boulevard

views updated May 17 2018

boulevard.
1. Broad street, promenade, or walk, planted with rows of trees, e.g. those laid out by Haussmann in C19 Paris.

2. Horizontal portion of a rampart, hence the promenade laid out on demolished fortifications, e.g. the Ring streets around many German cities. One of the first boulevards (1670) was created on the line of walls flattened by Vauban in Paris, running from the Porte St-Denis to the Bastille, intended as a promenade for pedestrians only.

3. Any wide main street, especially in the USA.

Bibliography

Goulty (1991);
Symes (1993)

Boulevard

views updated May 14 2018

Boulevard ★½ 1994 (R)

Jennefer (Wuhrer) is forced to give her baby up for adoption, after escaping from an abusive husband, and make her way on the city's mean streets. She meets prostitute Ola (Chong), who decides to look after the naïf and protect Jennefer from violent pimp Hassan (Phillips). But Ola gets into trouble with tough cop Claren (Henriksen) and soon Jennefer must survive on her own—against both Hassan and her vengeful husband. Woman empowerment, complete with standard cliches. 96m/C VHS . KariWuhrer, Rae Dawn Chong, Lou Diamond Phillips, Lance Henriksen, Joel Bissonnette; D: Penelope Buitenhuis; W: Rae Dawn Chong; M: Ian Thomas.

boulevard

views updated May 23 2018

boul·e·vard / ˈboŏləˌvärd/ (abbr.: blvd.) • n. a wide street in a town or city, typically one lined with trees: [in names] Sunset Boulevard.

boulevard

views updated Jun 11 2018

boulevard broad tree-lined walk. XVIII. — F. — G. bollwerk BULWARK; orig. applied to a promenade laid out on the horizontal portion of a rampart in a demolished fortification.

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