J.W. McConnell Building

Last updated
J.W. McConnell Building
JW McConnell Library Building 2008.jpg
The J.W. McConnell building seen from de Maisonneuve Blvd.
J.W. McConnell Building
General information
Address1400 de Maisonneuve Boulevard West
Town or city Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Coordinates 45°29′49″N73°34′42″W / 45.4969401°N 73.5783425°W / 45.4969401; -73.5783425
Named for J.W. McConnell
Completed1992
OpenedSeptember 30, 1992 [1]
Cost$27.5 million CAD
Owner Concordia University
Technical details
Floor count10
Website
concordia.ca

The J.W. McConnell Building is an academic building on the Sir George Williams campus of Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. Built in 1992, it is named for John Wilson McConnell, a Canadian businessman and philanthropist whose foundation contributed to the building's erection. It sits between Bishop Street and Mackay Street on De Maisonneuve Boulevard in the Quartier Concordia. It is the home of the R. Howard Webster Library, the Departments of Education, English, Études Français, History, and Mathematics & Statistics. It is also home to the Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery, the J.A. DeSève Cinema, the Birks Student Centre and Welcome Centre, as well as many other services such as the Campus Bookstore and Print Services. [2]

Contents

Architecture

Shortly after its completion, the C$65 million building was criticized as "one of ugliest, most offensive new structures to be erected in Montreal since post-modernist architecture came into its prime." [3] McGill University professor of architecture David Theodore wrote in 2000 that "Concordia's last major project was the 1992 J.W. McConnell building on de Maisonneuve Blvd., which houses the Webster library. Meant to be the heart of the downtown campus, it has been severely criticized; for example, for the clumsy incorporation of the terra cotta facade of the Royal George Apartments on Bishop St." [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Concordia University</span> University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Concordia University is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the three universities in Quebec where English is the primary language of instruction. As of the 2022–23 academic year, there were 49,898 students enrolled in credit and non-credit courses at Concordia, making the university among the largest in Canada by enrolment. The university has two campuses, set approximately 7 kilometres apart: Sir George Williams Campus is the main campus, located in the Quartier Concordia neighbourhood of Downtown Montreal in the borough of Ville Marie; and Loyola Campus in the residential district of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. With four faculties, a school of graduate studies and numerous colleges, centres and institutes, Concordia offers over 400 undergraduate and over 120 graduate programs and courses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishop's University</span> English-language university in Lennoxville, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada

Bishop's University is a small English-language liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Bishop of Quebec, George Mountain, who also served as the first principal of McGill University. It is one of three universities in the province of Quebec that teach primarily in English. It began its foundation by absorbing the Lennoxville Classical School as Bishop's College School in the 1840s. The college was formally founded in 1843 and received a royal charter from Queen Victoria in 1853.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Underground City, Montreal</span> Network of interconnected buildings in the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada

RÉSO, commonly referred to as the Underground City, is the name applied to a series of interconnected office towers, hotels, shopping centres, residential and commercial complexes, convention halls, universities and performing arts venues that form the heart of Montreal's central business district, colloquially referred to as Downtown Montreal. The name refers to the underground connections between the buildings that compose the network, in addition to the network's complete integration with the city's entirely underground rapid transit system, the Montreal Metro. Moreover, the first iteration of the Underground City was developed out of the open pit at the southern entrance to the Mount Royal Tunnel, where Place Ville Marie and Central Station stand today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy–Concordia station</span> Montreal Metro station

Guy–Concordia station is a Montreal Metro station in the borough of Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) and serves the Green Line. The station opened on October 14, 1966, as part of the original network of the Metro. It has consistently been one of the network's busiest stations, ranking 5th from 2000 to 2001, 4th from 2002 to 2007, 3rd since 2008, and 2nd since 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Wilson McConnell</span> Canadian industrialist and philanthropist (1877–1963)

John Wilson McConnell was a Canadian sugar refiner, newspaper publisher, humanitarian and philanthropist in Quebec, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loyola College (Montreal)</span> Former Jesuit college in Quebec, Canada

Loyola College was a Jesuit college in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was founded in 1896 and ceased to exist as an independent institution in 1974 when it was incorporated into Concordia University. A portion of the original college remains as a separate entity called Loyola High School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Square Mile</span> Neighbourhood in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

The Golden Square Mile, also known as the Square Mile, is the nostalgic name given to an urban neighbourhood developed principally between 1850 and 1930 at the foot of Mount Royal, in the west-central section of downtown Montreal in Quebec, Canada. The name 'Square Mile' has been used to refer to the area since the 1930s; prior to that, the neighbourhood was known as 'New Town' or 'Uptown'. The addition of 'Golden' was coined by Montreal journalist Charlie Lazarus, and the name has connections to contemporary real estate developments, as the historical delimitations of the Golden Square Mile overlap with Montreal's contemporary central business district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Montreal</span> Neighbourhood, central business district of Montreal in Quebec, Canada

Downtown Montreal is the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Education in Montreal</span>

With access to six universities and twelve junior colleges in an 8 kilometre (5 mi) radius, Montreal, Quebec (Canada) has the highest proportion of post-secondary students of all major cities in North America. This represents roughly 248,000 post-secondary students, one of the largest numbers in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sherbrooke Street</span> Street in Montreal, Canada

Sherbrooke Street is a major east–west artery and at 31.3 kilometres (19.4 mi) in length, is the second longest street on the Island of Montreal, Canada. The street begins in the town of Montreal West and ends on the extreme tip of the island in Pointe-aux-Trembles, intersecting Gouin Boulevard and joining up with Notre-Dame Street. East of Cavendish Boulevard this road is part of Quebec Route 138.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishop Street</span>

Bishop Street is a north–south street located in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. With a total length of 0.6 km, it links Sherbrooke Street in the north to René Lévesque Boulevard in the south. Like neighbouring Crescent Street, Bishop is home to many pubs, bars, clubs and restaurants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">De Maisonneuve Boulevard</span> Boulevard in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

De Maisonneuve Boulevard is a major westbound boulevard located in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is named after the founder of Montreal, Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve. It is a one-way street westbound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quartier Concordia</span> Neighbourhood in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Quartier Concordia is a neighbourhood redevelopment project centred on Concordia University's Sir George Williams campus in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Bordered by Sherbrooke Street, Saint-Mathieu Street, René Lévesque Boulevard and Bishop Street, the district is designed to be a green urban campus that will improve the use and quality of public places and spaces, student life on campus and transportation.

Gordon Hammond Smith was a Canadian artist who sculpted geometric forms in metal and wood. He was considered one of Canada's leading sculptors of the postwar period and his work is marked by a great diversity of styles inspired by music, nature, and other themes. Trained in architecture and engineering, he produced work in metal that reflects a mastery of technique and conveys great flexibility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mackay Street</span>

Mackay Street is a street located in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Mackay Street is a one-way street, that begins at Sherbrooke Street West, travels southbound and ends at Overdale Avenue, just south of René Lévesque Boulevard.

KPMB is a Canadian architecture firm founded by Bruce Kuwabara, Thomas Payne, Marianne McKenna, and Shirley Blumberg, in 1987. It is headquartered in Toronto, where the majority of their work is found. Aside from designing buildings, the firm also works in interior design. KPMB Architects was officially renamed from Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects to KPMB Architects on February 12, 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Concordia University Library</span>

Concordia University Library is the library system at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Concordia University has three library locations. The R. Howard Webster Library is located in the J.W. McConnell Building on the Sir George Williams Campus and the Georges P. Vanier Library is located on the Loyola Campus. On September 2, 2014, the Library opened the Grey Nuns Reading Room, a silent study space for Concordia students located in the former Chapel of the Invention of the Holy Cross. The Reading Room has seating for 192 students, with an additional 42 chairs in small reading rooms. A Political Science student was the first to enter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishop Court Apartments</span>

Bishop Court Apartments is a historic apartment building in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 1463 Bishop Street, at the corner of De Maisonneuve Boulevard West in Downtown Montreal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry F. Hall Building</span> Building in Montreal, Canada

The Henry F. Hall Building is a building on the Sir George Williams Campus of Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Referred to as the 'H' building, it is located at 1455 de Maisonneuve Boulevard West, in between Mackay Street and Bishop Street in the Quartier Concordia neighbourhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Dutkewych</span> Canadian contemporary artist

Andrew Dutkewych is a Canadian contemporary artist known for his sculptural works.

References

  1. "McConnell Library Inauguration". Concordia Records Management and Archives. Concordia University. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  2. "J.W. McConnell Building". www.concordia.ca. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  3. Duncan, A. (1992, Oct 10). Concordia's new gallery looks, feels right; ellen family's endowment finally provides budget to acquire great art: [FINAL edition]. The Gazette
  4. Theodore, D. (2000, May 13). Loyola addition is sober and functional: [final edition]. The Gazette