Allan Building, Montreal

On April 15, 1912, the Allan Company鈥檚 steamship Virginian picked up the Titanic鈥檚 first distress signal and wired the Montreal head office for permission to alter course to go to the ship's rescue. This is where the message that the Titanic had hit an iceberg and was sinking was received in Montreal. The information was immediately passed on to the marine reporter of The Gazette 鈥� the first newspaper in the world to learn of the disaster.

The offices of the shipping company were housed in this building until 1941, with some rooms being rented to various companies and organizations until the sale in 1978. In 1981 the Department of Public Works took possession and remained the owner until 2009, when the Society of the Old Port of Montreal took over ownership. Out in front is a statue of John Young, 1st Chairman of the Port Commission, responsible for enlarging and developing the port. His efforts were so important that after his death in 1878, he was considered to be the "father" of the port. A figure of Neptune, symbolically representing the Saint Lawrence River, sits at the base of the monument.

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Create Your Own Self-Guided Walk to Visit This Sight

Sight Name: Allan Building
Sight Location: Montreal, Canada (See walking tours in Montreal)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

The RMS Titanic Walking Tour

Walking Tours in Montreal, Canada

Create Your Own Walk in Montreal

Creating your own self-guided walk in Montreal is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.

The RMS Titanic Walking Tour

Built as the ship of dreams, the RMS Titanic went down in history as the one that carried 鈥渂oth the hopes and the tragedies of a generation.鈥� The luxury cruiser sank on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic in the early hours of April 15, 1912, and today is largely remembered throughout the world, in part, due to the blockbuster movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Although Montreal's... view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.5 Km or 2.2 Miles

Historical Churches Walking Tour

The religious fervor that inspired French settlers in the mid-17th century to build a 鈥淐hristian commonwealth鈥� on North American soil gave rise to a number of churches, chapels, and cathedrals. Each sacred edifice in Montreal's ecclesiastical panorama 鈥� notably, in its religion- and architecture-infused oldest area, Vieux-Montr茅al 鈥� is a testament to the divine craftsmanship and... view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 4.2 Km or 2.6 Miles

Old Montreal Walking Tour

Old Montreal (Vieux-Montr茅al) is a historic neighborhood southeast of the downtown area, home to many architectural monuments of the New France era. Founded by French settlers in 1642 as Fort Ville-Marie, the settlement gave its name to the city borough of which it is now part.

Most of Montreal's earliest architecture, characterized by uniquely French influence, including grey stone... view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.3 Km or 2.1 Miles

Historical Buildings Walking Tour

Whenever you gaze upon the historical buildings of Montreal, you are reminded that the true measure of a city's greatness lies in its ability to preserve its past while embracing its future. Old Montreal 鈥� home to four centuries of architecture shaped by French sophistication and English practicality 鈥� is a place all its own.

Here, modern buildings coexist with some of the oldest and... view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.8 Km or 2.4 Miles

Montreal Introduction Walking Tour

The second-most populous city in Canada, Montreal is an old, yet at the same time, modern metropolis, flagship of Canada's Qu茅bec province. Sitting on an island in the Saint Lawrence River, with Mount Royal at its center, the city owes its name to this triple-peaked hill (Mont Royal in modern French, although in 16th-century French the forms r茅al and royal were used interchangeably).

The... view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.6 Km or 2.2 Miles

Useful Travel Guides for Planning Your Trip

Montreal Souvenirs: 15 Trip Mementos to Bring Home

The outpost of Frenchness in North America (and the world's 2nd largest francophone city after Paris), Montreal is the meeting point of the New and Old World styles, the collision of the French, English and Aboriginal cultures. The historical and ethnic uniqueness of the city is seen throughout...

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