Redpath Museum

A Geeky Guide to the Scientific Wonders of North America

"“This museum belongs in a museum!” is not a phrase often uttered about the bland buildings that typically house even the most interesting of curated collections. But the opposite is true for the Redpath Museum. Built in 1882, the museum is named for its donor, Peter Redpath, who was a sugar baron and industrial magnate at the time. Redpath wanted to create a place for carefully curated natural history of every stripe, from geology to anthropology. And that’s exactly what the Redpath Museum is. The building rests on the campus of McGill University in Montreal, and shares a name with the Redpath Sugar Museum (what else?) in nearby Toronto. The building is old and beautiful, and its status as the quintessential “oddball” or just plain old museum have earned it use as a set in more than one film and television production. Colorful stuffed birds, fossils encased in stone, and, of course, dinosaur bones, inhabit every shelve and deck each hall in this much-loved location. The Evolution Exhibit features a massive Albertosaurus skeleton, which is appropriate for Canada, and is undoubtedly the main attraction. The museum is also home to a small collection of glass marine life models by the famous father and son team Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka. (More photos here.)" - ATLAS_OBSCURA

"Opened in 1880 as Canada 's first natural history museum, the Redpath Museum has a charmingly old-school Victorian quality to it. The collection of artifacts assembled by intrepid explorers ranges from taxidermy and Egyptian mummies to geological samples and—one of its most prized possessions—a handwritten letter from Charles Darwin. The museum is located at the heart of McGill University, long one of Canada 's most important institutions of higher learning. Most of the buildings on campus, all in a handsome gray stone on a lovely bit of green in downtown Montréal at the base of Mount Royal, date from the 19th and early 20th centuries."

10 Best Museums in Montreal | Condé Nast Traveler

"The Redpath is a museum of natural history belonging to McGill University. Opened in 1882 and named for sugar magnate Peter Redpath, its commissioner, the museum is an architectural jewel and a prime example of the Greek Revival style. The real draw here is the permanent collection, which contains close to three million objects. Highlights include Ancient Egyptian mummies, the cast of the Rosetta Stone, a Charles Darwin exhibition, and a spectacular minke whale skeleton." - Richard Burnett