Home / Accueil

Windsor Station (Canadian Pacific) National Historic Site of Canada

910 Peel Street, Montréal, Quebec, H3B, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1975/11/28

Exterior photo of Windsor Station (Canadian Pacific), 1990.; Parks Canada Agency/Agence Parcs Canada, CIHB/IBHC, 1990.
General view
No Image
No Image

Other Name(s)

Windsor Station (Canadian Pacific)
Gare Windsor du Canadien Pacifique
Windsor Station (Canadian Pacific) National Historic Site of Canada

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1888/01/01 to 1889/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2007/07/18

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

Windsor Station is a late 19th-century, stone railway terminal and Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) head office built in the Romanesque Revival style. It is prominently located at the corner of Canada Place in downtown Montréal. The formal recognition consists of the building on its footprint at the time of designation.

Heritage Value

Windsor Station was designated a national historic site in 1975 because it is an excellent example of the Romanesque Revival style of architecture.

Built for the CPR in 1888-89 to designs by American architect Bruce Price, Windsor Station was one of the earliest major buildings in Canada to use the Richardsonian Romanesque Revival style. The original portion by Price set the style for the structure and for the principal additions made in 1900-06, to designs by Edward Maxwell, and in 1909-14 to designs by W.S. Painter. The additions are compatible with the original design, reinforce its Romanesque Revival character and establish bridges between the Romanesque Revival and the Château Style of later CPR buildings.

Sources: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, June 1975; Commemorative Integrity Statement, 1990.

Character-Defining Elements

Character-Defining Elements that relate to the heritage value of Windsor Station include:

- its Romanesque Revival style, expressed in the dramatic rhythm created by wide-arched openings, steeply pitched roofs, prominent gables, towers, turrets, prominent string courses and arched open-loggia openings along the top floor, the deeply-set and vertically grouped windows, wide-arched bays supported by colonnettes, and the high quality, but restrained sculptural details of floral and animal motifs, executed in a sinuous style;
- the solid, rustic appearance of the building created by the use of Montréal limestone on exterior elevations, the large size and rock-faced finish of the limestone units, and the overall Romanesque Revival design and detailing;
- the roofline of the 1909-14 addition, reflecting the way in which Romanesque Revival and Château-style elements were blended together over time;
- surviving original volumes, materials and detailing of the main ticket lobby;
- the covered carriage way along the north elevation of the 1900-06 wing;
- remnants of the original De La Gauchetière Street entrance to the building, evident in the exterior and interior fabric and features.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Federal

Recognition Authority

Government of Canada

Recognition Statute

Historic Sites and Monuments Act

Recognition Type

National Historic Site of Canada

Recognition Date

1975/11/28

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

1900/01/01 to 1906/01/01
1909/01/01 to 1914/01/01

Theme - Category and Type

Developing Economies
Technology and Engineering
Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life
Architecture and Design
Developing Economies
Communications and Transportation

Function - Category and Type

Current

Commerce / Commercial Services
Office or Office Building

Historic

Transport-Rail
Station or Other Rail Facility

Architect / Designer

Edward Maxwell

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

National Historic Sites Directorate, Documentation Centre, 5th Floor, Room 89, 25 Eddy Street, Gatineau, Quebec

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

665

Status

Published

Related Places

Exterior photo

Windsor Station

Windsor Station is a large, stone railway station built in the Romanesque Revival style. It is prominently located on the corner of Place du Canada, Montréal and it is also the…

SEARCH THE CANADIAN REGISTER

Advanced SearchAdvanced Search
Find Nearby PlacesFIND NEARBY PLACES PrintPRINT
Nearby Places