The Building

Opened to the public in 1992 and measuring 166 meters (545 feet) by a scant 17 meters (56 feet), the CMCP building occupies the space of a former “tunnel” of the Grand Trunk Railway. Streetcars dropped their riders at this historic downtown location, nestled between the Chateau Laurier Hotel and the locks of the Rideau Canal.

Pleasantly incorporated with its surroundings, the building is announced by a gray limestone exterior, lamp standards that echo the era of the street's other buildings and stone balustrades. The arched windows overlooking the canal echo the original tunnel openings. The museum can be accessed from a steel and glass pavilion on Wellington Street, which descends into the lobby.

The building is designed around a central spine. The tightly controlled and carefully lit environment of the galleries lies on one side, while the lobby and museum offices are left open to natural light on the other. More than half of the total space of the museum is public - lobbies, galleries, and a 50-seat theatre used for a variety of programs. The main galleries measure 354 square metres (423 square yards), allowing for most of the 160 running metres (524 running feet) of hanging space in the museum. Behind the scenes, collection and travelling exhibition storage occupies roughly two-thirds the space of the galleries, but densely packed!