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Edward Maxwell Apartment House [Maxwelton](1912-14) 900 Sherbrooke Street West [386 Sherbrooke Street], Montreal, QC, Canada Residential, Apartment [sub-basement, basement, 10 floors, 36 apartments: 2 bedrooms, maid's room]; brick and stone; steel frame Client: Edward Maxwell Description: The apartment building, which was designed for Edward himself, is a large urbane building showing the approach of a "skyscraper" design. The apartment building for Edward Maxwell is one of the two apartment buildings which he designed in Montreal with his brother William. The other building designed for Mr. Joseph Binette is located on Clark Street.
The building also known as Maxwelton is a ten-story structure designed to accommodate 36 apartment units with four units on each floor. This building was started in 1912, immediately after Edward finished the Dominion Express Building on Saint-Jacques Street. The composition of the building identifies the active participation of William in the design which is clearly different from the Romanesque/Italian Renaissance style that Edward adopted in many of the earlier projects. The stone front façade is based on the American method (associated with Louis Sullivan) and is divided into a base, a shaft and a crown, clearly expressing the grid of the supporting steel frame. The base is composed of two floors and is unified by the piers. The remaining floors are connected by the bay windows of the apartment units, which run the whole height of the building. In contrast to heavy projecting cornices of other high-rise buildings, a low parapet livens up the roofline, and the plain piers creating four bays towards Sherbrooke Street provide a strong vertical statement.
A large rectangular block has been brilliantly configured to create four smaller courts on either side of the lateral facades, which feature exposed brickwork. The creation of these courts demarcates the whole block into three divisions. The central court acts as the main lobby space containing the stairs and elevators, and gives access to all apartment units on the upper floors. Two branches on either sides of the central wing accommodate four large apartment units connected by a passage and the dining area of individual apartments. The base of the building is composed of two floors and houses four apartment units with two units on each floor at the rear wing. The front wing accommodates studio spaces on both floors overlooking Sherbrooke Street. The typical plan of an individual apartment comprised two bedrooms, with a living room, dining room, kitchen and a maid’s room. A narrow passage from the entrance gave direct access to the living room at the center. All the housing components were entered through the living room except for the kitchen, which had access from both the dining room and the entrance passage. The creation of courts brought in natural light and cross-ventilation for all units. The surface of all courts is finished with glazed white brick to bring natural light into the units.
The Maxwelton, testifies to the superior quality of the "modern" apartment structure designed by the Maxwell brothers in Montreal. The building belonged to Edward’s wife, Elizabeth Ellen Aitchison, until 1946. Presently the building serves the same purpose as it was designed for with only minor interior alterations. Holdings: Apartment (sub©basement, basement, 10 floors, 36 apartments: 2 bedrooms, maid's room); brick and stone; steel frame | |
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