The station is a normal side platform station and has an entrance at its south end. The entrance is located in a bus loop located on the Décarie Autoroute.
Station improvements
In 2019, work began to make the station fully accessible at a cost of $24.6m.[5] The work included the installation of three elevators, station renovation works and the installation of new artwork.[6] The project was completed in November 2022, making Villa-Maria the 23rd accessible station in the Metro.[5]
Architecture and artwork
The station was designed by André Léonard. The architect also designed muralsculptures for the station of large moulded dials in a variety of colours. Floor and wall tiling also make use of colours throughout the station.[7]
As part of work to make the station accessible, La correspondance des strates, by the artist Marianne Chevalier, was unveiled in September 2022.[5] Using colorful geometric & organic shapes cut of aluminium, the work contrasts with the 1980s sculptures designed by station architect André Léonard.[8]
Origin of name
Villa-Maria station takes its name from the nearby Villa Maria school, which in turn takes its name from the Latin House of Mary.
The surrounding lands were once owned by the Decarie family. The land was sold in 1795 to Sir James Monk. The Monk residence was built in 1804 in the central section of the present-day school. In 1844, the building was leased to the Crown as a residence for the Governors-General of Canada. (Lord Metcalfe, Earl Cathcart, and Lord Elgin resided on the Monklands.
The property became a country hotel for five years. In 1854, it was purchased by the nuns of Congregation of Notre Dame, who turned it into a private girls' school, which they named Villa Maria. The metro station was built at the foot of the Villa Maria property.
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