# Château Dufresne

- **Country:** Canada
- **Coordinates:** 45.553885, -73.553818
- **Year Built:** 1918
- **Castle Type:** Mansions
- **Location Text:** Quebec
- **Architectural Style:** Beaux-Arts

Château Dufresne is a prominent historic house museum located at 4040 Sherbrooke Street East in the Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough of Montreal, Quebec. Situated near the Olympic Stadium and the Montreal Botanical Garden, this grand residence was constructed between 1915 and 1918. It was designed by architect Marius Dufresne in collaboration with Parisian architect Jules Renard, who modeled the structure after the Petit Trianon at the Palace of Versailles. The building exemplifies the Beaux-Arts architectural style, featuring three floors, forty rooms, and extensive grounds covering over 7,000 square meters.

Originally built as a dual residence for wealthy French Canadian entrepreneurs Marius and Oscar Dufresne, the mansion holds significant historical value due to its unique interior decorations. During the 1920s and 1930s, renowned artist Guido Nincheri adorned the walls and ceilings with murals that depict secular subjects, a notable exception to his typically religious body of work. Belgian artist Alfred Faniel also contributed to the home's artistic embellishments during this period. The property served various institutional roles after the Dufresne family sold it in 1948, including functioning as an annex for Holy Cross College and hosting the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art and the Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts.

Declared a classified heritage site by the Quebec government in 1976, the estate has been owned by the City of Montreal since 1957. Since 1999, it has operated as a public museum, formerly known as the Château Dufresne Museum and renamed the Dufresne-Nincheri Museum in 2014 to honor the artist responsible for its distinctive interiors. Today, the site remains a well-preserved example of early twentieth-century luxury and artistic achievement, affiliated with major Canadian cultural networks including the Canadian Museums Association.

![Photo of Château Dufresne](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Ch%C3%A2teau_Dufresne_%289773%29_03.jpg)

**Source:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Château_Dufresne (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)