The five-story Montreal City Hall (, ) is the

seat of local government The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority". In most countries, the nation's capital is also seat of its government, thus that ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Quebec, Canada. It was designed by architects Henri-Maurice Perrault and Alexander Cowper Hutchison, and built between 1872 and 1878 in the

Second Empire style Second Empire style, also known as the Napoleon III style, is a highly Eclecticism in architecture, eclectic style of architecture and decorative arts originating in the Second French Empire. It was characterized by elements of many differe ...

. It is located in

Old Montreal Old Montreal (, ) is a historic List of neighbourhoods in Montreal, neighbourhood within the List of municipalities in Quebec, municipality of Montreal in the province of Quebec, Canada. Home to the Old Port of Montreal, the neighbourhood is b ...

, between Place Jacques-Cartier and the

Champ de Mars Champ, CHAMP or The Champ may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Champ (cartoon character), an animated dog introduced in 1960 * The Champ, played on radio and created by Jake Edwards (radio personality), Jake Edwards * Champ ...

, at 275

Notre-Dame Street Notre-Dame Street (officially in ) is a historic east–west street located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It runs parallel to the Saint Lawrence River, from Lachine, Quebec, Lachine to the eastern tip of the Island of Montreal, island in Poi ...

East. The closest Metro station is Champ-de-Mars, on the Orange Line. As one of the best examples of the

in Canada, and the first

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

to have been constructed in the country solely for municipal administration, it was designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...

in 1984.

History and architecture

Incendie Hotel de Ville Montreal 3 mars 1922

Construction on the building began in 1872 and was completed in 1878. The original building was gutted by fire in March 1922, leaving only the outer wall and destroying many of the city's historic records.Rémillard, 80. The architect Louis Parant was commissioned for the reconstruction, who decided to build an entirely new building with a self-supporting steel structure built inside the shell of the ruins. This new building was modelled after the city hall of the French city of

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

.City of Montreal Web site (in French)
/ref> Other changes included a remodelling of the

Mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...

into a new Beaux-Arts inspired model, with a copper roof instead of the original slate tiles. The new building opened on February 15, 1926. In 1967

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

, the president of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, gave his '' Vive le Québec libre'' speech from the building's balcony.

References

External links

* Rémillard, Francois. ''Montreal architecture: A Guide to Styles and Buildings.'' Montreal: Meridian Press, 1990.
Montreal City Hall—Hôtel de ville de MontréalPhotograph:Montreal City Hall, 1875
- McCord Museum
Photograph:Montreal City Hall, about 1878
- McCord Museum
Photograph:Montreal City Hall, 1896
- McCord Museum
Photograph:Montreal City Hall, 1913
- McCord Museum {{Authority control Beaux-Arts architecture in Canada

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

Buildings and structures on the National Historic Sites of Canada register Burned buildings and structures in Canada City and town halls in Quebec Government buildings completed in 1878 Landmarks in Montreal National Historic Sites in Quebec Old Montreal Rebuilt buildings and structures in Canada Second Empire architecture in Canada 1872 establishments in Quebec

History and architecture

See also

References

External links