Redpath Library
Encyclopedia
The Redpath Library was the major arts and humanities library at 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...
, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. When the McLennan Library
McLennan Library
The McLennan Library Building of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada is situated at the northeast corner of Sherbrooke Street and McTavish Street. The building, along with the Redpath Library Building currently houses the Humanities and Social Sciences Library, the largest branch of the...
was built in 1967-1969 it assumed this role and the Redpath Library was split into Redpath Hall and the Redpath Library--the stack areas. The Redpath Library Building and the McLennan Library Building currently house what is now known as the Humanities and Social Sciences Library, the largest branch of the McGill University Library
McGill University Library
McGill University Library is the library system of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises 13 branch libraries, located on the downtown Montreal and Macdonald campuses, holding over 6 million items...
.
The building was donated by Peter Redpath
Peter Redpath
Peter Redpath was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist, closely associated with Redpath Sugar.-Biography:...
in 1893, who also founded the Redpath Museum
Redpath Museum
The Redpath Museum is a museum of natural history belonging to McGill University and located on the university's campus at 859 Sherbrooke Street West in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was built in 1882 as a gift from the sugar baron Peter Redpath. It houses collections of interest to ethnology,...
at the University. The building was designed in the Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
style, by Sir Andrew Taylor (Architect)
Andrew Taylor (architect)
Sir Andrew Thomas Taylor J.P., R.C.A., F.S.A., F.R.I.B.A. was a British architect and Conservative Party municipal councillor. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and practised architecture in Scotland and London before immigrating to Montreal, Quebec, in 1883, where he designed many of the...
(born 1825) from Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The library incorporates much ornamentation. There are creatures and gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
s in the roof, including two representing Redpath and Taylor.
The library stacks were expanded in 1900–01 by Taylor, at the request of Redpath's wife, Grace. The library was expanded again in 1921, by Percy Erskine Nobbs
Percy Erskine Nobbs
Percy Erskine Nobbs was a Canadian architect who was born in Haddington, Scotland and trained in the United Kingdom. He spent most of his career in the Montreal area...
and George Taylor Hyde. New reading areas were added in adjacent space in 1952–54 and these and the stack areas still serve as part of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library.
Redpath Hall itself is currently used as an auditorium and concert hall (it has a pipe organ).