Victoria Hall Community Centre

4626 Sherbrooke Street West, H3Z 1G1 (at Lansdowne)
Telephone: 514 989-5226

It would be unthinkable to talk about Westmount’s municipal buildings without mentioning Victoria Hall, the City’s community center.

This avant-garde structure is said to be the first municipal auditorium ever built in Canada. This distinction applies to the original building, which opened in 1899, and later to the second, rebuilt building, which opened in 1925.

Designed by Robert Findlay, the original building, Victoria Jubilee Hall, was erected in 1898. It was destroyed by fire in 1924. The current building, designed by architects Hutchison and Wood, was built immediately after the fire. This three-story sandstone building, accented with Indiana sandstone, features the same Tudor style as Westmount City Hall.

Victoria Jubilee Hall

• Opened: 1899
• Destroyed by fire: 1924
• Architect: Robert Findlay

The original Victoria Hall opened in 1899 after citizens petitioned the city for a community centre. Robert Findlay designed Victoria Jubilee Hall, using the same style and materials as the Library. It housed a public meeting room, lodge room, drill hall, bowling alley, billiard room, gymnasium, and a swimming pool. It was destroyed by fire in 1924.

Victoria Hall

• Opened: 1925
• Architects: Hutchison & Wood

The second community centre on this site was built in stone in the neo-Tudor style by the architecture firm Hutchison & Wood. Sandstone was used for the Gothic details—the square crenellated tower flanked by four corner turrets, the oriel window above the ogival doors, and the buttresses of the two wings. This new centre had a large hall with a balcony and a stage for dances and performances. There was a Masonic Lodge room upstairs. Victoria Hall underwent a complete renovation and restoration in 1998, carried out by the firm Fournier, Gersovitz & Moss. It provides space for municipal courses, concerts, meetings, and social events.

Home of the Community Events Division

Victoria Hall is Westmount’s community centre and home to the Community Events Division. This division is responsible for the operation of the building, including the Gallery at Victoria Hall, and for the coordination of local events.

Victoria Hall is used for City Council events, cultural presentations and recreation courses offered by Westmount. On any given day, you can find activities for all ages taking place there, including tai chi, fitness, music, dance, theatre, bridge and much more.

Please note that rooms in Victoria Hall are NOT available for rent.

Big Band Dancing at Victoria Hall

Concert Hall

The stage and auditorium were built on the first and second floors of the structure respectively. The auditorium was the primary purpose of Victoria Hall. This breaks with the tradition of the combined town hall/opera house, where a small stage and auditorium is most often found on the second floor above municipal offices and chambers. The building was the home of regular weekly big-band dances during the 30s and 40s, widely attended by Westmounters and Montrealers alike.

The Gallery at Victoria Hall

• Opened: 1999
• Architects: Fournier, Gersovitz & Moss

The gallery space was designed by the firm Fournier Gersovitz & Moss to match the exterior of adjacent Victoria Hall, using the same neo-Tudor architectural style and similar building materials. The floors were done in geometric tiles in the British tradition. The French doors open onto the Conservatory forecourt which was planted with linden trees and perennials in 2001.

The Art Gallery provides a pedestrian link between the Conservatory and Victoria Hall. It hosts changing exhibitions of the visual arts by Westmounters, children from the Visual Arts Centre programmes, and city employees. It is also used for occasional lectures and social events.

September 5, 2017

Reference: Victoria Hall and Gallery Booking Policy

Victoria Hall is Westmount’s community centre and home to the Community Events Division. This division is responsible for the operation of the building, including the Gallery at Victoria Hall, and for the coordination of local City organised events.

Victoria Hall is used for Council events, cultural presentations and recreation courses offered by the City of Westmount.

The Gallery was designed and built to promote and encourage Westmount artists (you must be a Westmount resident in order to exhibit at the gallery). It is managed and curated by the City of Westmount. The artists who show at the gallery are selected yearly by the Gallery Selection Committee.

Objective

The City receives many requests for the use of Victoria Hall. In keeping this building’s mandate as a community centre, Council has established the following guidelines to ensure the facility is used exclusively for not-for-profit, community-based public events that are of interest and of benefit to the community.

These rules also ensure the smooth running of regular City programmes and the opportunity to accommodate Council events and special public events organised by City departments and by local groups and individuals.

Policy

Rooms in Victoria Hall including the Gallery are not available for rent. The City does not consider proposals for:

1. private events;
2. members-only events (except planning meetings for public events);
3. for-profit or commercial activities and events;
4. non-city organized fundraisers;
5. partisan political or religious events;
6. gallery exhibitions by non-residents.

Priority Use of Rooms

1. Municipal elections or events held by City Council;
2. Sports, recreation, Library and Community Events Department activities and events;
3. Activities organized by other City departments, including meetings, training sessions and public events;
4. Events and activities that are not prohibited by this policy, which are organized and presented by Westmount-based not-for-profit organisations with a minimum of 50% Westmount resident membership.
5. Events and activities organised and presented by Westmount residents that are not prohibited by this policy;
6. Activities dealing with local or regional political matters are permitted if put on by Westmount-based groups, provided they are not partisan, lobbyist, or to do with a single issue. Any provincial or federal elected or civil servant may give non-partisan talks or lectures on strictly local or regional matters; however, multiparty events of a broader scope occurring during a formal electoral campaign are permitted.

Notes:

• Activities 1, 2, & 3 have the highest priority in that order;
• Activities 4, 5 & 6 are considered equally on a first-come, first-served basis;
• Reservations will not be accepted more than 12 months in advance of the event;
• When scheduling permits, the City will approve the use of Victoria Hall for memorial events for Westmounters, but cannot cancel previously-planned events for this purpose.

Guidelines for City Events

1. Final responsibility for City events resides with the Sports, recreation, Library Departments and Community Events Division or any other Department that presents the event;
2. Public events will be publicised locally via the City’s website, the Culture, Sports and Recreation Activities Guide, the municipal newsletter, social media and local media;
3. Funding will be solely from the City, except for the occasional participation of local businesses;
4. City departments should include volunteer participation in the planning and delivery of the events.

Guidelines for City-Approved, Community-Organised Events

All events must be:

1. Organized by and open to all Westmount residents;
2. Free or with a nominal admission charge to cover expenses;
3. Cultural or educational in nature and of interest and benefit to the community;
4. Advertised and promoted locally.

Notes:

• The responsibility for the organisation, delivery and information related to the event remains with the group of individuals proposing it.
• Some events may receive financial or logistical support from the City and/or local businesses.

Approval of Events

1. The Community events office will manage the room bookings and accept events that meet all of the guidelines or have received prior approval from City Council.
2. When approved events take place outside of the normal operating hours of Victoria Hall, they will incur a charge based on the going rate, per hour, per staff person.

Notes:

• Some restrictions may apply to certain rooms at Victoria Hall (e.g., no food or drink in the Lodge Room; no use of the Ward Room for non-dance activities).
• Some additional equipment (e.g. projector, coffee percolators) can be made available, but will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Gallery at Victoria Hall is a unique public space dedicated to visual arts linking the community centre to the Library.  The Gallery’s mission is to offer a space devoted to showcase and celebrate Westmount artists—be they emerging, semi-professional or established. Many exhibitions of local artists are presented in the Gallery each year, as well as a community youth art project and special exhibitions.

Victoria Hall Community Centre | 4626 Sherbrooke Street West | 514 989-5226

Exhibiting Your Art at the Gallery

How to Apply

Our annual call for proposals takes place from February 15 to April 15.

Please submit your application via the online application form.

Admissibility Criteria

• The applicant must be a Westmount resident.
• The applicant must not have been part of a solo, duo or trio exhibition at the Gallery in the last 5 years. This criteria does not apply to artists who participated in a group exhibition (4 artists or more).
• Feasibility and autonomy for the Gallery space and the equipment available

Selection Process

Admissible proposals are evaluated by the Gallery Selection Committee. A studio visit may be requested during the selection process. Selected artists will be offered a place in a solo, duo, trio or group exhibition at the discretion of the Committee. Please note that no evaluation of the artwork will be provided. The committee is mindful of presenting a variety of artistic practices each year. The Gallery Selection Committee’s decisions are final.

Curator

Selected artists work with the Gallery curator provided by the City of Westmount. The curator is mandated to curate and mount the exhibition, and to provide the texts surrounding the show. They work closely with the artists to select the artworks to be exhibited.

Would you like to get involved with the Gallery at Victoria Hall and participate in the selection of artists who will exhibit at the municipal gallery? The City of Westmount is always seeking jury members for the Art Gallery Selection Committee.

The Selection Committee is composed of three or four members of the jury and the Gallery Curator. Please note this citizen involvement opportunity is done on a voluntary basis and does not imply any monetary compensation.

This one (1) year mandate requires from jury members to study the admissible application files and to participate in a few meetings (1 to 3, videoconference or in person) during the selection process which takes place from April to June. Exceptionally, the members of the jury may be called upon to visit an artist’s studio in order to make the final selection.

Please note that you will only be contacted if you are offered a place on the committee for a given year.

Form - Participation in the Art Gallery Selection Committee

Artisans Westmount is the perfect place to discover one-of-a-kind creations!

This juried show is an opportunity to shop and discover high quality, functional goods that are handmade by selected artisans. The event takes place in November each year—a great time to get a head start on holiday gifting.

The cost of admisison is a donation to Westmount Public Safety's annual holiday food drive.

Art Westmount is a biennial two-day event that showcases the visual artists in our community.

Since 2006, the mission of this event has been to recognize and celebrate Westmount artists—be they amateur, emerging, semi-professional or established—and offer them an opportunity to exhibit, commission-free, in a beautiful venue.

The most recent edition of Art Westmount took place in May 2025.

Each summer, in July and August, weekly Summer Concerts are presented in Westmount Park. These free concerts bring live music to the public in a relaxed outdoor setting, and aim to showcase a variety of music from emerging or professional ensembles.