Ravenscrag, Montreal

Ravenscrag (also known as Hugh Allan House and Hugh Montagu Allan House) is a historic mansion located in the Golden Square Mile in Montreal (Quebec), Canada.

Built mainly between 1861 and 1863, this house was the residence of Sir Hugh Allan from 1863 to 1882 and to his son Sir Hugh Montagu Allan from 1882 to 1940. In 1940, the Allan family donated the house to the Royal Victoria Hospital. Since 1943, the building has housed the Allan Memorial Institute, which houses the hospital's psychiatry department, and since 1997, the psychiatry department of McGill University Health Centre (MUHC). Following the move of the Royal Victoria Hospital in 2015, the future of Ravenscrag is uncertain. In 2023, the MUHC transferred the property to the Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI) in order to realize McGill University's new pavillion project called "Royal Victoria". The MUHC remains tenant until 2028.

This residence was designed by architect Victor Roy of the firm William Spier & Son in the Italianate style, following the trends of Victorian architecture. Around 1865, architect John William Hopkins of the firm Hopkins & Wily superintended the construction of the reception rooms annexed to the house and of the greenhouse, following the plans of architect Victor Roy. After the construction of the reception rooms around 1865, the house had 34 rooms, excluding the servants' quarters and outbuildings. Often qualified as ″the most sumptuous Montreal residence of the 19th century″, the interior was decorated by the Italian painter Giuseppe Guidicini, the team of the Canadian painter John McArthur, the team of the carpenter and joiner George Roberts and the interior decoration company J. & W. Hilton of Montreal.

Hugh Allan baptized his residence "Ravenscrag" following its construction in the 1860s. This residence is part of the former Hugh Allan estate which also includes stables, a Gate house and a park. This estate was recognized by the City of Montreal in 1987 and by the Government of Quebec in 2005 as an integral part of the "Site patrimonial du Mont-Royal" (Mount Royal Heritage Site). It was also declared to be integrated into the "Secteur de valeur patrimoniale exceptionnelle Hôpital Royal Victoria" (Royal Victoria Hospital Historic District) by the City in 2004.