Montreal City Hall
Henri-Maurice Perrault; Alexander Cowper Hutchison · Montreal, Canada · 1878
Montreal City Hall gives municipal administration a conspicuous Second Empire building in the historic city. Completed in 1878, the design by Henri-Maurice Perrault and Alexander Cowper Hutchison uses a substantial stone frontage, projecting elements and a richly articulated roofline. Its position beside Place Jacques-Cartier connects government with one of Old Montreal's principal public spaces. Later reconstruction and restoration form part of its history, but the exterior still clearly expresses the late nineteenth-century ambition to make a dedicated civic institution visible in the urban fabric. Visiting: A working municipal building. Public and guided access depends on the city's current arrangements.