Road to be named after Arthur Porter?
A new road to pass in front of the new MUHC hospital is supposed to be named after Dr. Arthur Porter, ex-czar of the MUHC, currently under various kinds of investigation. Peter McQueen is sputtering about this on Facebook and I have to say I hope the Commission de toponymie nixes it. If nothing else there’s a general policy for not naming things after living people at least partly because when it comes to human lives, it ain’t over till it’s over.
There are numerous medical people whose name could go on that road. Connected with McGill there’s Maude Abbott, who has a tiny street named after her in RDP, in a tiny subdivision that could be labelled “streets named after women so they can’t say we never name streets after women.” Sir William Osler, who has some connection to McGill and a few things named after him there, hasn’t got a city street named after him, nor does John McCrae, WWI medic and poet who died of infection in Belgium before that war was over.
There’s also Ralph Steinman, a 2011 Nobel laureate born in Montreal (who died days before the award, a year ago).
I’m sure there are dozens more that deserve that accolade more than Dr. Porter, and hope the MUHC can sort this out before any signs go up.
Beef 09:59 on 2012/10/27 Permalink
I think the northernmost block of Drummond (above Dr. Penfield) is named after Osler.
Kate 10:02 on 2012/10/27 Permalink
I saw that on the map but thought it might be specifically on McGill land. But I could be wrong.
Kate 10:08 on 2012/10/27 Permalink
Or they could go classical. Hippocrates Way. Avicenna Drive.
Marc 11:53 on 2012/10/27 Permalink
Dr. Porter’s interests aside, am I the only one who thinks it’s tacky to name something after a living person?
Marc 11:54 on 2012/10/27 Permalink
Sir William Osler drive is a city road; the one block of Drummond above Doctor Penfield that was renamed.
No\Deli 14:34 on 2012/10/27 Permalink
“when it comes to human lives, it ain’t over till it’s over” – coincidentally, the motto of the new hospital.
JaneyB 18:27 on 2012/10/27 Permalink
Dr. Arthur Porter Way?!! Outrageous. I think we all need to write to the Commission de toponymie about this. Maude Abbott sounds like a very good option. This could be a good cause for McGill alums!
While we are on the naming topic, it seems strange to me that so many elements of the new HEC building are named after members of the Rizzuto family….I can’t imagine this happening anywhere else in the country.
Lorie 21:32 on 2012/10/27 Permalink
“Promenade Sir-William-Osler” is the street name for the section of Drummond north of Dr. Penfield. It’s a Montreal street, and the address of McGill’s McIntyre Medical Sciences Building is in fact 3655 Promenade Sir-William-Osler.
I completely agree that Maude Abbott deserves a little more recognition!
DCMontreal 07:13 on 2012/10/28 Permalink
Not naming things for living people is a good idea – just ask the folks at Penn State who have a huge statue of coach Joe Paterno – it was installed long before his death and now collects dust in a warehouse after the child sex scandal rocked the football program.
Kate 10:05 on 2012/10/28 Permalink
Two instances of things named after living people here: Nelson Mandela park in Côte-des-Neiges, and rue Antonine-Maillet in Outremont. I don’t know how they got passed by the toponymy commission. I recall Côte St-Luc was mocked a few years ago for naming a bunch of things for living city politicians, but I don’t remember the details.
Thanks Marc and Lorie for the clarifications on Promenade Sir-William-Osler.
No\Deli 13:47 on 2012/10/28 Permalink
I assume that Yitzhak Rabin Park was named after his death – but I don’t know how to check it.