Old Montreal / Rue Saint-Jacques - Competing for prestige

Competing for prestige

At the corner of Saint-Pierre and Saint-Jacques are five magnificent head offices, the impressive denizens of Great St. James Street in its heyday.

In 1866, the Molson Bank must certainly have been a sensation, with its resemblance to a hotel particulier in Paris. This was the first Montréal building directly influenced by the French Second Empire style.

In 1873, the Merchants' Bank completed its first few storeys, quite similar to those of the Molson Bank. It later doubled in height.

In 1895, the Canada Life Insurance building was the first building in Montréal, indeed perhaps in all of Canada, to boast an eight-storey steel structure

In 1909, the Canadian Bank of Commerce unveiled its imposing Corinthian colonnade.

When it was built in 1928, and for many years afterward, the new head office of the Royal Bank held the record for the tallest building in the British Empire. The magnificent lobby is definitely worth a visit.

The Bank of Montreal

Splendid sculptures

Little St. James Street

The World Trade Centre

Rue Saint-Jacques

| Home | Site map | Contact us |