The Presbyterian College, Montreal
Seminary in Montreal
The Presbyterian College/Le Collège Presbytérien
Established: c. 1865 – 158 years ago
Theological College of the Presbyterian Church of Canada and the Theological College in its affiliation with McGill University through its School of Religious Studies.
Classes began in the autumn of 1867 in the basement of Erskine Presbyterian Church in downtown Montreal, with Professor (later Principal) Donald Harvey MacVicar. Lay leadership came from prominent Montrealers John Redpath and McGill Principal John Williams Dawson.
The college remained within the Presbyterian Church in Canada after church union. The 1925-1926 academic year was held from the Anglican Diocesan College, until the provincial Quebec Courts awarded the College back to the “continuing” Presbyterian Church in Canada.
During World War II, Presbyterian College was used for soldier training, and temporarily moved to Toronto, Ontario, and joined with Knox College, from 1943-1946.
The first building was completed in 1873, and located on McTavish Street. In 1882, the David Morrice Hall containing a large library, dining hall, convocation hall, offices, and residences was completed.
These building served the College until the 1950s.
By the 1950s, the older buildings were in need of repair; rather than embarking on lengthy renovations, Presbyterian College and McGill University transferred lands.
The university took the McTavish Street site, and Presbyterian College constructed a new building on the corner of University Avenue and Milton Street.
The building was dedicated on April 28, 1963. The chapel, was renovated in the 1980s, then rebuilt following a fire in November 1990. In recent years, the college has rented out two floors of its residences as dormitories for McGill University students.
Reference :
Musée McCord Stewart Museum
Presbyterian College, McGill University, Montreal, QC, 1940-42
VIEW-26211
Wm. Notman & Son
1940-1942, 20th century
Notman photographic Archives – McCord Museum
Collège Presbytérien, Université McGill, Montréal, QC, 1940-1942
Wm. Notman & Son
1940-1942, 20e siècle
Archives photographiques Notman – Musée McCord
www.musee-mccord.qc.ca/en/collection/artifacts/VIEW-26211
