Montreal's Crystal Palace

This is the Crystal Palace, an exhibition hall, concert hall and hotel built in 1860 on the downtown block bordered by St. Catherine, University, Cathcart and McGill College. This JW Hopkins building was a smaller imitation of ones built in London (1851) and Toronto (1857). It was made of a revolutionary steel structure which was considered impervious to flames. In 1874 over 1,000 people ate and slept there to celebrate St. Jean Baptiste. But a dispute over the land arose between the owners and McGill University in 1877. By 1880 city officials were bemoaning the poor state of the building and the money they were pouring into it. The Quebec government bought it and moved it to a space between Park and Esplanade in 1887 but it was demolished by fire, along with several other similar pavillions at the end of July 1896.