The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building (or Édifice Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) is a building at 265 Saint-Jacques Street in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

History

Edifice Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

The building was built in 1906-1909. The five-storey building was designed by

Darling and Pearson Darling and Pearson was an architectural firm based in Toronto from 1895 through 1937. The firm was prolific and produced consistently fine work though the patronage of notable figures of the Canadian establishment, and is responsible for enhancing ...

in the

Edwardian Baroque Edwardian architecture usually refers to a Neo-Baroque architectural style that was popular for public buildings in the British Empire during the Edwardian era (1901–1910). Architecture up to 1914 is commonly included in this style. It can al ...

style and is fronted by a monumental hexastyle Corinthian portico carved from grey Stanstead granite from Stanstead in Quebec's

Eastern Townships The Eastern Townships (, ) is a historical administrative region in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It lies between the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands, St. Lawrence Lowlands and the American border, and extends from Granby, Quebec, Granby in ...

. The building was constructed as the main Montreal branch of the

Canadian Bank of Commerce The Canadian Bank of Commerce was a Canadian bank that operated from 1867 to 1961. It merged in 1961 with the Imperial Bank of Canada to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, which today is one of Canada's Big Five banks of Canada, Big Five ...

(which merged with the

Imperial Bank of Canada The Imperial Bank of Canada was a Canadian bank that operated from 1873 to 1961. In 1961, Imperial merged with the Canadian Bank of Commerce to become the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. History It was founded in 1873 as the Imperial Bank ...

in 1961 to form the

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; ) is a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District, Toronto, Financial District of Toronto, Ont ...

). CIBC main offices in Montreal left the building in 1962 when the CIBC Tower was completed, but the built an active branch until it was sold in 2010. In 2012, the owners of the Montreal landmark, The Rialto Theatre, purchased the former bank and crowned it The St. James Theatre. While staying true to the history of the building and highlighting its breathtaking architecture, the St. James Theatre is one of Montreal newest high-end venues for private events. The building housed the Montreal offices of the

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping line. Founded out of the remains of a defunct Packet trade, packet company, it gradually grew to become one of the most prominent shipping companies in the world, providing passenger and cargo service ...

from 1909 to 1939. It is where the tickets for the

RMS Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that Sinking of the Titanic, sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking Iceberg that struck the Titanic, an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York Ci ...

were sold. Prior to this, the site was occupied by the Temple Building from 1889 to 1890 and St. James Church from 1845 to 1888.

References

Images Montréal profile (with photos)

Vieux-Montréal – Édifice Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (with photos)

Canadian Architect and Builder, 22, 1 (1908): 30
* Communauté urbaine de Montréal. Service de la planification. ''Répertoire d'architecture traditionnelle sur le territoire de la communauté urbaine de Montréal : architecture commerciale ol.I : les banques.'' Montréal, Communauté urbaine de Montréal, Service de la planificatiom du territoire, 1980. xiii, 139p. ill., numerous photos and drawings. * Lambert, Phyllis et Robert Lemire. ''Inventaire des bâtiments du Vieux-Montréal, du quartier Saint-Antoine et de la Ville de Maisonneuve construits entre 1880 et 1915.'' Montréal, Min. des Affaires Culturelles, Centre de documentation, Serv. de l'Inventaire des biens culturels, juin 1977. 102 p. 6 plans. * ''Le Prix courant'', 40, 13, (1907): 41 * ''Construction'' (Toronto), 1, 8 (1908): 54-59

External links

The Canadian Encyclopedia – Bank Architecture
{{Coord, 45.503, N, 73.559, W, display=title Beaux-Arts architecture in Canada Office buildings in Montreal Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Darling and Pearson buildings Heritage buildings of Quebec Historic bank buildings in Canada Neoclassical architecture in Canada Office buildings completed in 1909 Old Montreal 1909 establishments in Quebec

History

See also

References

External links