Papineau Square, established before 1845, was at first called Queen’s Square. Its new name was given by the council in 1890.
Lafontaine Park was bought by the Federal government on October 29, 1845, from Mr. James Logan, a merchant who had it from his father. This land was made part of the property commonly called Papineau or Monarch Farm. This property, owned by the federal government with the exception of a little strip, bounded by Rachel and Lafontaine Park, and a piece situated in the east of the Jacques Cartier Normal School has been left to the city for ninety-nine years on certain conditions for $1.00 a year. One of these is that the government can end the loan at any time, and another is the right to reserve for military purposes that part of the park situated to the north of Sherbrooke Street and to the east of Panet Street. The city conservatories originally erected on Viger Garden in 1865 were reconstructed on Lafontaine Park in 1889.
Wellington Square was bought from the Gentlemen of the Seminary in 1856.
St. Gabriel Square was bought in 1862, but its history as a public garden does not begin till 1893.
Western Square was bought as a public park from the gentlemen of the Seminary on December 31, 1870.
Cherrier Square, known under the name of St. Jean Baptiste Square, was acquired in 1870 and became a public park in 1875.
Dufferin Square, which had been a Protestant cemetery since 1799, was expropriated as a public park in 1871.
Mount Royal Park, the property of several owners, was originally expropriated at a cost of $1,000,000 in 1872. In 1875 Mr. Frederick Law Olmsted, a landscape architect from the United States, was entrusted with the preparation of a general plan for Mount Royal.
Fletcher’s Field, attached to this site, also dates its history to this period.
Dominion Square, hitherto the Catholic cemetery, was similarly expropriated in 1873.