McGill Street is a street in Montreal named after James McGill

James McGill

James McGill was a Scottish-Canadian businessman, military commander and philanthropist known for being the founder of McGill University...

 after whom McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

 is named. The former head office building of Canadian National Railway Company, built for its predecessor Grand Trunk Railway

Grand Trunk Railway

The Grand Trunk Railway was a railway system which operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal, Quebec; however, corporate...

, still stands on McGill Street and is now occupied by Quebec government offices.

In 1871, an advertisement for the Albion Hotel in an Ottawa newspaper called McGill Street "the great thoroughfare and commercial centre of the city". The McCord Museum

McCord Museum

The McCord Museum is a public research and teaching museum dedicated to the preservation, study, diffusion, and appreciation of Canadian history...

 of Canadian History refers to the street as "an important artery in Montreal."

The Quartier International de Montréal

Quartier international de Montréal

The Quartier international de Montréal or Montreal's International District is a district of the Ville-Marie borough of downtown Montreal that underwent a major urban renewal as a central business district in 2000–2003.-Purpose:...

 (Montreal's international district) describes McGill Street as "the link between the strategic sectors of the Old Port

Old Port of Montreal

Stretching for over two kilometres along the St-Lawrence River in Old Montreal, the Old Port Of Montreal has been the social, economic and cultural soul of Montreal ever since early French fur traders used it as a trading post in 1611...

, Old Montreal

Old Montreal

Old Montreal is the oldest area in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, dating back to New France. Located in the borough of Ville-Marie, the area is bordered on the west by McGill St., on the north by Ruelle des Fortifications, on the east by Berri St. and on the south by the Saint Lawrence River...

, the Cité Multimedia and the Quartier international."

The Montreal station of the Montreal and Southern Counties Railway

Montreal and Southern Counties Railway

The Montreal and Southern Counties Railway Company was an interurban streetcar line that ran between Montreal and Granby until 1956. A second branch served the city of Longueuil....

 interurban streetcar line was located on McGill Street. The station building is still standing, although no longer used for transportation purposes.

McGill Street runs from Victoria Square south to rue de la Commune in the Old Port, at the head of the Lachine Canal

Lachine Canal

The Lachine Canal is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running 14.5 kilometres from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis, through the boroughs of Lachine, Lasalle and Sud-Ouest.The canal gets its name from the French word for China...

. North of Victoria Square, the street transitions to Beaver Hall Hill.