| Place Ville Marie | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Interactive map of Place Ville Marie | |
| Former names | Royal Bank Tower |
| General information | |
| Type | Office |
| Architectural style | International |
| Location | 1 Place Ville Marie Montreal,Quebec H3B 2B6 |
| Coordinates | 45°30′05″N73°34′06″W / 45.5015°N 73.5684°W /45.5015; -73.5684 |
| Construction started | 1958 |
| Completed | 1962 |
| Owner | Ivanhoé Cambridge |
| Management | Ivanhoé Cambridge |
| Height | |
| Roof | 188 m (617 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 47 |
| Floor area | 95,922 m2 (1,032,500 sq ft) |
| Lifts/elevators | 32 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architects | I.M. Pei & Partners Dimitri Dimakopoulos |
| Developer | William Zeckendorf |
| Structural engineer | Severud Associates |
| Main contractor | Foundation Company of Canada |
| Website | |
| www | |
| References | |
| [1][2][3][4] | |
Place Ville Marie (French pronunciation:[plasvilmaʁi], abbr.PVM) is a large office and shopping complex skyscraper inDowntown Montreal,Quebec, Canada, comprising four office buildings and an undergroundshopping plaza. The main building,1 Place Ville Marie (formerlyRoyal Bank Tower from its anchor tenant), was built in theInternational style in 1962 as the headquarters for theRoyal Bank of Canada. While RBC's corporate headquarters and the majority of its management operations have been based inToronto'sRoyal Bank Plaza since 1976, Place Ville Marie remains RBC's head office, a distinct title from its corporate headquarters.[5] It is a 188 m (617 ft), 47-storey,cruciform office tower. The complex is a nexus for Montreal'sUnderground City (RÉSO), the world's busiest, with indoor access to over 1,600businesses,numerous subway stations, asuburban transportation terminal, andtunnels extending throughout downtown. A counter-clockwiserotating beacon on the rooftop lights up at night, illuminating the surrounding sky with up to four white horizontal beams that can be seen as far as 50 kilometres (31 mi) away.This beacon is not considered as a NAVAID for aviation purposes.
The name "Place Ville Marie" is often used to refer to the cruciform building only, but it also applies to four shorteroffice buildings which were built around it in 1963 and 1964, and to the urban plaza which lies on top of the largest section of the shopping promenade, and between the buildings. From apostal point of view the cruciform tower is "1, Place Ville Marie" and the lesser buildings around it are "2, Place Ville Marie" and so on. The buildings and the plaza have been given many facelifts over the years. In the latest facelift, much of the grey concrete andterrazzo of the plaza was covered with grass, flowers and shrubs. The complex has 3,384,000 sq ft (314,384 m2) of space andparking for about 900 vehicles. There are about 70 tenants with 3,000 employees.Via Rail has its headquarters in "3, Place Ville Marie".
The location of Place Ville Marie was originally a vast railway trench gouged in the flank ofMount Royal between the southern portal ofCanadian National Railway'sMount Royal Tunnel andCentral Station. Most of the building was thus built over the tracks, requiring the structure to be more resistant to vibrations than normally required. As a result, it is the most earthquake-resistant office tower in Montreal.[citation needed]
All of the land bounded by Cathcart Street, Dorchester Boulevard (nowRené Lévesque Boulevard),University Street (now Robert-Bourrassa Street) and Mansfield Street was owned by the CNR, Railways, with theexception of the venerableSt. James Club at the corner of Dorchester and University. DeveloperWilliam Zeckendorf offered the club the top floor of the Place Ville Marie tower in exchange for their property, but was turned down.[6]
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Place Ville Marie was one of the first built projects ofHenry N. Cobb, a founding partner ofPei Cobb Freed & Partners. His design was controversial from the start, given its proximity to many Montreal landmarks and the vast changes it would bring to the downtown core.
According to design historian Mark Pimlott, "The most radical aspect of the Place Ville Marie project was that nearly one-half of its 280,000-square-metre area was beneath street level [...] deriving the obvious benefit of being protected from Montréal’s extreme winter and summer climate." Its vast network and multi-purpose is juxtaposed with a continuous interior "with episodes of civic gravity and monumentality".[7]
At the time of construction, the main tower was known as the tallest skyscraper in theCommonwealth, and was the third tallest skyscraper on Earth outside the United States. The equivalent of three floors was added late in the project to ensure that this building would not be topped by the neighboringTour CIBC which was built at the same time.
Conceived and built at a time when Montreal was themetropolis of Canada, the structure's largest occupant and anchor tenant was the head office of theRoyal Bank of Canada, the country's largest bank, which moved from its previous head office at 360St Jacques inOld Montreal. The second new large corporate tenant was the Aluminum Company of Canada (Alcan) who established in November 1962 occupying 6 floors of the building.[8] The central plaza became an important new public space in downtown Montreal, hosting an historic election rally forPierre Elliott Trudeau during the1968 federal election.[6]
DeveloperWilliam Zeckendorf foundedTrizec Properties in order to build Place Ville Marie.[9] He lost a bet to then Royal Bank PresidentEarle McLaughlin, making payment in full (US$0.10) in an elaborate dime encased in acrylic. Exactly what the bet concerned is unknown.
In 1975Air Canada's headquarters were at 1 Place Ville Marie.[10]
MayorJean Drapeau chose the name himself. Ville-Marie was the name of the Catholic colony founded at what is nowMontreal in 1642.[11]
On 12 March 1976 Canada Post issued 'Place Ville Marie and Notre-Dame Church' designed by Jean Mercier & Pierre Mercieron. The $1 stamps are perforated13.5 × 13 and were printed by British American Bank Note Company.[12]
Thepenthouse was home to the Restaurant Club Lounge Altitude 737restaurant andnightclub, that opened onto a rooftop terrace. The club, which was named for its elevation in feet from sea level, was one of the most famous in the city, and featured one of the most unusual dance floors, which twisted and turned around, and spanned two floors.[13] It later became home to the 360 Observatory, which suspended its operations on 13 March 2020 and announced permanent closure on 3 May 2020.[14]
During the holiday season, a large artificial Christmas tree is installed in the central court. The plaza has a large fountain with programmed water jets and a large abstract sculpture at its centre: "Feminine Landscape" byGerald Gladstone.
The complex is currently owned byIvanhoé Cambridge, a division of theCaisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDP Capital), who bought the building in March 2000 for CA$450 million.
The building can be seen in the filmScanners II: The New Order in a few scenes.
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