Castles of "Canada" MCTAVISH RESERVOIR vs MIDDLESEX COUNTY COURT HOUSE (LONDON, ONTARIO)

MCTAVISH RESERVOIR

The McTavish reservoir (French: Réservoir McTavish), named for Simon McTavish, is an underground reservoir and park located within McGill University's...

The McTavish reservoir (French: Réservoir McTavish), named for Simon McTavish, is an underground reservoir and park located within McGill University's campus on the southern slope of Mount Royal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It holds 37 million gallons of water and is supplied by its large Château Style pump-houses located in the south-eastern corner of the park. Atop the reservoir is Rutherford Park. It also is the location of the McTavish automated weather reporting station (CWTA, 71612). The city of Montreal decided to construct the reservoir in 1852, after a devastating fire that destroyed almost half the houses in the city. The fire had broken out while the previous reservoir, located at what is now Saint-Louis Square, was closed for repairs. The reservoir was constructed between 1852 and 1856 and uses the natural rock of the site to hold water, with some masonry on the south of the reservoir. The McTavish reservoir was increased in size twice after its initial construction. It was subsequently covered in 1957 and the terrain on top used for recreation. The cliff created in the construction of the reservoir is used as an ice climbing location in downtown Montreal. Nine million dollars was spent in 2008-2009 on upgrading the pump house and reservoir for infrastructure security and preventing water contamination, but the security features have proven to be ineffective and easily infiltrated. The city of Montreal has subsequently attempted to close the park in 2009 and restrict access to the public, citing escalating terrorist threats from the September 11 attacks as the rationale for the non-publicly consulted decision. The park remains accessible as of March 2021.

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MIDDLESEX COUNTY COURT HOUSE (LONDON, ONTARIO)

The Middlesex County Court House is a historic building and a National Historic Site of Canada in London, Ontario, Canada. The courthouse building is...

The Middlesex County Court House is a historic building and a National Historic Site of Canada in London, Ontario, Canada. The courthouse building is an "early example of the Gothic Revival style, pre-dating the earliest important Gothic Revival public building in England". The building at 399 Ridout Street North, commonly known as Middlesex County Court House, is situated south of Dundas Street, and north of King Street in the County of Middlesex in the City of London. The three-story parged brick building has castle-like features and Gothic details. The courthouse displays a classical compositional form with a central pavilion and two side wings in the form of prominent octagonal towers at each corner. The courthouse features a stone foundation housing the cell blocks, squared mortar-covered brick walls to give a stone-like appearance, octagonal towers, a polygonal bay, tall lancet windows, secondary square windows and distinctive crenelations.

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