Description of the attraction
Among the many architectural gems of the Canadian city of Montreal, the Royal Bank building undoubtedly deserves special attention. This famous skyscraper is located in the Old Montreal area and is an imposing 22-storey structure that is 121 m (397 ft) high.
In 1907, the Royal Bank of Canada decided to move its headquarters from Halifax to Montreal. Ten years later, the building on Seine Jacob Street, where the Royal Bank office was located, had exhausted its potential, and was no longer able to accommodate all the departments of the rapidly growing bank. The Board of Directors decided on the need to construct a new building and took care of finding a suitable land plot. By 1926, the bank had managed to buy all the property in the square between the streets of Saint-Jacques, Saint-Pierre, Notre Dame and Dollard in the heart of Montreal. The buildings located on this land were subject to demolition, including the Institute of Mechanics and the ten-story building of the Ottawa Bank. Finally, all the preparatory work was completed, the project was approved and in April 1927 the foundation stone of the building of the future bank was laid, and just a year later, the employees of the head office moved to the new building.
The Royal Bank building project was developed by the famous New York company "York & Sawyer". This is a rather original architectural structure, the lower floors of which are a kind of podium, somewhat reminiscent of the style of a Florentine Renaissance palace with a neoclassical colonnade that harmoniously fits into this ensemble. This structure is crowned by an impressive neoclassical tower.
At the time of the completion of construction, the Royal Bank building became the tallest structure not only in Montreal, but also in the entire British Empire. However, today the building of the Royal Bank remains one of the tallest structures in Montreal.
In 1962, the head office of the Royal Bank moved to Place Ville Marie, and a branch of the bank remained in the old building until 2012.
