Royal Bank Tower (Montreal)

Royal Bank Tower
Alternative names Tour de la Banque Royale
General information
Type Office
Location 360 Saint-Jacques Street
Montreal, Quebec
Coordinates 45°30′07″N 73°33′34″W / 45.5019°N 73.5594°W / 45.5019; -73.5594Coordinates: 45°30′07″N 73°33′34″W / 45.5019°N 73.5594°W / 45.5019; -73.5594
Construction started 1927
Completed 1928
Height
Roof 121 m (397 ft)
Technical details
Floor count 22
Floor area 344,400 sq ft (32,000 m2)
Lifts/elevators 8
Design and construction
Architect York, Sawyer and Davenport
References
[1][2][3]

'The Royal Bank Tower is a skyscraper at 360 Saint-Jacques Street in Montreal, Quebec. The 22-storey 121 m (397 ft) neo-classical tower was designed by the firm of York and Sawyer. Upon completion in 1928,[4] it was the tallest building in the entire British Empire, the tallest structure in all of Canada and the first building in the city that was taller than Montréal's Notre-Dame Basilica built nearly a century before.

In 1907 the Royal Bank of Canada moved its head office from Halifax to Montreal. As the building in Saint-Jacques Street turned out to be too small, in 1926 the board of directors of the biggest bank in Canada hired New York architects York and Sawyer to build a prestigious new building a short distance westward on Saint-Jacques Street. Between 1920 and 1926 the bank had bought up all the property between Saint-Jacques, Saint-Pierre, Notre-Dame and Dollard Streets to demolish all the buildings there including the old Mechanics' Institute and the ten-storey Bank of Ottawa building in order to make space for the new 22-storey building.

In 1962, the Royal Bank moved its main office to another famous Montreal building, Place Ville-Marie, however kept a branch in the impressive main hall of the old building, situated in Old Montreal. That branch relocated to the nearby Tour de la Bourse in July 2012 .

Saint-Jacques street with the Royal Bank building (the tallest), 1935 

See also

References

  1. ↑ Royal Bank Tower (Montreal) at Emporis
  2. ↑ "Royal Bank Tower". SkyscraperPage.
  3. ↑ Royal Bank Tower (Montreal) at Structurae
  4. ↑ http://www.emporis.com/building/tourdelabanqueroyale-montreal-canada
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