Object description

Donegana's Hotel, previously known as Bingham House, stood on the north-west corner of Notre-Dame Street and Bonsecours Street, a block away from Bonsecours Market in the Old Montreal district of Montreal, Quebec. Originally built as a private residence in 1821, the house served as the vice-regal residence of the Governors General of Canada from 1837 until 1843. From 1843 to 1846 it briefly housed the High School of Montreal, before the school built its own premises. The building was then bought by Jean-Marie Donegana, who enlarged it to become the largest hotel in the British Colonies. It became famous across Europe and North America, where its reputation was only equal to, if not exceeding, that of New York's Astor House. Donegana's was burnt down in the Montreal Riots of 1849.