Since its foundation, the Mount Stephen Club has occupied the residence of George Stephen, co-founder of Canadian Pacific.

In the mid-1870’s, the Stephens already lived in the Golden Square Mile, the new and most upscale residential district in Canada at the time. There, at 1440 Drummond Street, is where they decided to build a residence in keeping with their social position. It would be three years before this residence was constructed at an absolutely staggering cost for that time of $600,000.

The architecture is inspired by palaces of the Italian Renaissance. Each of the rooms is decorated with hardwood, including oak and walnut, or exotic woods such as Cuban mahogany, rosewood and Ceylon satinwood. An unusual fact is that the trim and mouldings on the ceilings are also made of wood rather than plaster. The house has no fewer than 10 fireplaces. Some mantelpieces are marble and others are made of rare woods with recesses decorated with ornate hand-painted tiles. The lamps, ceiling lights, door handles and heating grilles are 22 carat gold-plated.

There are themes throughout, in such a way that the painted fireplace tiles complement the stained glass panels above the windows. On the grand staircase, the windows tell love stories, while the skylight panels illustrate the signs of the zodiac. All of the materials were used with such attention to detail that it would cost a fortune today to redo this admirable décor.

When he left for England, Lord Mount Stephen leased and later sold his house to Robert Meighen, the husband of his sister, Elsie. Robert Meighen died in 1911 but Elsie continued to live in the house until her death six years later. They lived the high life and entertained visiting nobility. In 1890, they organized memorable receptions for dignitaries who were visiting Montreal. After his parents’ death, Frank S. Meighen continued to occupy the house. In 1919, he hosted an important ball held in honour of the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VIII.

In the wake of the First World War, the Golden Square Mile was radically transformed. On the one hand, numerous heirs died on the battlefield and on the other hand, the large residences found themselves short of domestic help. What’s more, the invention of income tax forced a number of property-owners to sell their houses. The Meighens were no exception. Don Mar Realty Limited acquired the Meighen’s house in 1926. Elsie Reford, the daughter of Robert Meighen and her son Eric removed the furniture. The property was subdivided into lots and the house was in danger of demolition.

At the end of 1926, Noah Timmins, J.H. Maher and J.S. Dohan founded a private club for businessmen in order to protect this opulent residence and called it the Mount Stephen Club, in memory of its first owner.