The History of McGill University's Buildings

Description

Purvis Hall was built in 1907 for Sir Mortimer B. Davis, founder of the Imperial Tobacco Company. He commissioned John McGregor and Robert Findlay, the designer of the Sun Life Building, for the project. This Classical, French Beaux Arts style mansion, constructed of Indiana limestone, has a symmetrical facade decorated with carved stone and intricate iron work beneath which it conceals an innovative steel frame and reinforced concrete floors. Each floor was planned around a central hall and was as decorative as the exterior, but with more of a sense of warmth. It featured such details as carved stair rails and chandeliers, custom made furniture, and a beautiful botanical conservatory enclosed in glass, a popular feature of Square Mile houses.

In 1935, the industrialist Arthur B. Purvis bought the house and remodeled it. He had several ornate ceilings and a Renaissance-style fireplace removed. After Purvis died in an air crash in 1941, the house was bestowed upon McGill in his memory by John W. McConnell, a major benefactor of the University. Findlay was again hired, this time to renovate the house, now called Purvis Hall, for academic use while preserving as much of its original detail and charm as possible. The upper floors were converted into office and classroom spaces, the ground floor became a reading room, and the basement was transformed into stacks. The School of Commerce (now the Faculty of Management) occupied Purvis Hall until 1973, at which point it was given to the McGill University Press and the Arctic Institute. Today it is designated for use by the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and still retains much of its original decor.