The Architects' Building was an office building located in
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
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, Canada. It was located at 1135
Beaver Hall Hill
Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-largest l ...
, on the southeast corner of Dorchester Boulevard (now
René Lévesque Boulevard
René Lévesque Boulevard (), previously named Dorchester Boulevard, is one of the main streets in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
It is a main east–west thoroughfare passing through the downtown core in the borough of Ville-Marie (Montreal), Ville ...
) in
Downtown Montreal
Downtown Montreal (French language, French: ''Centre-Ville de Montréal'') is the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The district is situated on the southernmost slope of Mount Royal, and occupies the western portion of the ...
.
It was designed by Montreal architecture firm
Ross and Macdonald
Ross and Macdonald was one of Canada's most notable architecture firms in the early 20th century. Based in Montreal, Quebec, the firm originally operated as a partnership between George Allen Ross and David MacFarlane (known as Ross and MacFarla ...
, and was constructed between 1930 and 1931.
It stood 17 stories tall, equivalent to 69.82 m in height. Its architectural style was considered to be
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
.
The Architects' Building was designed shortly after the same firm's celebrated
Édifice Price
The Édifice Price () is an 18-floor (originally 16) skyscraper in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Built in 1928–1930 amid controversy for Price Brothers Limited, it is the tallest building in the Old Quebec historical district, as well as one ...
in Quebec City and showed similarities in its style and massing. As the building's name suggests, Ross and Macdonald did in fact locate their own offices on the 13th floor of the building from its 1931 opening until about 1934.
Canadian Industries Limited
Canadian Industries Limited, and from 1980 C-I-L Inc., was a Canadian chemicals manufacturer. The company was founded in 1910 as Canadian Explosives Limited, and in 1927 changed its name to Canadian Industries Limited. At its inception, the compa ...
(CIL) first leased space in the building in 1934 and shortly afterwards became the principal occupant. Around 1936, the building was renamed CIL House – not to be confused with the
later building which also bore the same name. At the time, CIL was jointly owned by
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British Chemical industry, chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. Its headquarters were at Millbank in London. ICI was listed on the London Stock Exchange ...
(ICI) and
DuPont
Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to:
People
* Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...
. A U.S. antitrust settlement in 1954 required the termination of all joint ventures between the two companies. CIL was
split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, enter ...
; the ICI-owned part retained the CIL name but moved to new headquarters. The remainder, named DuPont Canada, remained in the old building (now the DuPont Building) until 1967.
The building was demolished in 1968.
[The address is last listed in Lovell's city directory in 1968. The demolition was reported in the Montreal ''Gazette'' in November: ]
References
{{reflist
1931 establishments in Quebec
1968 disestablishments in Quebec
Art Deco architecture in Canada
Art Deco skyscrapers
Buildings and structures demolished in 1968
Demolished buildings and structures in Montreal
Downtown Montreal
Office buildings completed in 1931
Ross and Macdonald buildings