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 street name, names, "St. Jam ...
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 with the bank's Chief Architect
Sumner Godfrey Davenport Sumner Godfrey Davenport (November 6, 1877 – March 9, 1956) was an American-born Canadian architect who served as Chief Architect for the Royal Bank of Canada.
Life and career
Davenport was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, and graduated as an a ...
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
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 ...
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
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.
[http://www.ctv.ca/generic/generated/static/business/article1615299.html ]
See also
*
Bank of Montreal Head Office, Montreal
*
Molson Bank Building, Montreal
*
Tour CIBC
Tour or Tours may refer to:
Travel
* Tourism, travel for pleasure
* Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service
* Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus
* Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...
*
Old Canadian Bank of Commerce Building, Montreal The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building (or Édifice Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) is a building at 265 Saint-Jacques Street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
History
The building was built in 1906-1909. The five-storey building was desi ...
*
Royal Bank Plaza
Royal Bank Plaza is a skyscraper in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that serves as the "corporate headquarters" for the Royal Bank of Canada. The building shares with the Fairmont Royal York Hotel the block in Toronto's financial district bordered by ...
- RBC corporate offices in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
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