Bank of Montreal Building

The Bank of Montreal Building was a 16-storey office tower formerly located at the northwest corner of King Street and Bay Street in downtown Toronto, Ontario. It served as the Bank of Montreal's secondary headquarters during the postwar period, complementing the institution's principal head office in Montreal. The building was commissioned as part of the bank's expansion in Toronto and was designed by the Toronto architectural firm Chapman and Oxley. The original design was prepared in 1938, and construction began that year. The scheme provided four floors for the bank itself and twelve additional floors intended for rentable office accommodation. Work was interrupted after the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, when only three storeys had been completed. Much of the remaining structural steel had already been fabricated, but it was placed in storage while wartime conditions prevented the project from continuing. After the war, the Bank of Montreal decided to resume construction, although the building was revised from the prewar design. Changes to the architectural team reflected developments within the original practice: Marani and Morris joined the firm, which had become Chapman Oxley and Facey, and associate architect K. R. Blatherwick also participated. Construction restarted in 1946 and the completed tower officially opened in 1948. The building was faced in Queenston limestone above a seven-foot-high base of silver-grey granite. Its massing incorporated setbacks along Bay Street, including a ten-foot setback above the third floor and another setback above the fourteenth floor. The ground floor contained the principal banking hall. The second floor accommodated the board room, men's and women's lounges, and dining rooms, while the third floor contained bank offices. Specialized banking infrastructure included large main vaults designed by Frederick S. Holmes. These occupied two levels, with the lower security vault positioned approximately fifteen feet below ground level and protected by heavily reinforced concrete together with layered steel and copper intended to resist drilling and cutting. The tower formed part of the distinctive concentration of financial institutions at King and Bay. Four bank head-office buildings stood at or near the intersection: the Bank of Toronto Building, the Imperial Bank Building, the Bank of Nova Scotia Building, and the Bank of Montreal Building. The corner became known as the MINT corner, an acronym derived from Montreal, Imperial, Nova Scotia, and Toronto. The building remained in service for only about twenty-seven years. In 1975, the Bank of Montreal demolished it to clear the site for First Canadian Place, a substantially larger modern office complex. When First Canadian Place was completed in 1977, the bank moved its headquarters from Montreal to the new Toronto tower. The former Bank of Montreal Building therefore survives primarily as an example of Toronto's interrupted prewar and postwar commercial development, rather than as an active property or continuing architectural brand.

The Bank of Montreal commissioned a new Toronto office tower in 1938 as the institution expanded its presence in Canada's largest financial centre. Chapman and Oxley designed the building for the northwest corner of King Street and Bay Street. The planned structure combined dedicated banking accommodation with income-producing offices: four floors were intended for the bank and twelve floors were planned for tenants. Construction began in 1938, but the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 brought the project to a halt after only three storeys had been completed. The interruption left the remaining fabricated steel in storage during the war. Once hostilities had ended, the Bank of Montreal chose to proceed with the project, but the design and architectural organization changed. Alfred Chapman had become ill, and Marani and Morris joined the practice, which had by then become Chapman Oxley and Facey. Associate architect K. R. Blatherwick also joined the design team. Building work resumed in 1946 and concluded in 1948, when the tower officially opened. The completed building was sixteen storeys high and occupied a site extending approximately 94 feet along King Street and 152 feet along Bay Street. Its exterior used Queenston limestone with a substantial seven-foot base of silver-grey granite. The Bay Street elevation was shaped by setbacks above the third and fourteenth floors. Internal planning reflected the building's dual role as a bank headquarters facility and office property. The first floor contained the banking hall; the second included the board room, separate men's and women's lounges, and dining rooms; and the third housed bank offices. Security was a central architectural requirement. Frederick S. Holmes designed the principal vaults, which were arranged on two levels and measured approximately 59 by 50 feet. The basement security vault was set about fifteen feet below the ground floor. Its floor, walls, and roof used very hard concrete reinforced with closely spaced interlaced steel bars, while several layers of steel and copper were used to provide protection against drilling and torch cutting. The building stood within one of Canada's most recognizable concentrations of financial architecture. Other bank buildings at the King and Bay intersection included the Bank of Toronto Building, designed by Carrère and Hastings; the Imperial Bank Building, designed by Sproatt and Rolph; and the Bank of Nova Scotia Building, designed by Mathers and Haldenby. Their institutional initials gave the intersection the nickname MINT corner, referring to Montreal, Imperial, Nova Scotia, and Toronto. Despite its prominent location and banking function, the tower had a relatively short life. The Bank of Montreal demolished it in 1975 to make room for First Canadian Place, a new and much larger office tower. First Canadian Place was completed in 1977, after which the bank transferred its headquarters from Montreal to the new Toronto building. The former structure is consequently remembered as a demolished chapter in the development of Toronto's financial district and in the Bank of Montreal's transition toward a more Toronto-centred headquarters presence.

1. 1977First Canadian Place completed

   After First Canadian Place was completed, the Bank of Montreal moved its headquarters from Montreal to the replacement Toronto tower.

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2. 1975Building demolished

   The Bank of Montreal demolished the tower to make way for First Canadian Place.

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3. 1948Building officially opens

   The revised sixteen-storey building was completed and opened as a Bank of Montreal office and banking facility.

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4. 1946Postwar construction resumes

   The bank restarted the project after the war with alterations to the original plans and a broadened architectural team.

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5. 1939Construction suspended during the Second World War

   Work stopped after the outbreak of war in September, with only three storeys completed. The remaining fabricated steel was stored during the wartime period.

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6. 1938Design commissioned and construction begins

   The Bank of Montreal hired Chapman and Oxley to design a sixteen-storey office tower at King Street and Bay Street, and construction started the same year.

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A major mid-century banking and office building that represented the Bank of Montreal's institutional presence in Toronto and formed part of the city's historic financial district.

• 1975Replacement of the King and Bay office towerStrategy

  After approximately twenty-seven years of use, the Bank of Montreal elected to clear the site of the former building for a larger modern office development.

  What changed. The bank demolished the Bank of Montreal Building and proceeded with First Canadian Place, which was completed in 1977.

  Aftermath. The replacement tower became the bank's Toronto headquarters, and the institution moved its headquarters from Montreal to Toronto.

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1. Bank of Montreal Building (Toronto)