Founded in 1969, Quebec University is housed in a series of contemporary brick buildings integrated into older structures. One of these occupies the former site of St. James Church, designed in the NeoGothic style by John Ostell in 1852. All that remain of the church today are the façade of the south transept facing Rue Sainte-Catherine and the bell tower (the highest in Montreal) on Rue Saint-Denis. The university underwent expansion and was merged with the former polytechnical institute and an enormous science campus.