Jean Dumontier, architect and artist of Montreal subway stations, dies

MONTREAL — Jean Dumontier, an architect who helped design Montreal’s subway and adorned its walls with his art, has died in his early 80s.

A spokesperson for the city’s transit agency confirmed the death, which Montreal’s La Presse reported was due to cancer.

“The (agency) learns with much sadness of the departure of a great builder of Montreal’s metro, and underlines the important heritage he leaves to Montrealers and especially the hundreds of thousands of clients who use the network daily,” the Societe de Transport de Montreal said in a statement.

The native of Labelle, Que., in the Laurentians area north of Montreal, designed the plans for the now-renamed Ile-Sainte-Helene and Longueuil subways stations, which were among the flagship stations opened just before the 1967 World Fair.

He was also the first architect to create the art for the stations he designed, including four painted concrete murals in the Ile-Sainte-Helene station, since renamed after former mayor Jean Drapeau.

Two and Out

PETERS: Whether building up or tearing down, Kamloops is what you make it

13h ago

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: How to reduce food waste in Kamloops during the festive season

20h ago

Looped In

LOOPED IN WITH NIKKI OMEN: December 12, 2024

Dec 12, 2024

The distinctive yellow murals represent the character of Atlas, who in Greek mythology was condemned to hold up the heavens. They were created to tie in with the Expo 67 theme of “man and his world,” according to the agency’s website.

Dumontier later served as the metropolitan transit agency’s architecture director in the 1970s and 80s, where he oversaw the subway system’s expansion.

He pushed for lofty spaces featuring natural light and the inclusion of the large scale sculptures, murals and paintings which have since become the network’s hallmark, the agency said.

“He favoured the integration of works of art in each station, a characteristic that still distinguishes Montreal’s metro from other networks in the world,” it said.

The Canadian Press