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Because History repeats itself...
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2012Bonheur d'Occasion (Workers') HousesCadieux SmithyEmpress TheatreGriffintown Horse PalaceInstitute of the Misericordia SistersRedpath HouseRodier BuildingSaint-Laurent/Monument National City BlockSquare Viger and AgoraTrès-Saint-Nom-de-Jésus ChurchUNDER OBSERVATION: 9th floor Eaton's RestaurantUNDER OBSERVATION: Dow PlanetariumUNDER OBSERVATION: Mount Stephen HouseUNDER OBSERVATION: New City GasUNDER OBSERVATION: Public BathsUNDER OBSERVATION: Sir Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine House2010Cadieux FoundryCIBC BankDow PlanetariumEaton's 9th floor restaurantInstitute of the Misericordia SistersJohn Redpath MansionLouis-Hippolyte LaFontaine MansionNew City GasTrès-Saint-Nom-de-Jésus ChurchViger Square2009Agora de Charles Daudelin, Viger SquareCN shops in Point Saint CharlesDow PlanetariumEaton's 9th floor restaurantGuaranteed Pure Milk BottleJohn Redpath MansionLouis-Hippolyte LaFontaine MansionNew City GasPaper Hill SectorSainte-Brigide de Kildare Church2008Ben's DelicatessenEaton's 9th floorInstitute of the Misericordia Sisters / CHSLD Jacques-Viger Montreal Planetarium Mother House of the Sisters of Saints-Noms-de-Jésus-et-de-MarieRedpath HouseSir Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine HouseStairs, balconies and cornicesThe CN shops in Point St. CharlesWilder Building2006Institutional properties on the southern slope of Mount RoyalLa Ronde Antique CarouselThe CHUM project on the Saint-Denis/Viger BlockThe Lakeshore and its landscapes2005Montreal?s Steeples Pointe Claire Village Silo No 5The Carmelites' Convent The Montreal and St. Sulpice libraries
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John Redpath Mansion

redpath1.jpg3457 Avenue du Musée

Architectural Value

Designed by architect Sir Andrew Taylor and built in 1886, this is one of the rare examples of Queen Anne architecture still standing in Montreal, with its red brick, its slate shingles, its many gables and its tall chimney.

Historic Value

A vestige of the era of Montreal’s fabled Square Mile, that section of downtown bounded to the north by the mountain and to the south by today’s René Lévesque Boulevard where Canada’s business elite lived in remarkable mansions. The Redpath House was built for John Redpath, the wealthy industrialist and builder of the Lachine Canal who founded the sugar refinery that bears his name. The Redpath family was one of the most influential Montreal families of the 19th century.

The Threat

In 1986, Heritage Montreal and Save Montreal obtained an injunction to stop the demolition of this historic building. Despite an out-of-court settlement between the parties, the building and the site, at least as far as maintenance goes, have been abandoned by their owner, who would appear to still hope to demolish the building to make way for high rise construction.

Initiatives of Héritage Montréal

Heritage Montreal has had several meetings with the owner and with municipal authorities. In 2002, the organisation intervened in front of the arbitration commission of the City of Montreal to prevent a demolition permit from being issued. Over the 20 years since demolition wasstopped, Heritage Montreal has continued to remind municipal authorities of the need to preserve the house and to find a way to integrate it into a development project that would respect the heritage and the urban pattern of the Square Mile. We have also proposed that the site and the vestiges of the house be integrated into a pedestrian path that would link the mountain to Sherbrooke Street where the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts hopes to design a sculpture garden as part of its Canadian art pavilion project.

To help safeguard this site, write to us.


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