The Royal Bank Tower is a

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

at 360

Saint-Jacques Street Saint Jacques Street (officially in french: rue Saint-Jacques), or St. James Street, is a major street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running from Old Montreal westward to Lachine. The street is commonly known by two names, "St. James Street" in ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. The 22-storey neo-classical tower was designed by the firm of

York and Sawyer York and Sawyer was an American architectural firm active between 1898 and 1949. The firms' work is exemplary of Beaux-Arts architecture as it was practiced in the United States. The partners Edward York (July 23, 1863– December 30, 1928) and ...

with the bank's Chief Architect Sumner Godfrey Davenport of Montreal. Upon completion in 1928, it was the tallest building in the entire

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

, 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. The bank's first official head office was at Hollis and George in Halifax in 1879. In 1907 the

Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; french: Banque royale du Canada) is a Canadian multinational financial services company and the largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 17 million clients and has more than 89,000& ...

moved its head office from Halifax to

As the building at 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

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 Place Ville Marie (PVM for short) is a large office and shopping complex skyscraper in Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, comprising four office buildings and an underground shopping plaza. It serves as the main and official headquarters for Roya ...

, however kept a branch in the impressive main hall of the old building, situated in

Old Montreal Old Montreal (French: ''Vieux-Montréal'') is a historic neighbourhood within the municipality of Montreal in the province of Quebec, Canada. Home to the Old Port of Montreal, the neighbourhood is bordered on the west by McGill Street, on th ...

. That branch relocated to the nearby

Tour de la Bourse The Tour de la Bourse ( en, Stock Exchange Tower) is a 48-storey skyscraper in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Victoria Square and Saint Jacques Street in the International Quarter. It is connected by the undergro ...

in July 2012.http://www.ctv.ca/generic/generated/static/business/article1615299.html

References

External links

Vieux-Montréal – Fiche d'un bâtiment: Banque Royale360 Saint-Jacques - Technical Specifications
{{Authority control Skyscrapers in Montreal Royal Bank of Canada Landmarks in Montreal Office buildings in Montreal Office buildings completed in 1928 Old Montreal Historic bank buildings in Canada Neoclassical architecture in Canada 1928 establishments in Quebec Skyscraper office buildings in Canada

See also

References

External links