Montreal High School(1911-12)
3449 University Street, Montreal, QC, Canada
Educational, High school [school: 2 basements, 4 floors, attic, 78 classrooms; administration building: 1-2 basements, 4 floors]; brick and stone; frame construction; steel truss

Client: Protestant Board of School Commissioners of Montreal
Architect: E. & W.S. Maxwell

Description: In 1912, the Montreal School board’s system decided to build the Montreal High School at its present location to replace the previous overcrowded building on Peel Street. The earlier building was first erected by the Protestant Board of School Commissioners and had not only accommodated the board’s offices, but also two existing high schools at the same time: the High School of Montreal, founded in 1843 to educate boys, and the High School of Girls, established independently in 1875. The function of the Montreal High School is best reflected in the space arrangement of the floor plans. Composed of four storeys, each floor is organized in a strict axial division: the principal, staff and common areas in the middle block; boys in the North Wing; and girls in the South Wing. With the front court in the main entrance and two courtyards on each side of the main axis, the spaces and rooms in the building are organized in accord with the courtyards and are connected by corridors. Such planning reflects both the discipline and thoughtfulness in the development of institutional architecture. Upon reaching the ground floor leading from the stairs of the principal main entrance, the visitor arrives at the grand hall in the middle block that contains a long stairway to the first floor and also a bisecting corridor that travels around the two courtyards leading to different classrooms. The two courtyards are accessed from the ground floor but serve as light wells for the classrooms that are not on the exterior perimeter of the building. On different floors, similar activities such as play rooms, gymnasiums, cafeterias, and various classrooms are mirrored on the boys and girls sides and divided by the middle block where common functions, such as the main Assembly Hall and the staff rooms can be found. Different configurations of such a planning strategy alternate on different floors of the school. The unoccupied attic floor provides the light for various locations of the building. The structure of the building is organized by a series of reinforced concrete slabs, columns and beams. The building is dressed with yellow Roman brick and enriched with terra-cotta ornament. The façade has a horizontal tripartite division which is mostly emphasized in the center of the main block. While the bottom bay houses the main entrance, the middle bay consists of four double-storey height columns supporting an ornate pediment and the attic, the top bay. Paired columns are used on the side of University Street as well as in the two wings. However, the design of the façade, in its massing and materials, has been criticized as to be un-contextural to the architectural style of its adjacent neighbours. Although the building was in use in 1914, it was not completed until the mid 1920s. Examples of such work include the exterior façade, finished between 1921-1924, and the Swimming Pool and the Assembly Hall, in service since 1925. In 1980, the High School of Montreal was subdivided into FACE, an elementary school with art programs and immersion; MIND, an alternative high school; and an academic and vocational Administration for Adult Education. In 1998, ownership was transferred from the Protestant School Board of Greater Montreal to the Commission Scolaire de Montréal. Currently, FACE is the only remaining occupant in the school.

Holdings: High school (school: 2 basements, 4 floors, attic, 78 classrooms; administration building: 1©2 basements, 4 floors); brick and stone; frame construction; steel truss
374 Drawings: 329 ink on linen; 1 ink on paper; 22 pencil on paper; 22 blueprints
2 Development drawings: foundation plan, elevation
102 Working drawings: foundations, floor plans, attic floor plan, roof plans, elevations, sections, structure, drainage; administration building: foundation plans, floor plans, elevations, sections, structure, drainage, schedules
239 Detail drawings: borings, foundations, survey plan, block plan, floor plans, roof plan, ceiling plans, elevations, sections, administration building, front court, lecture rooms, art rooms, playrooms, cookery room, chemistry labs, physics labs, museum, shooting gallery, library, assembly halls, gymnasia, kitchens, lunch rooms, tunnel, locker rooms, coat rooms, boiler room, shower rooms, washrooms, halls, vestibules, entries, structure and schedules, columns, ventilation, drainage, staircases, fire stairs, mantelpieces, chimneys, glazing, windows, skylights, doors, furniture, galleries, swimming pool, coal chutes, dumbwaiter, elevator gates, archway screens, railings, balustrade, fan pits, fittings, fixtures, memorial tablet, bas-relief panels, ornamentation, floorings, finishes, stonework, ironwork, glazed brickwork, roof fences, roof parapet, penthouse, fences, cement dado, lettering
31 Consultant drawings: property plans, boiler room, transformer room, structure, mechanical, ventilation
21 Photographs: 17 construction; 1 finished exterior; 3 finished details
2 File folders: specifications; report
Comment: 27 drawings by Nygren, Tenny and Ohmes, Engineers; 2 by Malcolm D. Barclay, Q.L.S., dated 3/1912; 1 by Trussed Concrete Steel of Canada Ltd., dated 4/1912; and 1 by Montreal Light, Heat and Power Company, dated 7/1913, are included.
Comments: 27 drawings by Nygren, Tenny and Ohmes, Engineers; 2 by Malcolm D. Barclay, Q.L.S., dated 3/1912; 1 by Trussed Concrete Steel of Canada Ltd., dated 4/1912; and 1 by Montreal Light, Heat and Power Company, dated 7/1913, are included.