Royal Victoria

In 1887, two Scottish cousins, Donald Smith, 1st Lord Strathcona, and George Stephen, 1st Lord Mount Stephen, made a grand gesture. They gifted C$1,000,000 to Montreal for the construction of a free hospital. This act of generosity would birth the Royal Victoria Hospital, affectionately nicknamed the “Royal Vic” or simply “The Vic.” The Royal Victoria Hospital opened its doors in 1893, perched on the slopes of Mount Royal. It was immediately lauded as the finest and most technologically advanced hospital on the continent. The Royal Victoria Hospital’s founders decreed that the land and buildings should forever be dedicated to healing. Their vision was a hospital “for the use of the sick and ailing without distinction of race or creed.” The initial structure, designed by Henry Saxon Snell, featured the Scottish baronial style, a nod to the founders’ heritage. The original Royal Victoria Hospital complex consisted of three pavilions, constructed of Montreal limestone, and characterized by crenelated structures and romantic turrets. Over the years, the Royal Victoria Hospital expanded, adding wings that mirrored the original style. The H pavilion, designed as a nurses’ residence, opened in 1905. The Women’s and Ross Memorial pavilions were added in the 1920s. Further expansions in the early 1950s brought the M and S pavilions. Finally, in 1993, the C pavilion was added, housing the emergency room, birthing center, and a state-of-the-art ICU. In 1920, the Royal Victoria Hospital partnered with McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine, transforming into a research institute. This collaboration led to remarkable achievements, including the first successful kidney transplant in the Commonwealth in 1958. The Royal Victoria Hospital’s legacy extends beyond its physical walls. Its connection to prominent figures like John McCrae, the author of “In Flanders Fields,” and the establishment of the Montreal Neurological Institute by Dr. Wilder Penfield in 1929, solidified its position as a center of medical excellence. After operating at its original location for 122 years, the Royal Victoria Hospital moved to the Glen site in 2015. The move marked the end of an era, leaving behind a rich history and a building steeped in both medical triumphs and ghostly tales.