La Tour IBM-Marathon (IBM-Marathon Tower), also known as 1250 René-Lévesque, was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates for IBM Canada and Marathon Realty in 1992. At 199-meters and 47-stories, it is the second-tallest building in Montréal. Despite being 6-meters shorter than 1000 de La Gauchetière, it is built on higher ground and thus also reaches maximum height approved by the city--the elevation of Mont Royal.
The design, based on Frankfurt, Germany's Westendstraße 1, is partly dictated by the building's position at the western edge of the downtown core. The modern-style western facade, facing the residential periphery, is a straight granite-clad wall covered with square windows, with irregular setbacks creating the appearance of several superimposed slabs. The postmodern-style eastern façade, facing the commercial center, is dominated by an outwardly-curved glass curtain wall that extends past the southern edge, creating a suspended vertical "fin." The narrow north wall recesses in a series of setbacks, allowing the building to keep its human scale at street level. At the lowest setback, the 4-floor atrium includes a bamboo-planted winter garden, and a food court on a mezzanine. At the building top, a spire/antenna is integrated to the north walls of the last few floors and extends 31 metres beyond the mechanical penthouse above the 47th floor.
Tags: Tour IBM-Marathon IBM-Marathon Tower 1250 René-Lévesque 1250 Rene-Levesque Kohn Pedersen Fox Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates modern postmodern skyscraper tower Montréal Montreal downtown Downtown Montréal Downtown Montreal Ville Marie Québec Quebec canada
La Tour IBM-Marathon (IBM-Marathon Tower), also known as 1250 René-Lévesque, was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates for IBM Canada and Marathon Realty in 1992. At 199-meters and 47-stories, it is the second-tallest building in Montréal. Despite being 6-meters shorter than 1000 de La Gauchetière, it is built on higher ground and thus also reaches maximum height approved by the city--the elevation of Mont Royal.
The design, based on Frankfurt, Germany's Westendstraße 1, is partly dictated by the building's position at the western edge of the downtown core. The modern-style western facade, facing the residential periphery, is a straight granite-clad wall covered with square windows, with irregular setbacks creating the appearance of several superimposed slabs. The postmodern-style eastern façade, facing the commercial center, is dominated by an outwardly-curved glass curtain wall that extends past the southern edge, creating a suspended vertical "fin." The narrow north wall recesses in a series of setbacks, allowing the building to keep its human scale at street level. At the lowest setback, the 4-floor atrium includes a bamboo-planted winter garden, and a food court on a mezzanine. At the building top, a spire/antenna is integrated to the north walls of the last few floors and extends 31 metres beyond the mechanical penthouse above the 47th floor.
Tags: Tour IBM-Marathon IBM-Marathon Tower 1250 René-Lévesque 1250 Rene-Levesque Kohn Pedersen Fox Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates modern postmodern skyscraper tower Montréal Montreal downtown Downtown Montréal Downtown Montreal Ville Marie Québec Quebec canada
The view from across McGill University's Lower Field.
Place Mercantile (left), at 2001 avenue McGill College, was built in 1983 to the design of Sylvia Gottwald-Thapar. The 24-floor, 92-meter tall building incorporates historic houses at the bottom, linked by an interior atrium 3 stories high.
Le 1501 McGill College, also known as La Tour McGill, (center), at 1501 avenue mcGill College, is a 36-story, 158-meter skyscraper built by WZMH Architects in 1992. The building's postmodern form features a glass curtain wall that varies between blue and green depending on sunlight. The top 4 floors form a pyramid-shaped mechanical penthouse that is lit white at night; it is lit white, green and red during the Christmas holidays (in a similar manner as the Empire State Building). The tower is crowned with a hollow pyramidal spire.
1200 McGill College (center-right), is a 24-floor, 85-meter high-rise building built in 1976.
McGill University, named after James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university, was founded in 1821. Chartered during the British colonial era, 46 years before the Canadian Confederation, it is also the first non-denominational university in the British Empire. McGill's main campus is set upon 80 acres) at the foot of Mount Royal. A second campus, Macdonald Campus, is situated in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, 30 kilometres west of the downtown campus.
Tags: Bachelor Party Jeff's Bachelor Party Quebec McGill University Canada college campus university McGill Montreal Québec Montréal Place Mercantile skyscraper lower field Sylvia Gottwald-Thapar Le 1501 McGill College 1200 McGill College 1501 McGill College La Tour McGill McGill Tower Ville Marie l'Université McGill Université McGill l'Universite McGill Universite McGill
Basilique-Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde, at 1085 rue de la Cathédrale, a one-quarter scale model of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, was consecrated in 1894 as Cathédrale Saint-James. Construction, which began in 1875 under Fr. Joseph Michaud, was ordered by Mgr. Ignance Bourget, second bishop of Montreal, to replace the former Cathédrale-Saint-Jacques Cathedral, which burned in 1852, as the seat of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Montreal. The cathedral was made into a minor basilica in 1919 by Pope Benedict XV, and rededicated in 1955 to Mary, Queen of the World, by Pope Pius XII at the request of cardinal Paul-Émile Léger. At the time of its completion, it was the largest church in Québec, and today is the third largest at 4,700 square meters.
The Baroque Revival style building is characterized by a prominent narthex built in coursed ashlar, surmounted by a monumental dome, 77 meters in height. Instead of the statues of the twelve apostles on the façade of St. Peter's, the front of the church is topped by statues of the patron saints of thirteen parishes of Montreal who donated them, including St. John the Baptist and St. Patrick. The interior, which is also copied from St. Peter's, includes a baldachin, which is a scale model of Gian Lorenzo Bernini's original.
Tags: nave baldachin Marie-Reine-du-Monde Basilica-Cathedral Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur Basilica Marie-Reine-du-Monde Cathedral Basilique Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde Basilique-cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde Roman Catholic Cathedral-basilica of Mary basilica cathedral Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral National Historic Site National Historic Site of Canada landmark Canadian Register of Historic Places Lieux patrimoniaux du Canada downtown Downtown Montréal Downtown Montreal Ville Marie Montréal Montreal Québec Quebec canada Joseph Michaud
Maison Reid Wilson (Reid Wilson House) (left), also known as Maison Thomas Craig, at 1201 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, was built in 1883 by John James Browne for William Workman. In 1901, James Reid Wilson commissioned Richard A. Waite to perform an extensive reconstruction of the mansion, reconfiguring the plan and the facades, incorporating elements of Italianate Romanesque Revival and Gothic Revival design. In 1951, the building was acquired by Corby Distilleries Limited and subsequently restored and renovated.
Maison Louis-Joseph Forget (Louis-Joseph Forget House) (right), also known as Maison Maria Raymond, at 1195 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, was built in French Second Empire style in 1883 by Maurice Berrault for Louis-Joseph Forget. It has served as the Montreal headquarters of the United Services Club since 1927. The club was first founded in 1922 by veterans from the World War. In 1975, the building was acquired by the Macdonald Stewart Foundation, and the Club now occupies the main floor. The house has undergone little change over he years. In 1902, minor modifications were made the main entrance as part of major interior renovations by Edward and William S. Maxwell. Of particular interest are the oak and wrought iron entrance doors with finely crafted iron grilles made at the Clendinning foundry of Montréal.
Tags: Maison Reid Wilson Reid Wilson House John James Browne James Reid Wilson Richard A. Waite Richard Waite Italianate Romanesque Revival Italianate Romanesque Revival Gothic Revival Corby Distilleries Limited Maison Louis-Joseph Forget Louis-Joseph Forget House Louis-Joseph Forget Maison Maria Raymond Maria Raymond House French Second Empire Maurice Berrault United Services Club Macdonald Stewart Foundation mansion Edward Maxwell William S. Maxwell Montréal Montreal downtown Downtown Montréal Downtown Montreal Ville Marie Québec Quebec canada golden square mile maison john-reid wilson john-reid wilson house National Historic Site of Canada landmark Canadian Register of Historic Places Lieux patrimoniaux du Canada