Proposals to widen McGill College date back to at least 1952, when the French architect Jacques Greber submitted a design to the City of Montreal.

[1] In 1983, the plan to widen McGill College as a scenic avenue was imperiled by a proposal to house a concert hall in Place Montreal Trust, with a design for an office tower that would have partially obstructed the view of Mount Royal.

The plan encountered public opposition, including from architectural activist Phyllis Lambert, a member of the board of directors of Cadillac Fairview, the project's developer.

This idea of a concert hall on McGill College was abandoned in favour of a design for Place Montreal Trust with a wider setback.

Public art on the street includes the sculpture The Illuminated Crowd by Raymond Mason, in front of 1981 McGill College.