Boulevard

This article is about type of road. For other uses, see Boulevard (disambiguation).

The Champs Élysées in Paris, France

The Straße des 17. Juni in Berlin, Germany

A Boulevard (French, from Dutch: Bolwerk – bolwark, meaning bastion), often abbreviated Blvd, is type of road, usually a wide, multi-lane arterial thoroughfare, divided with a median down the centre, 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. It was first introduced in the French language in 1435 as boloard and has since been altered into boulevard.

International usage

Americas

View of Mexico City's Paseo de la Reforma from Castillo de Chapultepec.

Argentina

Avenida 9 de Julio in the heart of Buenos Aires, capital city of Argentina, is as wide as 7 lanes in each direction, with 4 further lanes flanking the main boulevard in parallel roads on either side.

Dominican Republic

In the Dominican Republic, more specifically in Greater Santo Domingo there is the Winston Churchill and 27 de Febrero Boulevard in Downtown Santo Domingo and Las Americas Boulevard in Santo Domingo Este. These boulevards are known for their wide median with plazas and trees on it.

Mexico

Paseo de la Reforma (English: "Reform Promenade") is a 12 kilometer long boulevard in Mexico City, Mexico that runs in a straight line, cutting diagonally across the city. It runs from Chapultepec Park, then passes alongside the Torre Mayor (currently Latin America's tallest building), continues through the fashionable Zona Rosa and then to the Zócalo by Juárez Avenue and Francisco I. Madero Street. One of the most famous monuments of the Paseo is El Ángel de la Independencia – a tall column with a gilded statue of a Winged Victory on its top and marble statues at its base depicting the heroes of the Mexican War of Independence.

The Paseo de la Reforma was designed in the 1860s during the Second Mexican Empire by the Austrian military officer and engineer Ferdinand von Rosenzweig on the orders of Maximilian I of Mexico. He wanted to connect his imperial residence, Chapultepec Castle, to the Palacio Nacional in the city's center. When it was inaugurated, it was named the Paseo de la Emperatriz (The Empress's Promenade), after his consort, Empress Carlota of Mexico. The name now commemorates the liberal reforms of 19th century president Benito Juárez.

United States and Canada

Road verge (or Boulevard) in Oak Park, Illinois

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 San Francisco, 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. Seattle also features a network of boulevards that connect most of the city's public parks to each other, a design recommended by the Olmsted Brothers.

Sometimes, the word "Boulevard" is used as a standalone name, as is the case in Atlanta, and Roosevelt Boulevard in the Northeast section of Philadelphia is sometimes referred to as simply "The Boulevard". The section of Côte Saint-Luc Road that is located in Westmount, a suburb of Montreal, is also referred to as "The Boulevard," as was the majority of Broadway (New York City) in the 19th century. In Pittsburgh, "The Boulevard of the Allies" runs through and connects major areas of the city.

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.^{[citation needed]} In Charlotte, North Carolina, Independence Boulevard connects Uptown to the southeastern section of the city, although the westernmost segment is actually a freeway.

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.) Nowadays boulevards can be found most anywhere and their original structured meaning has lost almost 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.

A famous american example is Las Vegas Boulevard in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Uruguay

In Montevideo, Artigas Boulevard is an important avenue (40 m wide) that encloses the central area.

Asia

Norodom Boulevard

Cambodia

Phnom Penh has numerous boulevards scattered throughout the city. Norodom Boulevard, Sisowath Boulevard, Monivong Boulevard, and Sothearos Boulevard are the most famous.

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.

Philippines

Roxas Boulevard

Manila's premier boulevard is Roxas Boulevard in the heart of the city. Located along this bayshore road are luxury hotels, the Cultural Center of the Philippines performing arts complex, shopping malls and parks. Located in the northern terminus of the road is Rizal Park, the historic urban park of Manila.

India

New Delhi's premier boulevard is Rajpath Boulevard in the heart of the city of New Delhi. Tree lined road with lakes and fountains designed by British Architect Edwin Luyten from 1912 to 1930

Europe

France

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

Unter den Linden, Berlin, Germany

The historically most famous boulevard in Berlin and arguably in all of Germany is Unter den Linden: location of the Berlin State Opera, Berlin Cathedral, the former royal palace, Humboldt University, the Neue Wache state memorial, the Germany Historical Museum housed in the old arsenal and Brandenburg Gate being the boulevards focal point. Most famed for its classy shopping facilities is Berlin's Kurfürstendamm. In the 1920s it was considered one of the most cosmopolitain places in Europe, being not only an elegant residential area but also a major centre of nightlife and leisure. Ku'damm retained this air throughout the Cold War becoming the hub of free West-Berlin. Still today it is the city's most frequented shopping district. A notable boulevard in Berlin's East 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 Königsallee in Düsseldorf is known for its many famous fashion stores and showrooms.

Ireland

Boulevard in Florence, Italy

As in the UK, Ireland also has a lack of Boulevards, but O'Connell Street in Dublin is one of Europe's widest streets and is very like a Victorian boulevard. In recent housing developments in Dublin, the boulevard is becoming more and more common in addresses (e.g. Tyrellstown Blvd, Park Blvd, Bayside Blvd).

Italy

Clean Ponds in the wide median green of Chistoprudny Boulevard, Moscow, Russia

Florence's historic centre, for example, is surrounded by the Viali di Circonvallazione, a series of 6-lane wide streets; the boulevards follow the outline of the ancient walls of Florence, that were demolished since 1865 to make Florence, then the capital of Italy (for 5 years, 1865–1870), a modern and big city like the other European capitals. The Viali were inspired by the similar Parisian boulevards.

Russia

The dictionary defines boulevard as a wide green strip in the middle of a city street or on the embankment. 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. 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).

United Kingdom

Due to city planning and physical geography, the U.K. has only a few 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.

Oceania

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. Australia post officially abbreviates boulevard as "BVD".

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.

New Zealand

Construction began on the Orewa Boulevard in March 2009, the works are expected to be complete by February 2010. This boulevard will be approximately 400 m long with Pohutukawa and palm lined footpaths, a wide cycleway will be constructed on the beach side of the road and carparks on the business side. The Orewa Boulevard is a project commissioned by the Rodney District Council with the vision of connecting the CBD to Orewa Beach.

Gallery

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  A typical boulevard in Valencia, California.

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  Charleston Boulevard in Las Vegas, Nevada with the illuminated arterial roadways aligned in a checker-board pattern.

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  The Las Vegas Boulevard, also referred to as "The Strip" is perhaps one of the United States' most famous boulevards.

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  The sea boulevard of Zandvoort, Netherlands

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  Bulevar Nemanjića in Niš, Serbia

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  Norodom Boulevard in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

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.^{[citation needed]} 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^{[citation needed]} (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. Also of note, The Paseo in the city center was modeled after Mexico's Paseo de la Reforma.

Road verge: 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.

Bicycle boulevard, a road designed primarily for use by bicycles. Vehicles will be encouraged to travel at low speeds if they are allowed at all.

Books

• Jacobs, Allan B.; Elizabeth Macdonald, Yodan Rofé (2003). The Boulevard Book. The MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-60023-4.