Arts Building (McGill University)

45.50500000°N 73.57750000°W / 45.50500000; -73.57750000

The McCall MacBain Arts Building (also known as the Arts Building, formerly the McGill College Building) is a landmark building located at 853 Sherbrooke Street West in Montreal, Quebec, in the centre of McGill University's downtown campus. The Arts Building is the oldest existing building on campus, and it was designed in the Classical Revival style by John Ostell. Construction began in 1839, and the building's central block and east wing were completed in 1843. The west and north wings were finished in 1861 and 1925, respectively, after involving multiple architects, including Alexander Francis Dunlop and Harold Lea Fetherstonhaugh. Today, the Arts Building is made up of a central block and three distinct wings – Dawson Hall (east), Molson Hall (west) and Moyse Hall (north). The building currently houses the Department of French Language and Literature, the Department of English, and the Department of Art History and Communication Studies. It also hosts lectures for several other departments from the Faculty of Arts.

In April 2019, the building was renamed the McCall MacBain Arts Building in recognition of a private donation of C$200 million, the then-largest single gift to a university in Canadian history, from the McCall MacBain Foundation.