McTavish Reservoir, Montreal, Canada

Architect	Charles-Jules Des Baillets
Date Built	1932
Location	815 Docteur-Penfield Avenue
Description
This castle-like building is the pumphouse at the McTavish Reservoir beside the McGill University Campus in Montreal.  The reservoir was first built in 1856 to hold 13.5 million gallons of water.  In 1862 it was enlarged to 16 million and finally in 1877 it was expanded to 37 million gallons.  Originally, the reservoir was an open-air lake but in 1957 it was given a concrete cover on top of which a park area was created.  Along the way this pumphouse, containing 6 pumps, was added in 1932.  Apparently $9million were spent between 2008 and 2009 to upgrade both the pumphouse and the reservoir.  However in 2011 a burst pipe in the reservoir resulted in a torrent of water flowing downhill into the McGill campus.

Close Window