Boulevard
(French, from Dutch: Bolwerk
– bolwark, meaning bastion) has several generally accepted meanings. It was first introduced in the French language in 1435 as boloard
and has since been altered into boulevard.
In this case, as a type of road, a boulevard
(often abbreviated Blvd
) is usually a wide, multi-lane arterial thoroughfare, divided with a median down the center, and roadways along each side designed as slow travel and parking lanes and for bicycle and pedestrian usage, often with an above-average quality of landscaping and scenery. The division into peripheral roads for local use and a central main thoroughfare for regional traffic is a principal feature of the boulevard. Larger and busier boulevards usually feature a median.
|
BLVD TICKETS
|
International usage
France
thumb
Baron Haussmann made such roads well-known in his re-shaping of
Second Empire Paris between 1853 and 1870. The French word
boulevard
originally referred to the flat summit of a
rampart (the etymology of the word distantly parallels that of
bulwark
which is a Dutch loanword (bolwerk)). Several Parisian boulevards replaced old city walls; more generally, boulevards encircle a city center, in contrast to
avenues that radiate from the center.
Boulevard
is sometimes used to describe an elegantly wide road, such as those in Paris, approaching the
Champs-Élysées. Famous French boulevards:
Avenue Montaigne, Montmartre, Invalides,
Boulevard Haussmann. Frequenters of boulevards were sometimes called
boulevardiers
Germany
The
Königsallee in
Düsseldorf is internationally known for its many famous fashion stores located on the one side such as
Gucci,
Chanel,
Hugo Boss,
Lacoste and 5 star hotels and banks on the other. The land price of one square meter is about 13500€. A notable boulevard in Berlin, the capital of Germany, is
Karl-Marx-Allee, which was built primarily in the 1950s in
Stalinist Classicism architecture with decorative buildings. One section of the boulevard is more decorative while the other is more modern. In the center of the boulevard is the Strausberger Platz, which has buildings in
wedding-cake style. The boulevard is divided into various blocks. Between 1949 and 1989, it was the main center of
East Berlin. The historically most important boulevard in Berlin is
Unter den Linden.
United States and Canada
In many places in the
United States and
Canada,
municipalities and
developers have adapted the term to refer to arterial roads, not necessarily boulevards in the traditional sense. In California, many so-called “boulevards” extend into the mountains as narrow, winding road segments only two lanes in width. However, boulevards can be any divided highway with at-grade intersections to local streets. They are commonly abbreviated Blvd. Some celebrated examples in California include:
- Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, which has rows of trees on both sides of the thoroughfare, and is bisected by a tree-filled median. It connects local streets throughout the Sunset District.
- The Los Angeles area's more famous Sunset Boulevard; Santa Monica Boulevard; Wilshire Boulevard; and Hollywood Boulevard. Many important thoroughfares in Los Angeles are boulevards.
In
Chicago, the boulevard system is a network of wide, planted-median boulevards that winds through the south, west, and north sides of the city and includes a ring of parks. Most of the boulevards and parks are 3–6 miles from
The Loop.
Queens Boulevard,
Woodhaven Boulevard and
Cross Bay Boulevard, all in the borough of
Queens, in
New York City, and
Roosevelt Boulevard in the
Northeast section of
Philadelphia are typically referred to as “The Boulevard.” In
Pittsburgh, "The Boulevard of the Allies" runs through and connects major areas of the city. The section of Côte Saint-Luc Road that is located in
Westmount, a suburb of
Montréal, Québec, is also referred to as “The Boulevard,” as was the majority of
Broadway (New York City) in the 19th century.
Kansas City, Missouri, is famous for having more boulevards and avenues in the world than any city (if the term is used lightly) except Paris, France.
Nineteenth century
parkways, such as Brooklyn’s
Ocean Parkway, were often built in the form of boulevards and are informally referred to as such. In some cities, however, the term “boulevard” does not specify a larger, wider, or more important road. “Boulevard” may simply be used as one of many words describing roads in communities containing multiple iterations of the same street name (such as in the
Ranchlands district of
Calgary, where Ranchlands Boulevard exists side-by-side with Ranchlands Road, Ranchlands Court, Ranchlands Mews, etc.) Nowaday boulevard can be fund most anywhere and their original structured meaning has lost all meaning.
Lake Shore Boulevard, a six-lane thoroughfare runs along the lakefront in
Toronto from Woodbine Avenue in the east to the city limits in the west. The section between
Jameson Avenue and the
Humber River (the original section), as an example of urban planning, was laid out to provide a pleasant drive with a view of
Humber Bay on
Lake Ontario and easy access to the park lands by automobile. It was later expanded for commuting.
Australia
Melbourne has at least four roads named “the Boulevard.” These are, generally, long roads with many curves which wind alongside the
Yarra River.
In addition, the spelling of boulevard with an extra ‘e’ is common, for example the
Southlands Boulevarde shopping centre in southern Perth.
Several Melbourne thoroughfares not named as a boulevard do in fact follow the boulevard configuration of multiple lanes and landscaping. These include
St Kilda Road,
Royal Parade,
Victoria Parade,
Flemington Road, and the outer section of
Mount Alexander Road. Sydneys boulevards are Norwest Boulevard in
Bella Vista and
Baulkham Hills, The Boulevard in
Kirrawee,
Brighton-le-Sands,
Cammeray,
Canley Vale,
Caringbah,
Cheltenham,
Dulwich Hill,
Epping,
Fairfield,
Fairfield Heights,
Fairfield West,
Gymea,
Lakemba,
Lewisham,
Lidcombe,
Lilyfield,
Malabar,
Miranda,
Newport,
Petersham,
Punchbowl,
Sans Souci,
Smithfield,
Strathfield,
Sutherland,
Wiley Park and
Yagoona.
Ireland
As in the UK Ireland has also has a lack of Boulevard's but O'Connell Street in Dublin is one of Europe's widest street's and is very alike to a victorian boulevard. In recent housing developments in Dublin, the boulevard is becoming more and more common in adresses eg Tryellstown Blvd,Park Blvd,Bayside Blvd.
Israel
Tel Aviv, established in 1909, was originally designed along the guidelines set out by
architect Sir
Patrick Geddes. Geddes designed a green or garden ring of boulevards surrounding the central city, which still exists today and continues to characterize Tel Aviv.
One of the most famous and busy streets in the city is
Rothschild Boulevard.
United Kingdom
Due to city planning and physical geography, the U.K. has a lack of boulevards. Glasgow's Great Western Road is a good example, a mostly dual carriageway road running to the outer suburbs passing through the fashionable West End district, with many shops and bars dotted along the route. After the
Great Fire of London,
London was supposed to be formed of straight boulevards, squares and plazas which are seen in
mainland Europe, but due to land ownership issues these plans never came to light. Boulevards in London are rare but examples, such as
Blackfriars Road, do exist.
Milton Keynes,
Buckinghamshire, is one of only a handful of examples where boulevards are a key feature. This is due to Milton Keynes being built as a modern
new town in the 1960s.
Nottingham also has an extensive network of Boulevards.
México
Paseo de la Reforma (English: "Reform Promenade") is a 12 kilometer long boulevard in Mexico City, Mexico, built during the Second Mexican Empire by the Austrian military officer and engineer Ferdinand von Rosenzweig. The name commemorates the liberal reforms of 19th century president Benito Juárez.
Russia
thumb in the wide median green of
Chistoprudny Boulevard,
Moscow
The dictionary defines
boulevard
as a wide green strip in the middle of a city street or on the
embankment.
[1] Historical
Boulevard Ring in
Moscow emerged on the site of the former
White City walls (demolished in 1760s and 1770s) before the
Fire of 1812, starting with
Tverskoy Boulevard in 1796.
[2] The whole ring was replanted and rebuilt after the fire, in 1820s; together with the embanknments of
Moskva River the boulevards form the second centremost city ring. Green boulevards of that period were terminated with corner hotel and shop buildings, most of them eventually demolished to make way for street traffic.
Garden Ring, developed in the middle of 19th century, had traditional median boulevards in its western part and side gardens in the east (streets with side strips of green, even those separating main traffic and
frontage roads, are not usually considered boulevards).
Street names of
Saint Petersburg evolved differently: median greens of major avenues were called
boulevards
, but the avenues themlselves typically were and still are called
prospekts
(i.e. Bolshoy Prospekt of
Vasilievsky Island).
Uruguay
In
Montevideo,
Artigas Boulevard is an important avenue (40 m wide) that encloses the central area.
Gallery
Alternative meanings
Central reservation
: Some people also use the term
boulevard
to refer to the division or central reservation in such a road, whether specifically in a “boulevard” in the above sense or not. It can consist of anything from a simple thick
curb of concrete, to a wide strip of grass, to a thoroughly landscaped space of trees,
shrubs, and other foliage; in urban areas, boulevards can also contain public
art or
memorials. Wide boulevards also sometimes serve as rights-of-way for
trams or
light rail systems.
Kansas City, Missouri, has more “boulevard” miles than the city of Paris (if the term is used lightly). One such famous boulevard is
Ward Parkway, which features fountains, statues, and vast quantities of grass and trees in the center.
Tree lawn
or
parkway
: Another use for the term
boulevard
is for a strip of grass between a
sidewalk and a road, and located above a curb. Though in Europe the two are often adjacent, many residential neighbourhoods in the United States and Canada feature strips of grass or other greenery between the sidewalk and the road, placed in order to both beautify the street and to provide a buffer between vehicles and pedestrians.
See also
bicycle boulevard.
Books
References
- ''Boulevard'' ({{lang-ru
- Title Unavailable