESTMOUNT" (PDF). westmount.org. City of Westmount. 26 October 1926. Retrieved 3 April 2024. He also reported that the Province of Quebec Society for the Protection of Birds had presented the City with a Bird Bath to be erected in the Park at the corner of Westmount Boulevard and Westmount Avenue.
  17. ^ Lindsay, Doreen (1 September 2012), "SUMMIT WOODS: NATURE RESERVE, WILDFLOWER & BIRD SANCTUARY" (PDF), The Westmount Historian, 13 (1): 4, They were provided with daily food and water, and a park ranger patrolled the forest during the summer months.{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  18. ^ Gubbay, Aline (1998). A View of Their Own - The Story of Westmount (PDF). Montreal: Price Patterson Ltd. p. 130. ISBN 1-896881-10-6. Retrieved 2024-04-03. The pheasants continued to nest over the next 20 years, but they were gradually stolen until all were gone.
  19. ^ "BY-LAW TO FURTHER AMEND BY-LAW 978 TO REGULATE ZONING IN THE CITY OF WESTMOUNT" (PDF). City of Westmount. 8 July 1991. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  20. ^ Caya, Marcel; Michel, Robert B.; Ovens, Brian M.; Burr, Gordon; Virr, Richard; Wallis, Faith (1985). Guide to Archival Resources at McGill University. Vol. 1 (Preliminary ed.). Montreal: McGill University Archives. p. 147. ISBN 0-7717-0119-5. Retrieved 2024-04-03. details location of McGill's Botanical Gardens from 1890-1901
  21. ^ a b "The Development of Science at McGill". 200.mcgill.ca. McGill University. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  22. ^ "HISTORY OF M'CGILL, 1981. ITS WORK AND ITS WANTS". The Montreal Daily Witness. Montreal. 14 March 1892. p. 5. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  23. ^ [last name unknown], Georgine (16 November 1892). "A Visit To the Botanical Gardens - Flowers in the Home". Montreal Daily Herald. Montreal. p. 3. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  24. ^ Penhallow, David (June 21, 1897). "A Review of Canadian Botany from 1800 to 1895". Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada. IV (Geological and Biological Sciences). Royal Society of Canada: 16. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  25. ^ "Welcome to the Macdonald Campus". mcgill.ca. McGill University. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
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