Before 1881 : land purchase and conception From 1858 to 1863, George Stephen and his wife, Annie Charlotte Kane, lived in a row house in Beaver Hall Square. On September 23, 1863, George Stephen acquired (in his wife's name, Annie Charlotte Kane) the land and residence of William Carter, then located at 213
De la Montagne Street. The residence was situated on a lot (lot 1525) approximately 44 meters (145 feet) wide by approximately 82 meters (270 feet) deep, bordering
De la Montagne Street to the southwest and
Drummond Street to the northeast. on
Fifth Avenue in
New York. Around 1880, George Stephen decided to build a new residence on a portion of his property bordering
Drummond Street. He then commissioned architect
William Tutin Thomas to design and build his future home. Thomas conceived the house as an Italianate
palazzo in the
Renaissance Revival style or
Italianate style. However, no information indicates why this style was chosen, nor whether it was a preference of the architect or the client. On the other hand, the architect is believed to have been inspired by the plans for William H. Vanderbilt's
Fifth Avenue mansion in
New York, which was then under construction (1880-1882).
William Tutin Thomas conceived this residence as a complete work of art, meaning he also designed all the interior decorations as well as all the furniture, which he had custom-made.
1881 to 1883 : construction Construction of George Stephen's new residence began in 1881. The superintendance of construction was entrusted to a certain "F. Casey" (possibly Félix Casey of the Wm. Rutherford & Co.), who may also have executed some of the woodwork, such as the building wood structure and windows. J. H. Hutchison carried out the masonry work. The interior woodwork (cabinetmaking, wood paneling and decor, etc.) was done by the team of carpenter and joiner
Archibald McIntyre. Cabinetmaker
James Thomson also contributed to the production of some furniture. George Stephen was able to closely observe the construction of his new residence from his home. On March 25, 1882, the newspaper
The Daily Witness reported that construction of the house was "nearing completion." However, work continued until the end of May 1883. Moreover, given the clay soil of the site, the foundations rested on five hundred wooden piles. However, the interior decoration and furnishings, as well as the landscaping, were not yet finished. For example, the decorations in the main living room (paneling, fireplace, and wall hangings) were still not installed, The decoration and furnishings of the main living room were also gradually completed during this period. A new stable facing
De la Montagne Street was built. Toward the end of 1883 or the beginning of 1884, George Stephen's former home and its outbuildings were demolished. Among the guests were the
Lieutenant Governor of Quebec,
Théodore Robitaille, the
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario,
John Beverley Robinson, Sir
Samuel Leonard Tilley, Sir
Hector-Louis Langevin, and the Honourable
Edward Blake. On September 25, 1883, George Stephen received the Governor General of Canada,
John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, and his wife,
Princess Louise, for a visit of a few days. In addition to building a new residence in Montreal, George Stephen acquired a townhouse on
Park Lane in
London around October 1883. During the summer of 1884, George Stephen had a piano delivered, specially designed for his residence by the architect
William Tutin Thomas and manufactured by the
Decker Brothers company of New York. On September 15, 1884, George Stephen received
Lord and Lady Lansdowne at his residence. They stayed at George Stephen's house again on January 26, 1885. In March 1885, George Stephen's gardener, J. Stanford, won first prize from the Montreal Horticultural Society for the best-maintained greenhouses in the city. He won first prize again in March 1886. In January 1886, George Stephen was created a baronet. In August 1886, a delegation from the United Caledonian Association of North America visited George Stephen's house, among other residences. Among the members of this delegation was the mayor of
Philadelphia,
William Burns Smith. In October 1886, George Stephen purchased the Métis River and seigneury from Judge U. J. Tessier for $CAD 20,000. He then commissioned his architect,
William Tutin Thomas, to design a summer residence, called "
Estevan Lodge", for him in Métis. The general construction contract was awarded to Simon Peters of Quebec City. On October 31, 1887, George Stephen hosted a "Millionaires' Luncheon," bringing together Calvin S. Bryce, J. H. Shaw, Col. Payne, H. L. Terril, and J. G. Moore. In August 1888, George Stephen announced his resignation as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the
Canadian Pacific Railway. He explained his decision as follows: "From the moment I signed the contract with the federal government for the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway and accepted the position of Chairman of the Company, I always intended to relinquish the operational management of the Company as soon as the task I had then undertaken was completed. This task was practically finished when the line was opened to traffic to the Pacific Ocean more than two years ago. [...] I agreed to remain in office for a certain time. However, my health has warned me: noting that the heavy and constant strain I have had to endure over the past eight years no longer allows me to perform the continuous and arduous duties of a workload [...]." Despite his resignation, he remained one of the principal shareholders of the
Canadian Pacific Railway. On April 24, 1889, after spending a few months in the United Kingdom, George Stephen and his wife returned to
Canada. On May 5, 1890, the Stephens hosted a dinner in honor of the soprano
Emma Albani, who was visiting
Montreal. On June 2 and 3, 1890, George Stephen and his wife hosted the
Duke and Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn at their residence during their visit to
Montreal. On June 2, they hosted a dinner for 24 guests in their honor, and on June 3, more than 270 guests were invited to a ball held in their honor at the residence. George Stephen was created a baron in 1891, taking the name "Mount Stephen." In April 1892, Lord Mount Stephen decided to put his Drummond Street residence up for sale, as he "now spends most of his time in England and Scotland and will probably be content with hotel accommodations during his visits to Montreal."
William Christopher Macdonald expressed interest for a time, but ultimately did not purchase it. In November 1893, some proposed making it the residence of the
Governor General of Canada in
Montreal, but again, the idea did not materialize. In February 1896, newspapers announced that the residence had been "acquired" by Robert Meighen, general manager of the Lake of the Woods Milling Company and brother-in-law of George Stephen. The nature of the transaction was not explained in the newspapers, however, as the property was not officially transferred to Robert Meighen until October 4, 1900. On November 11, 1898, Robert Meighen and Elsie Stephen hosted a
debutante ball in honor of their daughter, Margaret Meighen. More than two hundred people were invited. Between 1901 and 1903, Robert Meighen made some alterations to the residence. For example, he replaced the stone wall bordering the Drummond Street sidewalk with a wrought-iron fence punctuated by stone pilasters. Around 1905, Robert Meighen spent CAD 1,600 to have the sidewalk along his Drummond Street residence repaved. in 1908 In 1907, Robert Meighen hosted
Lord Northcote, former Governor-General of
Australia, and his wife, Alice Stephen, known as Lady Northcote. To mark Quebec City's tercentenary in 1908, Meighen organized an open-air reception in honor of British
Field Marshal and 1st Earl of Roberts,
Frederick Roberts, and his wife, Nora Henrietta Bews, Countess of Roberts, during their visit to Montreal on July 31, 1908. Eight hundred people were invited to the reception. On July 13, 1911, Robert Meighen died at his residence from a heart condition. Elsie Stephen died on July 12, 1917. Upon Robert Meighen's death, the residence passed to their daughter, Margaret Meighen (later Margaret Harley). Their son, Colonel Frank Stephen Meighen, lived in the residence after his parents' death and continued the family's tradition of hospitality. In 1919, he hosted a ball there in honor of
Edward Windsor, Prince of Wales.
1926 to 2011 : Mount Stephen Club On July 16, 1926,
Don Mar Realty Limited acquired the George Stephen House. This company then sold it on October 14, 1927, to the Mount Stephen Club, a
gentlemen's club founded in 1926 by Noah Timmins, J. H. Maher, and J. S. Dohan. These gentlemen were the first to advocate for the preservation of the George Stephen House and did everything in their power to protect this elegant townhouse from demolition and to preserve its original interior features. In fact, this objective was the key to the almost complete preservation of the residence until 2015. At that time, any additions, alterations, or modernization work on the former residence had to respect this preservation goal. Furthermore, they named the club "Mount Stephen" in honor of the residence's first owner, George Stephen. The conversion of the residence into a private club, however, led the new owner to make some modifications. The most notable was the replacement in 1927 of the glass walls of the conservatory with cut stone walls. In 1937, the exterior staircase was rebuilt on new foundations. It was also designated a
heritage building by the
Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications on March 11, 1975. On December 10, 2004, the building was declared a "
immeuble de valeur patrimoniale exceptionnelle" (building of exceptional heritage value) by the City of
Montreal. In 2006, the name "Club Mount Stephen" was acquired by the Tidan hotel and real estate group. On May 26, 2006, this same group purchased the residence for $4 million from the former Club Mount Stephen, established in 1926. The latter legal entity was officially dissolved on June 4, 2010. They also attempted to adopt a new marketing strategy to attract young Montrealers to membership. Finally, they opened the club to the general public for musical dinners on Saturdays and musical brunches on Sundays. The club's closure prompted Heritage Montreal to place the George-Stephen House under observation on its list of threatened Montreal landmarks in 2012. Throughout its history, the Mount Stephen club has welcomed Montreal's and international elite. Numerous dignitaries, politicians, and celebrities have graced the club, including
Princess Benedikte of Denmark,
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (in 1958), French Air Force General
Edmond Jouhaud, Field Marshal and 1st Earl Wavell
Archibald Wavell,
John Diefenbaker,
Percival Molson,
Edgar Bronfman Sr.,
Pierre Elliott Trudeau,
Brian Mulroney,
René Lévesque,
Lucien Bouchard,
Louise Harel,
Sarto Fournier, and
Pierre Bourque.
2012 to present: Hotel Le Mount Stephen In 2012, a luxury hotel project, the Hotel Le Mount Stephen, began to take shape, partially occupying the former residence. This project required the construction of a contemporary annex at the rear, costing $25 million. On May 29, 2012, the Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications approved the project without any warnings regarding potential structural problems should a skyscraper be built nearby. Furthermore, the hotel plans were approved by the Ministry on April 11, 2013. According to Pieter Sijpkes of
McGill University, measures should have been taken from the outset to reinforce the structure before proceeding with the excavation of the underground parking garage. He explains that Montreal is built on clay soil that subsides when it loses moisture. Therefore, when a construction crew excavates a site, they pump out water and, consequently, affect the soil's moisture levels. for having modified historical architectural elements of the building without authorization, such as the demolition of three chimneys (built in 1883), the destruction of the wrought iron fence (built between 1900 and 1903) or the covering of cut stones with cement. The latest inspection report, produced in November 2015, states that a new concrete wall and concrete columns were installed without authorization. Furthermore, the inspector was advised that the owners need to install 16 new pillars under the foundations to support the structure of the historic building. This operation lasted eight months, from April to November 2016. On this section of the façade, the structure, originally composed of red bricks, was replaced with concrete blocks. To conceal the reinforced concrete structure supporting the house, rusticated stone was added to the north portion of the east façade. On May 3, 2016, The Montreal Gazette revealed that Quebec's Ministry of Culture and Communications had been aware for over 15 years of the potential structural problems with the historic building should a skyscraper be built nearby, according to documents obtained through access to information legislation. Furthermore, these same documents revealed that it took ministry officials three weeks to follow up on a citizen's complaint about the destruction of historic architectural elements of the building. Furthermore, the newspaper reveals that it is not only the facade that must be dismantled, but also, inside the residence, the parquet floors, paneling and even the coffered ceilings, which have also "suffered significant damage". Image :Hôtel Mount Stephen 63.jpg|Support beams (January 2016) Image :Hôtel Mount Stephen 189.jpg|Reinforced concrete structure under construction (July 2016) Image :Hôtel Mount Stephen 245.jpg|New structure made of concrete blocks (August 2016) Image :Hôtel Mount Stephen 268.jpg|Reassembly of the facade (September 2016) On May 1, 2017, the Mount Stephen Hotel, partly occupying the George Stephen House, officially opened to the public. ==Architecture==