Hydro-Québec Building, Corporate skyscraper in Downtown Montreal, Canada
The Hydro-Québec Building, now called Édifice Jean-Lesage, is a 27-storey, 110-metre office tower at 75 boulevard René-Lévesque Ouest, designed by Gaston Gagnier and completed in 1962. Its steel structure reads as an International Style curtain wall, but the facade still carries structural loads, and setbacks in the massing recall Art Deco. The fleurdelisé flies from the roof.
Built in 1962 to the design of architect Gaston Gagnier, the tower rose alongside Place Ville Marie and the CIBC Tower, making it then Montreal's sixth-tallest building, behind the Royal Bank Building. It served as Hydro-Québec's head office and housed the Montreal office of the Quebec premier until 2002. In June 2017 it was renamed Édifice Jean-Lesage, and a bust of René Lévesque was unveiled in front of it on August 24, 2001.
The building represents Quebec's commitment to hydroelectric power and stands as a visible symbol of the province's energy independence in the downtown core. The location reflects how important this public utility is to the region's identity and daily functioning.
The tower stands at 75 boulevard René-Lévesque Ouest, between rue Saint-Urbain and rue Clark. The René-Lévesque bust and the Mousseau mural Lumière et mouvement dans la couleur are visible from the public sidewalk at the boulevard and Saint-Urbain corner. The Quebec flag flies at the top of the building.
The facade looks like a glass curtain wall but is actually load-bearing, and the setbacks in the structure recall Art Deco. These clues place the tower among the first International Style buildings in Montreal, contemporary with Place Ville Marie and the CIBC Tower.
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