page_title: Hugh Allan
section_title: Ravenscrag
hierarchical_section_title: Hugh Allan / Ravenscrag
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: «&#160;Ravenscrag&#160;», résidence de Hugh Montagu Allan, Montréal, Québec, Canada 1901 1901, 20e siècle; Plaque sèche à la gélatine; 20 x 25 cmEnglish: "Ravenscrag", Hugh Montagu Allan's residence, Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1901 1901, 20th century, Silver salts on glass - Gelatin dry plate process, 20 x 25 cm
context_page_description: Sir Hugh Allan was a Scottish-Canadian shipping magnate, financier and capitalist. By the time of his death, the Allan Shipping Line had become the largest privately owned shipping empire in the world. He was responsible for transporting millions of British immigrants to Canada, and the businesses that he established from Montreal filtered across every sphere of Canadian life, cementing his reputation as an empire builder. His home, Ravenscrag, was the principal residence of the Golden Square Mile in Montreal.
context_section_description: In 1860, Allan bought part of the estate of Simon McTavish and demolished the old manor house to make way for his new home, Ravenscrag, a sumptuous Italian Renaissance style house and the principal residence of the Golden Square Mile. The house, which surpassed Dundurn Castle in scale and grandeur, was completed in three years in 1863, and the ballroom alone could comfortably accommodate several hundred guests.
  After his death in 1882, his second son, Sir Montagu Allan, lived in the house. In 1940, he donated it to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal. The Allans entertained Prince Arthur of Connaught, Lord Lisgar, the Earl of Dufferin, Viscount Wolseley, and others.
caption: Ravenscrag, Allan's home in Montreal's Golden Square Mile, completed in 1863
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