The Simpson Tower, located at 401 Bay Street, is the 38th-tallest building 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 ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada.
Completed in 1968 by architect
John B. Parkin, as the headquarters of the
Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, a ...
department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
company, it has 33 floors and is high.
[ In 1978, as part of a corporate takeover, the Simpson Tower became the property of the ]Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...
. The building today remains the head office of HBC and also houses the head office of subsidiaries Hudson's Bay and Home Outfitters
Home Outfitters (known as Déco Découverte in Quebec; originally called Bed, Bath & More) was a Canadian retail home decor chain, owned by Hudson's Bay Company, that sold bedding, towel
A towel is a piece of absorbent cloth or paper used for d ...
. It is adjacent to the historic Simpsons store at Yonge and Queen, which includes Arcadian Court. Today the store is the flagship for Hudson's Bay, is integrated with the Eaton Centre
Eaton Centre is a name associated with shopping centres in Canada, originating with Eaton's, one of Canada's largest department store chains at the time that these malls were developed. Eaton's partnered with development companies throughout ...
across Queen Street, and is the home of Toronto's comprehensive health centre.
In January 2014, Hudson's Bay Company announced it would sell the tower and adjacent store to Cadillac Fairview
The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited is a Canadian company that invests in, owns, and manages commercial real estate, mainly in Canada and the United States. As of March 2017, the company had 73 properties, encompassing 38 million square feet ...
and lease the site for 25 years.
References
{{Coord, 43.651987, N, 79.381229, W, region:CA-ON_type:landmark, display=title
Skyscrapers in Toronto
Office buildings completed in 1968
Modernist architecture in Canada
Hudson's Bay Company
Headquarters in Canada
Skyscraper office buildings in Canada