Ravenscrag (also known as Hugh Allan House and Hugh Montagu Allan House) is a historic mansion located in the Golden Square Mile in Montreal (Quebec), Canada.
Built mainly between 1861 and 1863, this house was the residence of Sir Hugh Allan from 1863 to 1882 and to his son Sir Hugh Montagu Allan from 1882 to 1940. In 1940, the Allan family donated the house to the Royal Victoria Hospital. Since 1943, the building has housed the Allan Memorial Institute, which houses the hospital's psychiatry department, and since 1997, the psychiatry department of McGill University Health Centre (MUHC). Following the move of the Royal Victoria Hospital in 2015, the future of Ravenscrag is uncertain. In 2023, the MUHC transferred the property to the Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI) in order to realize McGill University's new pavilion project called "Royal Victoria". The MUHC remains tenant until 2028.
This residence was designed by architect Victor Roy of the firm William Spier & Son in the Italianate style, following the trends of Victorian architecture. Around 1865, architect John William Hopkins of the firm Hopkins & Wily superintended the construction of the reception rooms annexed to the house and of the greenhouse, following the plans of architect Victor Roy. After the construction of the reception rooms around 1865, the house had 34 rooms, excluding the servants' quarters and outbuildings. Often qualified as , the interior was decorated by the Italian painter Giuseppe Guidicini, the team of the Canadian painter John McArthur, the team of the carpenter and joiner George Roberts and the interior decoration company J. & W. Hilton of Montreal.
Hugh Allan baptized his residence "Ravenscrag" following its construction in the 1860s. This residence is part of the former Hugh Allan estate which also includes stables, a Gate house and a park. This estate was recognized by the City of Montreal in 1987 and by the Government of Quebec in 2005 as an integral part of the "Site patrimonial du Mont-Royal" (Mount Royal Heritage Site). It was also declared to be integrated into the "Secteur de valeur patrimoniale exceptionnelle Hôpital Royal Victoria" (Royal Victoria Hospital Historic District) by the City in 2004.
Site Ravenscrag is located at 835-1025 Pine Avenue West in the Golden Square Mile district of the Ville-Marie borough in the city of Montreal. It is located approximately 3.5 km from Old Montreal. More precisely, the house is located on the southeast slope of Mount Royal and is located at the top of McTavish Street. It can be accessed from the main gate on Pine Avenue West or from the entrance near Peel Street further west.
History Before 1861 : land purchase and conception
The land on which Ravenscrag is built was previously part of the estate of Simon McTavish, a wealthy fur trader, which once stretched from the top of the mountain in the north to Saint Catherine Street in the south, and from the property of James McGill in the east to beyond Drummond Street in the west. In 1803, Simon McTavish decided to build a "chateau" on his estate, intended to honour his wife, Marie-Marguerite Chaboillez. However, in 1804, he died during construction and construction stopped. The half-completed house was then left abandoned until its demolition in 1860. In the meantime, the McTavish estate underwent several subdivisions by land investors such as John Torrance, Hugh Taylor and John Hutchison. Some of these lots were sold on November 23, 1853 at an auction organised by auctioneer John Leeming. On this occasion, Hugh Allan purchased from David Torrance for the sum of a lot of land located on the south-east slope of Mount Royal, above McTavish house and bordering the McTavish burial site to the east. However, there is no information to determine Hugh Allan's intention regarding the use he intended for this lot of land when he purchased it. He was himself a land investor: during his life, he purchased several lots of land in the St. Antoine ward in Montreal on which he had houses or apartment buildings built for rental.Hugh Allan did business with several notaries in the Montreal district to notarize deeds of purchase of land or leases for the rental of his buildings, including notaries James Smith, William Anderson Phillips, James Stewart Hunter, and Isaac Jones Gibb. However, the construction of buildings intended for rental (row houses or apartment buildings) was at this time rather rare in the northeast of Sherbrooke Street, between McGill University and Guy Street. Due to their privileged location on the mountain, these lands tended to be used as estates on which residences were built in the style of an English country house, following the British trend in architecture for wealthy families. For example, were built in that area during the 1860s the houses of John Redpath, named "Terrace Bank" (1861), Orrin S. Wood, known as "Braehead" (1861), Andrew Allan, known as "Iononteh" (1865), and David Lewis (1868).
On , Hugh Allan and his wife, Matilda Caroline Smith, had their fourth child and third son, Hugh Montagu Allan. It was at this time that Hugh Allan decided to build a new residence that reflected his wealth and power. He decided to build a new home on his land located on the southeast slope of Mount Royal, away from the noise, bustle and prying eyes of the city, thus benefiting from more space, comfort and privacy. The chosen location of the estate also had the advantage of being neither too close to the city nor too far away, allowing him to access it quickly.
Around 1860, he hired the architectural firm William Spier & Son to design and build his future mansion. Victor Roy, an architect from that firm, was responsible for drawing up the plans. He designed the house as a villa or as an English country house in the Italianate style. He followed the architectural trend of the time, which was inspired by the British royal summer residence of Osborne House, built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on the Isle of Wight. Several houses in England, in the British colonies and in North America, built up until the 1870s, were modeled upon this royal residence. Even in Montreal, several mansions were built in the Italianate style during the 1850s and 1860s, including the Harrison Stephens house (1857), the Joseph Mackay house (1858) and the David R. Wood house (1859). However, there is no information indicating why this style was chosen for Ravenscrag, or whether it was a preference of the architect or the client. On the other hand, the construction of Henry Lyman's residence on McTavish Street in 1859 according to the plans of the architect Richard C. Windeyer may have played a determining role in the choice of the architectural style of Ravenscrag. Indeed, this "villa" has the same architectural style as Ravenscrag. However, this house was demolished in 1941 to make way for a 24-unit appartement building.
1861 to 1863 : construction Years Construction stages Architects Contractors 1861-1863 Construction of the main house and its wing dedicated to servants, a boundary wall and gates, the stable and the Gate house. Victor Roy : architect designer, and William Spier & Son : superintendent Wilson & Co.: masonry; John Macfarlane: plumbing (heating by hot water and gas lighting); Alex Wand and Henry Jackson: bricklaying; George Roberts: carpentry, joinery & cabinetmaking, painting, staining & varnishing, gilding and glazing; Montreal Foundry and City Works: wrought iron gates. Btw October 1862 and April 1863 Execution of decorative paintings, particularly for the drawing room and the library Alexander G. Fowler and Victor Roy (?) (superintendent) Giuseppe Guidicini Circa 1865 Construction of a new billiard room, an anteroom to the ballroom, the ballroom and the greenhouse Victor Roy from Fowler & Roy (architect designer); John William Hopkins from Hopkins & Wily (superintendent) Wilson & Co.: masonry; John Macfarlane: plumbing (heating by hot water and gas lighting; Alex Wand and Henry Jackson: bricklaying; George Roberts: carpentry, joinery & cabinetmaking, painting, staining & varnishing, gilding and glazing; Montreal Foundry and City Works: wrought iron gates. 1872 Ballroom painted decorations N/A John McArthur & Son (?) 1889 Extension of the servants' wing Andrew Thomas Taylor and George William Gordon (?) 1898-1899 Extension of the stable, dining room, portico Andrew Thomas Taylor and George William Gordon Wighton & Morison Co.: masonry; Walter P. Scott, Decorator: carpentry & cabinetmaking (Hubertus McGuire), painting, gilding, staining & varnishing, hangings/tapestry and glazing. Circa 1902 Reconstruction and expansion of the greenhouse (?) Lord & Burnham Co. 1907 Reconstruction of the boundary wall along Pine avenue C. Levitt (New York architect) Gray & Wighton 1926 Reconstruction of part of the boundary wall John Wighton 1936 (abandoned) Redevelopment project (abandoned) Ross & Macdonald (N/A) 1943-44 Transformation into a hospital Harold Lawson & H.B. Little Sutherland Construction Co. 1945 Elimination of the galleries to the west of the tower and modification of the facade Harold Lawson & H.B. Little Sutherland Construction Co. 1952-53 Construction of the rear annex E.I. Barott, L.E. Marshall, R.A. Montgomery & J.C. Merret 1963 Construction of the Irvin Ludmer Pavilion Marshall & Merret 1964 Interior modifications Angus Robertson 1986 Construction of a new annex (20 additional beds) Larose, Petrucci / Lemay, Leclerc, architects 1988 Restoration of the Gate house Gersovitz, Becker & Moss 1991 Restoration of the main entrance doors Paul Don 1993 Restoration of the vestibule, hall and stable 1994 Restoration of part of the front facade (masonry) of the stable Robert Fortier 1996 Roof repairs 1996-1997 Replacement of seventeen (17) windows on the ground floor, west side, without changing the dimensions 2004-2006 Renovation of the Irvin Ludmer Pavilion Jodoin, Lamarre & Pratte 2005 Redevelopment of offices located on the second floor, no exterior work 2005 Roof repairs and addition of new flashings to parapets 2006 Roof repairs and addition of new flashings to parapets 2006 Renovation of the roof of the Gate house 2006 Redevelopment of offices (suites P2.039 to P2.042A) located on the second floor, no exterior work 2006 Restoration of the south-east (over 25 metres) and south-west (largely) stone fences, no other exterior work 2007 Restoration of the south stone fences and construction of a new retaining wall adjacent to the parking lot, no other exterior work 2008 On the kitchen roof, right side interior courtyard, addition of an air conditioning unit 2012-2013 Complete interior renovation and window replacement of the Irving Ludmer Pavilion Vincent Leclerc & Associates, architects
On May 27, 1861, work officially began. David Wilson and John MacFarlane of Wilson & Co. were responsible for the masonry, while Wand & Jackson was responsible for the bricklaying. John MacFarlane also installed the hot water heating system and the gas lighting system. George Roberts' company carried out all the carpentry, joinery, cabinetmaking, varnishing, painting, gilding and glazing. The bricklaying work continued until November 1861, while the masonry work extended until June 1862. Finally, the work carried out by George Roberts' company extended until October 1862. This work was then supervised by the architectural firm of William Spier & Son. However, during 1862, the architectural firm of Fowler & Roy, where the architect Victor Roy was now working, took over the contract for superintendence of the work site from the firm of William Spier & Son, dissolved towards the end of 1861.