# Aldred Building

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{{Short description|Art Deco skyscraper in Montreal}}
{{Infobox building
| name                    = Aldred Building
| image                   = 
Alfred_Building_in_Place_d%27Armes%2C_Montreal.jpg
| status                  = Complete
| construction_start_date = 1929
| completion_date         = 1930
| building_type           = Offices
| location                = 507 [Place d'Armes](/source/Place_d'Armes), [Montreal](/source/Montreal), [Quebec](/source/Quebec), Canada
| architectural_style     = [Art deco](/source/Art_deco)
| coordinates             = {{coord|45|30|18|N|73|33|24|W|display=inline,title}}
| roof                    = {{convert|96.93|m|ft}}
| top_floor               = 
| antenna_spire           = 
| floor_count             = 23
| floor_area              = 
| elevator_count          = 6 (Otis-Fensom Elevator Company Limited)
| architect               = Barott and Blackader
| references              = <ref name="SSP">{{skyscraperpage|2711}}</ref><ref name="Emporis">{{Cite web |url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/112413 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306083218/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/112413 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=March 6, 2016 |title=Emporis building ID 112413 |work=[Emporis](/source/Emporis)}}</ref><ref name="emporis_a">{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130410183826/http://www.emporis.com/building/aldredbuilding-montreal-canada Aldred Building {{!}} Buildings {{!}} EMPORIS<!-- Bot generated title -->]}}</ref>
}}
The '''Aldred Building''' (French: '''''Édifice Aldred'''''; also known as '''''Édifice La Prévoyance''''') is an [Art deco](/source/Art_deco) building on the historic [Place d'Armes](/source/Place_d'Armes) [square](/source/Town_square) in the [Old Montreal](/source/Old_Montreal) quarter of [Montreal](/source/Montreal), [Quebec](/source/Quebec), Canada.

Completed in 1930, the building was designed by [Ernest Isbell Barott](/source/Ernest_Isbell_Barott), of the firm [Barott and Blackader](/source/Barott_and_Blackader), with a height of 96 metres (316&nbsp;ft) or 23 storeys. Built at a cost of $2,851,076.00 ({{Inflation|CA|2851076|1931|fmt=eq}}), Barott endeavored to design a modern building which would, at the same time, fit with the square's historic surroundings. The building's [setbacks](/source/setback_(architecture)) at the 8th, 13th, and 16th floors allow more light on the square and create a cathedral-like massing, reflecting the adjacent [Notre-Dame Basilica](/source/Notre-Dame_Basilica_(Montreal)). The building uses [limestone](/source/limestone), common to other buildings in the area. The Aldred Building also attempts to address both Place d'Armes and [Notre-Dame Street](/source/Notre-Dame_Street) which do not meet at right angles, aligning with both streets until the third floor, where it then steps back and becomes square to Notre-Dame. The odd angle is small and not immediately noticeable from street-level.<ref name=Sasz>{{cite web |url=http://www.arch.mcgill.ca/prof/sijpkes/arch304/winter2001/cszasz/aldred/aldred.htm |title=Montreal's Original Skyscraper: The Aldred Building |accessdate=27 November 2008 |last=Sasz |first=Colin |date=11 December 2000 |publisher=[McGill University School of Architecture](/source/McGill_University_School_of_Architecture) |archive-date=8 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308172944/http://www.arch.mcgill.ca/prof/sijpkes/arch304/winter2001/cszasz/aldred/aldred.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The building resembles New York's [Empire State Building](/source/Empire_State_Building), completed the same year, and was built for [John E. Aldred](/source/John_E._Aldred) of New York.<ref>{{cite book |title=Frommer's Montreal & Quebec City |last=Bailey Livesey |first=Herbert |year=2005 |publisher=Wiley Publishing Inc. |location=Hoboken, NJ |isbn=0-7645-7404-3 |pages=124 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GeuwyinateEC&q=Edifice+Aldred+%22art+deco%22&pg=PA124 }}</ref>

Barott began work on the Aldred Building around 1927, with original design for the building only 12 storeys tall, as building heights were limited to {{convert|130|ft|m}} in Montreal until the passing of a bylaw allowing taller buildings provided they made use of setbacks to reduce their overall mass, similar to one in [New York City](/source/New_York_City).<ref>[http://www.vieux.montreal.qc.ca/tour/etape16/eng/16text3a.htm Place d'Armes, Vieux-Montreal Web site]</ref>

Barott was able to take advantage of a 1929 clause in the bylaw that allowed buildings on public squares to exceed the then maximum height by up to {{convert|200|ft|m}}, if certain restrictions were adhered to. The building's total floor area is {{convert|238946|sqft|m2}}.<ref name="Sasz"/>

==Materials==
thumb|left|Labelled arch above the Aldred Building's main entrance
The exterior utilizes [Indiana limestone](/source/Indiana_limestone) set on a [granite](/source/granite) base in combination with aluminum [spandrels](/source/spandrels). The interior doors are inlaid with [white metal](/source/white_metal), with the exterior gates in [bronze](/source/bronze). Surrounding the doors and covering the walls and floors of the entrance lobby are a variety of [marble](/source/marble)s, including Belgian Black, Yellow Sienna, Tinos Greek, St. Genevieve Golden Vein, Verde Antique, and Moutonelle. Flooring above the ground level is made of [terrazzo](/source/terrazzo) with brass strips. Bronze also makes up the frames for windows of the ground floor bank, and is used in trim throughout the building along with [stainless steel](/source/stainless_steel).<ref name="Sasz"/>

The steel structure of the building is supported two floors below street level on a solid concrete mat which is nine feet thick. The steel is fireproofed with [terra-cotta](/source/terra-cotta) tiles and supports reinforced concrete floors. The steel structure allows for a total of 840 windows, which cover approximately 20 percent of the building's surface area. Numerous services in the Aldred Building identify it as a modern structure, including conditioned ventilation in the basement and first nine floors, with fresh air 'washed' and filtered in an air-cleaner. The Aldred Building features a [central vacuum system](/source/central_vacuum_system), an electric time-clock system, an incinerator, paper baler and an ozone machine in the kitchen to eliminate odours. All the floors contain built-in ducts for electrical and telephone cables. The six high-speed elevators were the most modern available in the day, and were installed by [Otis-Fensom](/source/Otis_Elevator_Company). The cars travel at {{convert|700|ft|m}} per minute and have [teak](/source/teak) interiors.<ref name="Sasz"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080808115056/http://canada.archiseek.com/quebec/montreal/tower4.html Archiseek Web site]
*[http://www.vieux.montreal.qc.ca/inventaire/fiches/fiche_bat.php?sec=p&num=10 FICHE D'UN BÂTIMENT: Édifice Aldred (in French)]

Category:Buildings and structures in Old Montreal
Category:Art Deco architecture in Canada
Category:Landmarks in Montreal
Category:Skyscraper office buildings in Montreal
Category:Office buildings completed in 1931
Category:Art Deco skyscrapers
Category:1931 establishments in Quebec
Category:1930s in Montreal

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Aldred Building](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldred_Building) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldred_Building?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.