Passion for Québec and Elsewhere

Pour la version française de cet article cliquez sur Édifices emblématiques et distinctifs de Montréal.

When we watch movies, television ads, or Internet ads, we can see a building and immediately we know in which city the action is taking place. Montreal has a few iconic buildings, including Place Ville Marie and the Olympic Stadium. But other buildings are also worth mentioning or at least to plan a visit in order to admire either their architecture or their public spaces.

Did you know that the City of Montreal has a regulation to limit the height of buildings that must not exceed the height of the Mount Royal. Our city’s tallest buildings are:

1250 West René-Lévesques blvd.*	226,5 mètres
1000 West de La Gauchetière*	205 mètres
Stock Exchange Building	190 mètres
Place Ville Marie*	188 mètres
CIBC Tower*	184 mètres
The Canadiens 2 tower	168 mètres
Olympic Stadium*	165 mètres

Place Ville Marie

One of Montreal’s tallest buildings, Place Ville Marie, also known as PVM, was inaugurated in September 1962 and helped redefine Montreal’s visual landscape. It is built on an esplanade over the underground rail system that allows commuter trains and the future REM to connect from Central Station to the borough of Ville Mont-Royal by traveling under the Mount Royal.

In fact, Place Ville Marie consists of four distinct towers. The highest and best known is 1, Place Ville Marie, the cruciform tower with a beacon at the top that allows you to target this building from far away in the evening. It also has a food fair, a shopping mall, and it is located in the heart of Montreal’s underground network, connecting several buildings, hotels and shopping centres. The restaurant, Les Enfants Terribles, now occupies the top of Place Ville Marie with a superb view of Montreal and the south shore. There is also an observatory at the top but the latter ceased its activities in 2020.

In recent years, Place Ville Marie has completely renovated its shopping mall and food fair as well as the esplanade. The last piece was erected in June 2022, the steel ring proposed by Claude Cormier that seems to open a window towards the Mount Royal. In the Spring, I will go back to take some pictures of the Esplanade.

Sun Life Building

The Sun Life Building was built 100 years ago in three phases between 1913 and 1931. It is located in the heart of the business district facing Square Dorchester Park. It was sponsored by the Sun Life Insurance Company, it was their head office until 1978 and then they moved to Toronto. Since then, the building has been adapted to accommodate corporate tenants. It also has a conference center with very interesting meeting rooms and spaces for special events.

The exterior of the building consists of granite from Stanstead and inside you can admire marble from several sources. According to Sun Life’s website, during the Second World War it housed ‘the UK’s gold reserve and foreign marketable securities in a vault in the third basement’.

A carillon was permanently installed after Expo 1967. Still today we can hear it daily as it sounds the 12 beats of noon and at 5 pm a 20-minute concert is broadcasted. Unfortunately, having been damaged by the ice storm, what we are hearing today is an electronic version of the original one.

CIBC Tower

On the other side of Square Dorchester Park, we find the CIBC Tower inaugurated in June 1962. It is an elegant, slender skyscraper made of steel and green slate. The CIBC bank is on the ground floor and other tenants also occupy the building.

1100 West René-Lévesque

The 1100, West René-Lévesque, long known as the Laurentian Bank building, is where I have been working for a few years now for a law firm. It has an almost triangular shape. The view of Montreal is magnificent and we are fortunate to have access to two parks across the street, Canada Place and Square Dorchester Park. The latter is not as high as the others, we count only 26 floors.

1250 West René-Lévesque

Across from Stanley Street is the 1250 West René-Lévesque, Montreal’s tallest skyscraper. Another beautiful building housing the Montreal head office of the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers whick was opened in 1992. This building is asymmetrical and each of its four sides is different. The east-facing façade is the most spectacular with a rounded glass panel. This building is also connected to the underground network. This is the last building of the network in the southwest section.

This building has a very large outdoor terrace ideal for holding outdoor events. The interior is very interesting with several levels, including a waterfall on a black wall. A food fair is set up on the mezzanine. A Quebec series even rented a space to shoot several episodes. Another place on my list for new photos in the spring.

1000 West de La Gauchetière

One of the most interesting buildings in the city centre with a beautiful post-modern visual identity. The 1000 West de La Gauchetière is home to the south shore bus terminal, an indoor rink in its atrium, a conference centre, a food fair and office space. It is connected to the underground network and metro. It is the second tallest building in Montreal. I’m going to try to get a better picture so you can see the detail of the façade. These photos were taken very early in the morning at sunrise.

2001 McGill College

The 2001 McGill College is not as well known, it is located at the intersection of McGill College and West Sherbrooke. It faces McGill University and is adjacent to the McCord Museum. I parked the car there, going to see the museum’s Holiday animated window displays at the end of December. I was pleasantly surprised by the inner atrium with the sculptures. In addition, the building integrated several heritage buildings located on Sherbrooke Street during its construction. A great success.

The Olympic Stadium

Probably the most emblematic building in Montreal, the Olympic Stadium was inaugurated for the 1976 Summer Olympics even though it was not yet completed. Its structure resembles a flying saucer with an inclined tower that holds the cables of the removable roof structure. Few sporting events are held there today, some exhibitions or concerts take place on an annual basis.

The pools in the sport complex are very popular, diving events are held regularly. The former velodrome has been converted into a tourist attraction, called the Biodôme. The outdoor terraces of the Olympic Park lend themselves well to several types of summer and winter activities. The Tower is an attraction in itself, it is possible to climb to the top with the elevator to have a beautiful view of Montreal, its downtown and the surroundings. This is the highest sloping tower on record worldwide.

I hope this article will inspire you to explore some of Montreal’s iconic and distinctive buildings.