With Halloween upon us, we resurrect a ghoulish quiz we ran a few years ago celebrating the gargoyles and other fanciful faces carved into the façades of many McGill buildings.
Dozens of creatures – human, animal, mythological – glower, smile and stoically stand guard over a campus that is eerily quiet these days.
And while you may have hustled past the stony sentinels dozens, even hundreds of times, you might not have noticed them. We’ve compiled a short, 20-question quiz to test your powers of observation. See how good you are at matching the stone faces and statuary in each picture with a McGill building.
“Most of these ferocious and maleficent physiognomies, some gloating, laughing, or screaming, share one thing: they all look down on us.” – Michael Camille, The Gargoyles of Notre-Dame: Medievalism and the Monsters of Modernity
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Perhaps McGill's largest gargoyle adorns which building? (Answer on the next slide)
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Martlet House (1430 Peel). This elegant stone replica of a 16th-century Scottish baronial castle, in the heart of downtown, was the long-time Canadian headquarters of the Seagram Company. Built in 1928, it was donated to McGill by Vivendi Universal and the Bronfman family in 2002.
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This gargoyle hangs out on which building? Hint: The building probably is festooned with more faces and statuary than any other at McGill.
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Redpath Hall (3461 McTavish). The building was bestowed upon McGill in 1893 due to the beneficence of Peter Redpath, owner of Redpath Sugar and one of Montreal’s leading citizens at that time, and his wife Grace Wood. The five lancets in the west above the balcony represent Law, History, Philosophy, Astronomy and Medicine. Strange creatures and gargoyles adorn the roof at the ends of the beams.
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These four forlorn faces help support the gallery of which campus building?
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Macdonald Engineering Building (817 Sherbrooke Street West). Rebuilt after a fire in 1907, the Macdonald Engineering Building is home to the Department of Civil Engineering and the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The current building was constructed after the original Macdonald Engineering Building was gutted by fire in 1907. To that end, one of the building’s design features is a phoenix rising from the ashes carved on the south wall as a reminder of the fire and a symbol of rebirth.
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Visitors to this building may scratch their head as to why a frog takes centre stage above the entrance. But if you know the building’s original purpose, it makes more sense.
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James Administration Building (845 Sherbrooke West). Built in 1922, the James Administration Building was originally home to the Department of Biology. Although the Department moved out many years ago, a stone frog above the front door is a reminder of its past. For years, the frog has been a target of pranksters from other universities visiting for sports events and is frequently painted purple by Bishop’s University students.
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This sinuous snake slithers atop the turret of which building?
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Lyman Duff Medical Building (3775 University). The Lyman Duff Medical Building was built in the 1920’s, with a new wing added in the 1960’s to provide much-needed additional space for the now-defunct Pathological Institute. Today, the building houses modern labs and facilities for several departments, including the Sheldon Biotechnology Centre located in its Gatehouse.
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Lions are a recurring motif in McGill architecture. Where would you find this ferocious feline?
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Strathcona Music Building (555 Sherbrooke Street West). In 1971, the Hurlbatt and Reynolds Wings of Royal Victoria College were given to Faculty of Music. Renamed the Strathcona Music Building, it is now home to the Schulich School of Music and to Pollack Hall, one of the busiest cultural venues in the city. A large statue of Queen Victoria still reigns over its front steps.
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This fine fellow is overlooking the entrance to which McGill building?
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Hosmer House (3630 Sir William Osler). The 1901 Hosmer House is home to the Faculty of Medicine’s School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, which offers undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. The house, made of conspicuous orange sandstone, shows the influence of the Paris Beaux Arts and has an ornate façade in a distinctly French style.
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This trio can be found on the walls of which building?
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The Strathcona Anatomy & Dentistry Strathcona Anatomy and Dentistry Building (3640 University)
Built in 1909 following a fire that gutted the Old Medical Building, this building was designed to mirror the main entrance and wings of the Royal Victoria Hospital. Its features include an ornate reading room and a stained-glass window commemorating members of the Medical Faculty who fought or died in World War I.
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Where would you find this bearded beaut?
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Charles Meredith House (1130 Pine West). Built in 1907 by the well-known Canadian architects Edward and William Maxwell, this Georgian style residence was occupied by Mr. Meredith and his family until 1937. Originally given to the Royal Victoria Hospital to serve as a nurses’ residence, the house was donated to McGill in 1975.
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Master of all he surveys, this regal lion enjoys a lofty perch atop which building?
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Royal Victoria College (3425 University). The Royal Victoria College, McGill’s college for women, was named in honour of Queen Victoria, one of the most prominent female figures of her time. Its first, and central, wing was built by the American architect Bruce Price in 1899 at the request of Lord Strathcona, formerly Donald Smith, one of the most charitable of McGill’s donors.
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Two of the four saintly statues that keep watch over this iconic building. Hint: The building has appeared earlier in the quiz.
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King of the Jungle, this lion also guards which McGill building
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Chancellor Day Hall (3644 Peel Street). In 1892, James Ross, an entrepreneur of the Canadian Pacific Railroad, commissioned renowned architect Bruce Price, who also designed McGill’s Royal Victoria College and the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City, to build a house for him on Peel Street on the Square Mile.
John W. McConnell bought the Ross Mansion in 1948 as a gift to McGill. At this time, it was renamed Chancellor Day Hall, after one of the University’s first Chancellors, and was given to the Faculty of Law, which still occupies it today
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Martlets can be found pretty much everywhere at McGill. But this one (surrounded by other feathered friends) perches atop which building?
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Royal Victoria College (3425 University). The Royal Victoria College, McGill’s college for women, was named in honour of Queen Victoria, one of the most prominent female figures of her time. Its first, and central, wing was built by the American architect Bruce Price in 1899 at the request of Lord Strathcona, formerly Donald Smith, one of the most charitable of McGill’s donors.
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These small, but ferocious creatures are guardians of which building?
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Morrice Hall (3485 McTavish). Originally the home of the Presbyterian College of Montreal, this Gothic style building was donated to the University in 1961, and renamed after David Morrice, who financed part of its original construction. It features a large tower with a spectacular view of downtown, and a beautiful study space furnished with antique wooden display cabinets and lit by stained glass windows.