A
Boulevard (often abbreviated
Blvd) is type of
roadA road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
, usually a wide, multi-
laneA lane is a part of the roadway within a road marked out for use by a single line of vehicles in such a way as to control and guide drivers for the purpose of reducing traffic conflicts. Most public roads have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each direction, separated by Lane markings...
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
landscapingLandscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including:# living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly referred to as gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal of creating a beautiful environment within the landscape.#...
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.
Americas
Argentina
Avenida 9 de Julio in the heart of
Buenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, capital city of
ArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, 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 DomingoDowntown Santo Domingo or better known as Polígono Central is a term used to group several neighborhoods located in central Santo Domingo, D.N, Dominican Republic defined as the area delineated by John F Kennedy Avenue on the north , on the west by Wiston Churchill avenue, on the east by Maximo...
and Las Americas Boulevard in
Santo Domingo EsteSanto Domingo Este is a municipality and the provincial capital of the Santo Domingo province in the Dominican Republic. Within the municipality there is one municipal district : San Luis.....
. These boulevards are known for their wide median with plazas and trees on it.
Mexico
Paseo de la ReformaPaseo de la Reforma is a wide avenue that runs in a straight line, cutting diagonally across Mexico City. It was designed by Ferdinand von Rosenzweig in the 1860s and modeled after the great boulevards of Europe, such as Vienna's Ringstrasse or the Champs-Élysées in Paris...
(English: "Reform Promenade") is a 12 kilometer long boulevard in
Mexico CityMexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
,
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
that runs in a straight line, cutting diagonally across the city. It runs from Chapultepec Park, then passes alongside the
Torre MayorThe Torre Mayor is a skyscraper in Mexico City, United Mexican States. With a height of 225 metres to the top floor and 55 storeys, it's the second tallest building in Latin America, surpassed by Ocean Two in Panama City with 236 metres...
(currently Latin America's tallest building), continues through the fashionable
Zona RosaZona Rosa is a neighborhood in Mexico City which is known for its shopping, nightlife, gay community, and its recently established Korean community...
and then to the
ZócaloThe Zócalo is the main plaza or square in the heart of the historic center of Mexico City. The plaza used to be known simply as the "Main Square" or "Arms Square," and today its formal name is Plaza de la Constitución...
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 VictoryIn Greek mythology, Nike was a goddess who personified victory, also known as the Winged Goddess of Victory. The Roman equivalent was Victoria. Depending upon the time of various myths, she was described as the daughter of Pallas and Styx and the sister of Kratos , Bia , and Zelus...
on its top and marble statues at its base depicting the heroes of the
Mexican War of IndependenceThe Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the people of Mexico and the Spanish colonial authorities which started on 16 September 1810. The movement, which became known as the Mexican War of Independence, was led by Mexican-born Spaniards, Mestizos and Amerindians who sought...
.
The Paseo de la Reforma was designed in the 1860s during the
Second Mexican EmpireThe Second Mexican Empire was the name of Mexico under the regime established from 1864 to 1867. It was created by Napoleon III of France, who attempted to use the Mexican adventure to recapture some of the grandeur of earlier Napoleonic times...
by the Austrian military officer and engineer
Ferdinand von RosenzweigFerdinand Ritter Edler Von Rosenzweig was an Austrian military officer. He served first under Kaiser Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary and then under Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico. He was married to Hungarian princess Catarina Radzivil de Atavia who was a lady in the court of Empress Carlota of...
on the orders of
Maximilian I of MexicoMaximilian I was the only monarch of the Second Mexican Empire.After a distinguished career in the Austrian Navy, he was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico on April 10, 1864, with the backing of Napoleon III of France and a group of Mexican monarchists who sought to revive the Mexican monarchy...
. He wanted to connect his imperial residence, Chapultepec Castle, to the
Palacio NacionalThe National Palace, or Palacio Nacional in Spanish), was the seat of the federal executive in Mexico. It is located on Mexico City's main square, the Plaza de la Constitución...
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 JuárezBenito Juárez born Benito Pablo Juárez García, was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872...
.
United States and Canada
In many places in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
,
municipalitiesLocal government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
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
Sunset Boulevard may refer to:*Sunset Boulevard, a celebrated street in western Los Angeles County, California*Sunset Boulevard , a 1950 film starring Gloria Swanson and William Holden*Sunset Boulevard , the score for the 1950 film...
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
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
area's more famous Sunset BoulevardSunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
; Santa Monica Boulevard; Wilshire BoulevardWilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire , an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining. Henry Wilshire initiated what was to become Wilshire...
; and Hollywood Boulevard-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
. Many important thoroughfares in Los Angeles are boulevards.
In
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, 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 LoopThe Loop or Chicago Loop is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas located in the City of Chicago, Illinois. It is the historic commercial center of downtown Chicago...
. 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 BrothersThe Olmsted Brothers company was an influential landscape design firm in the United States, formed in 1898 by stepbrothers John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. .-History:...
.
Sometimes, the word "Boulevard" is used as a standalone name, as is the case in
AtlantaBoulevard is a street in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. The street runs east of, and parallel to, Atlanta's Downtown Connector. It is bordered by Ponce de Leon Avenue to the north , and McDonough Boulevard to the south...
, and
Roosevelt BoulevardRoosevelt Boulevard , often referred to simply as "the Boulevard," is a major traffic artery through North and Northeast Philadelphia...
in the
NortheastNortheast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Northeast and the Great Northeast, is a section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 Census, the Northeast has a sizable percentage of the city's 1.547 million people — a population of between 300,000 and 450,000,...
section of
PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
is sometimes referred to as simply "The Boulevard". The section of Côte Saint-Luc Road that is located in Westmount, a suburb of
MontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, is also referred to as "The Boulevard," as was the majority of
Broadway (New York City)Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
in the 19th century. In Pittsburgh, "The Boulevard of the Allies" runs through and connects major areas of the city.
Kansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, is famous for having more boulevards and avenues in the world than any city (if the term is used lightly) except Paris, France. In
Charlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
, Independence Boulevard connects
UptownCharlotte center city is the central area of Charlotte, North Carolina. The headquarters for the Fortune 500 companies Bank of America and Duke Energy are located here, as well as the headquarters for East Coast operations for Wells Fargo.Museums, sporting venues, shops, hotels, restaurants, and...
to the southeastern section of the city, although the westernmost segment is actually a freeway.
Nineteenth century
parkwayThe term parkway has several distinct principal meanings and numerous synonyms around the world, for either a type of landscaped area or a type of road.Type of landscaped area:...
s, such as Brooklyn's
Ocean ParkwayOcean Parkway is a broad boulevard in the west central portion of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City.-Route description:Ocean Parkway extends over a distance of about five miles , running almost north to south from the vicinity of Prospect Park to Brighton Beach...
, 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
CalgaryCalgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, 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
TorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
from Woodbine Avenue in the east to the city limits in the west. The section between
Jameson AvenueJameson Avenue is a multi-lane arterial road in the Parkdale neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a north-south roadway from Lake Shore Boulevard to Queen Street...
and the
Humber RiverThe Humber River is one of two major rivers on either side of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the other being the Don River to the east. It was designated a Canadian Heritage River on September 24, 1999....
(the original section), as an example of urban planning, was laid out to provide a pleasant drive with a view of
Humber BayHumber Bay is a bay of Lake Ontario south of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located between Ontario Place on the east and Mimico Creek to the west. The bay gives its name to Etobicoke's Humber Bay neighbourhood.-History:...
on
Lake OntarioLake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
and easy access to the park lands by automobile. It was later expanded for commuting.
A famous american example is Las Vegas Blvd in Las Vegas,
NevadaNevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
Uruguay
In
MontevideoMontevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
,
Artigas BoulevardArtigas Boulevard is an avenue in Montevideo named after Uruguayan hero José Artigas. It starts from the Rambla of Montevideo at Punta Carretas, goes north for about 6.5 kilometers, turns 100º west, and runs for another 4 kilometers up to the Rambla at Capurro - Bella Vista.It meets with...
is an important avenue (40 m wide) that encloses the central area.
Israel
Tel AvivTel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, established in 1909, was originally designed along the guidelines set out by
architectAn architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Sir
Patrick GeddesSir Patrick Geddes was a Scottish biologist, sociologist, philanthropist and pioneering town planner. He is known for his innovative thinking in the fields of urban planning and education....
. 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 BoulevardRothschild Boulevard is one of the principal streets in the center of Tel Aviv, Israel, beginning in Neve Tzedek at its southwestern edge and running north to Habima Theatre. It is one of the busiest and most expensive streets in the city, being one of the city's main tourist attractions...
.
Philippines
ManilaManila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
's premier boulevard is
Roxas BoulevardRoxas Boulevard is a boulevard in Metro Manila, and an eight-lane arterial road that connects the center of Manila with Pasay City, Parañaque City. It is one of the major arteries in the city's metropolitan network, designated as Radial Road 1...
in the heart of the city. Located along this bayshore road are luxury hotels, the
Cultural Center of the PhilippinesThe Cultural Center of the Philippines is a government-owned and controlled corporation established to preserve, develop and promote arts and culture in the Philippines. The CCP was established through Executive Order No. 30 s. 1966 by President Ferdinand Marcos...
performing arts complex, shopping malls and parks. Located in the northern terminus of the road is
Rizal ParkRizal Park, also known as Luneta Park or colloquially Luneta, is a historical urban park located in the heart of the city of Manila, Philippines, adjacent to the old walled city of Manila, now Intramuros. Since the Spanish Colonial Era, the park has been a favorite spot for unwinding, socializing,...
, the historic
urban parkAn urban park, is also known as a municipal park or a public park, public open space or municipal gardens , is a park in cities and other incorporated places to offer recreation and green space to residents of, and visitors to, the municipality...
of Manila.
India
New DelhiNew Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
's premier boulevard is Rajpath Boulevard in the heart of the city of
New DelhiNew Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. Tree lined road with lakes and fountains designed by British Architect Edwin Luyten from 1912 to 1930
France
Baron HaussmannGeorges-Eugène Haussmann, commonly known as Baron Haussmann , was a French civic planner whose name is associated with the rebuilding of Paris...
made such roads well-known in his re-shaping of
Second EmpireThe Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
ParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
between 1853 and 1870. The French word
boulevard originally referred to the flat summit of a
rampartA defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...
(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
avenueA street name or odonym is an identifying name given to a street. The street name usually forms part of the address...
s that radiate from the center.
Boulevard is sometimes used to describe an elegantly wide road, such as those in Paris, approaching the
Champs-ÉlyséesThe Avenue des Champs-Élysées is a prestigious avenue in Paris, France. With its cinemas, cafés, luxury specialty shops and clipped horse-chestnut trees, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets and one of the most expensive strip of real estate in the world. The name is...
. Famous French boulevards:
Avenue MontaigneAvenue Montaigne is a street in the 8th arrondisement of Paris, France-Name origin:Avenue Montaigne was originally called the allée des Veuves because women in mourning gathered there, but the street has changed much since those days of the early 18th century. The current name comes from Michel...
, Montmartre, Invalides,
Boulevard HaussmannBoulevard Haussmann, running from the 8th to the 9th arrondissement,is one of the wide tree-lined boulevards created in Paris during the Second French Empire by Baron Haussmann, with enthusiastic support from Napoleon III....
. Frequenters of boulevards were sometimes called
boulevardiers
Germany
The historically most famous boulevard in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and arguably in all of Germany is
Unter den LindenUnter den Linden is a boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is named for its linden trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall between two carriageways....
: location of the
Berlin State OperaThe Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:...
, Berlin Cathedral, the former royal palace, Humboldt University, the
Neue WacheThe Neue Wache is a building in central Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is located on the north side of the Unter den Linden, a major east-west thoroughfare in the centre of the city. Dating from 1816, the Neue Wache was designed by the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel and is a leading example...
state memorial, the Germany Historical Museum housed in the
old arsenalThe Zeughaus of Berlin is the oldest structure on the Unter den Linden. It was built by the Brandenburg Elector Frederick III between 1695 and 1730 in the baroque style, to be used as an artillery arsenal...
and
Brandenburg GateThe Brandenburg Gate is a former city gate and one of the most well-known landmarks of Berlin and Germany. It is located west of the city centre at the junction of Unter den Linden and Ebertstraße, immediately west of the Pariser Platz. It is the only remaining gate of a series through which...
being the boulevards focal point. Most famed for its classy shopping facilities is Berlin's
KurfürstendammThe Kurfürstendamm, known locally as the Ku'damm, is one of the most famous avenues in Berlin. The street takes its name from the former Kurfürsten of Brandenburg. This very broad, long boulevard can be considered the Champs-Élysées of Berlin — full of shops, houses, hotels and restaurants...
. 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 WarThe Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
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-AlleeThe Karl-Marx-Allee is a monumental socialist boulevard built by the GDR between 1952 and 1960 in Berlin Friedrichshain and Mitte. Today the boulevard is named after Karl Marx....
, 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 styleIn architecture, a "wedding-cake style" is an informal reference to buildings with many distinct tiers, each set back from the one below, resulting in a shape like a wedding cake, that are richly ornamented with classicising detail, as if made in sugar icing....
. The boulevard is divided into various blocks. Between 1949 and 1989, it was the main center of
East BerlinEast Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
. The
KönigsalleeThe Königsallee is an urban boulevard in Düsseldorf, state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The Königsallee is noted for both the landscaped canal that runs along its center, as well as for the fashion showrooms and luxury retail stores located along its sides.Nicknamed Kö by the...
in
DüsseldorfDüsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
is known for its many famous fashion stores and showrooms.
Ireland
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
FlorenceFlorence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
's historic centre, for example, is surrounded by the
Viali di CirconvallazioneThe Viali di Circonvallazione are a series of 6-lane boulevards surrounding north part of the historic centre of Florence.-History:The boulevards follows the outline of the ancient walls of Florence, that were demolished since 1865 according to the Giuseppe Poggi's project to make Florence, then...
, 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
embankmentTo keep a road or railway line straight or flat, and where the comparative cost or practicality of alternate solutions is prohibitive, the land over which the road or rail line will travel is built up to form an embankment. An embankment is therefore in some sense the opposite of a cutting, and...
. Historical
Boulevard RingThe Boulevard Ring is Moscow's second centremost ring road . Boulevards form a semicircular chain along the western, northern and eastern sides of the historical White City of Moscow; in the south the incomplete ring is terminated by the embankments of Moskva River...
in
MoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
emerged on the site of the former
White CityBely Gorod is the central core area of Moscow, Russia. The name comes from the color of its defensive wall, which was erected in 1585-1593 at the behest of tsar Feodor I and Boris Godunov by architect Fyodor Kon...
walls (demolished in 1760s and 1770s) before the
Fire of 1812The 1812 Fire of Moscow broke out on September 14, 1812 in Moscow on the day when Russian troops and most residents abandoned the city and Napoleon's vanguard troops entered the city following the Battle of Borodino...
, starting with
Tverskoy BoulevardTverskoy Boulevard is one of the main thoroughfares in central Moscow. It is a part of the Boulevard Ring and begins at the end of the Nikitsky Boulevard, at the crossing with Nikitsky Street. The boulevard ends at the Pushkin Square and Tverskaya Street, one of the busiest places in Moscow...
in 1796. The whole ring was replanted and rebuilt after the fire, in 1820s; together with the embanknments of
Moskva RiverThe Moskva River is a river that flows through the Moscow and Smolensk Oblasts in Russia, and is a tributary of the Oka River.-Etymology:...
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 RingThe Garden Ring, also known as the "B" Ring , is a circular avenue around the central Moscow, its course corresponding to what used to be the city ramparts surrounding Zemlyanoy Gorod in the 17th century....
, 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 roadA frontage road is a non-limited access road running parallel to a higher-speed road, usually a freeway, and feeding it at appropriate points of access...
s, are not usually considered boulevards).
Street names of
Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
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 IslandVasilyevsky Island is an island in Saint Petersburg, Russia, bordered by the rivers Bolshaya Neva and Malaya Neva in the south and northeast, and by the Gulf of Finland in the west. Vasilyevsky Island is separated from Dekabristov Island by the Smolenka River...
).
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 LondonThe Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
,
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
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 RoadBlackfriars Road is a road in Southwark, SE1. It runs between St George's Circus at the southern end and Blackfriars Bridge over the River Thames at the northern end, leading to the City of London. Halfway up on the west side is Southwark tube station, on the corner with The Cut...
, do exist.
Milton KeynesMilton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
,
BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, 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 townA new town is a specific type of a planned community, or planned city, that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are uncommon in new...
in the 1960s.
NottinghamNottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
also has an extensive network of Boulevards.
Australia
Melbourne has at least four roads named "the Boulevard." These are, generally, long roads with many curves which wind alongside the
Yarra RiverThe Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...
.
In addition, the spelling of boulevard with an extra 'e' is common, for example the
Southlands BoulevardeSouthlands Boulevarde is a shopping centre located in Willetton, Western Australia, along Pinetree Gully Road and facing Willetton Senior High School. Its shops include Woolworths, Coles...
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 ParadeRoyal Parade can refer to:* Royal Parade, Melbourne - a street in Melbourne.* A variant of the Virginia Reel card game....
,
Victoria ParadeVictoria Street is one of the major thoroughfares of inner Melbourne. Running east to west, Victoria Street touches the Hoddle Grid at the intersection of La Trobe Street and Spring Street, opposite the Carlton Gardens. It runs from its terminus at the intersection of Munster Terrace in North...
, Flemington Road, and the outer section of
Mount Alexander RoadMount Alexander Road is a major road in Melbourne's inner northern suburbs.It commences at the junction of Flemington Road and CityLink in the suburb of North Melbourne, proceeds North through Flemington forming the boundary between Flemington and Travancore, then forming the boundary between...
. Sydneys boulevards are Norwest Boulevard in
Bella VistaBella Vista is a suburb of north-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bella Vista is located 33 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the The Hills Shire. Bella Vista is part of the Greater Western Sydney region and the Hills...
and
Baulkham HillsBaulkham Hills is a suburb in the north-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Baulkham Hills is located 31 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of The Hills Shire...
, The Boulevard in
KirraweeKirrawee is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kirrawee is located 25 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district in the Sutherland Shire. Kirrawee lies between Sutherland, to the west and Gymea and Grays Point, to the east...
,
Brighton-le-SandsBrighton-Le-Sands , is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Brighton-Le-Sands is located 13 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, on the western shore of Botany Bay...
,
CammerayCammeray is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Cammeray is located 5 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council.Cammeray is mostly a residential area...
,
Canley ValeCanley Vale is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Canley Vale is located 30 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield and is part of the South-western Sydney region.-History:Aboriginal people...
,
CaringbahCaringbah is a suburb, in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Caringbah is located 24 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Sutherland Shire...
,
CheltenhamCheltenham is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Cheltenham is located 21 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Hornsby Shire...
,
Dulwich HillDulwich Hill is a residential suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Dulwich Hill is located 9 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Marrickville Council...
,
EppingEpping is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Epping is located 18 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of the City of Ryde, the City of Parramatta and Hornsby Shire and is located in the Northern...
,
FairfieldFairfield is a western suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Fairfield is located 29 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Fairfield and is also partly in the local government...
, Fairfield Heights, Fairfield West,
GymeaGymea is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Gymea is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire. The postcode is 2227, which it shares with adjacent suburb Gymea Bay.-History:The...
,
LakembaLakemba is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lakemba is located 15 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canterbury....
,
LewishamLewisham is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lewisham is located 8 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Marrickville Council. The postcode is 2049...
,
LidcombeLidcombe is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales Australia. Lidcombe is located 14 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Auburn Council....
,
LilyfieldLilyfield is a small suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lilyfield is located 6 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt....
,
MalabarMalabar is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Malabar is located 12 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Randwick.-Location:...
,
MirandaMiranda is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Miranda is located 24 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the Sutherland Shire....
,
NewportNewport is a suburb in northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Newport is located 31 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Pittwater Council, and is part of the Northern Beaches region....
,
PetershamPetersham is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Petersham is located 6 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Marrickville Council...
,
PunchbowlPunchbowl, a suburb of local government areas City of Bankstown and the City of Canterbury is located 17 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a part of the South-western Sydney region.- History :Punchbowl is named for a...
,
Sans SouciSans Souci is a southern Sydney suburb in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sans Souci is 17 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and lies across the local government areas of the City of Rockdale and the Municipality of Kogarah. It is part of the St George area.Sans...
,
Smithfield* Highest Recorded Temperature: 44.2 °C* Lowest Recorded Temperature: -2.3 °C* Warmest Month: January* Coolest Month: July* Highest Precipitation: February* Lowest Precipitation: August-Demographics:...
, Strathfield,
SutherlandSutherland is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Sutherland Shire....
,
Wiley ParkWiley Park is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wiley Park is located 17 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the City of Canterbury.-History:...
and
YagoonaYagoona, a suburb of local government area City of Bankstown, is located 20 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a part of the South-western Sydney region. Yagoona is an Aboriginal word meaning 'now' or...
.
New Zealand
Construction began on the
OrewaOrewa, a town in New Zealand's North Island lies on the Hibiscus Coast, just north of the base of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula and 40 kilometres north of central Auckland. Orewa's population was 7,326 in the 2006 Census, an increase of 1,692 from 2001. It is a popular holiday destination...
Boulevard in March 2009, the works are expected to be complete by February 2010. This boulevard will be approximately 400 m long with
PohutukawaThe Pōhutukawa is a coastal evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that produces a brilliant display of red flowers made up of a mass of stamens. The Pōhutukawa is one of twelve Metrosideros species endemic to New Zealand...
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
CBDA central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
to Orewa Beach.
Alternative meanings
Central reservationOn divided roads, such as divided highways or freeways/motorways, the central reservation , median, parkway , median strip or central nature strip is the area which separates opposing lanes of traffic...
: 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
curbA curb, or kerb , is the edge where a raised pavement/sidewalk/footpath, road median, or road shoulder meets an unraised street or other roadway.-Function:...
of concrete, to a wide strip of grass, to a thoroughly landscaped space of trees,
shrubA shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s, and other foliage; in urban areas, boulevards can also contain public
artArt is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
or
memorialA memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....
s. Wide boulevards also sometimes serve as rights-of-way for
tramA tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
s or
light railLight rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
systems.
Kansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, has more “boulevard” miles than the city of Paris (if the term is used lightly). One such famous boulevard is
Ward ParkwayWard Parkway is a boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri near the Kansas-Missouri state line. Ward Parkway begins at Brookside Boulevard on the eastern edge of the Country Club Plaza and continues westward along Brush Creek as U.S. Route 56 until it turns southward across the creek just before the...
, which features fountains, statues, and vast quantities of grass and trees in the center. Also of note,
The PaseoThe Paseo is a major north–south parkway in Kansas City, Missouri. It runs in the center of the city: from Cliff Drive and Lexington Avenue on the bluffs above the Missouri River in the Pendleton Heights historic neighborhood, to 85th Street and Woodland Avenue...
in the city center was modeled after Mexico's
Paseo de la ReformaPaseo de la Reforma is a wide avenue that runs in a straight line, cutting diagonally across Mexico City. It was designed by Ferdinand von Rosenzweig in the 1860s and modeled after the great boulevards of Europe, such as Vienna's Ringstrasse or the Champs-Élysées in Paris...
.
Road verge: Another use for the term
boulevard is for a strip of grass between a
sidewalkA sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...
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 boulevardA bicycle boulevard is a low speed street which has been optimized for bicycle traffic. Bicycle boulevards discourage cut-through motor vehicle traffic but allow local motor vehicle traffic. They are designed to give priority to cyclists as through-going traffic...
, a
roadA road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
designed primarily for use by bicycles. Vehicles will be encouraged to travel at low speeds if they are allowed at all.