- Sun Life Building
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Sun Life Building 
General information Type Office Location Montreal, Quebec Canada Coordinates 45°30′0.75″N 73°34′12.81″W / 45.5002083°N 73.570225°WCoordinates: 45°30′0.75″N 73°34′12.81″W / 45.5002083°N 73.570225°W Completed 1931 Height Roof 122 m (400 ft) Technical details Floor count 24 Design and construction Architect Darling, Pearson and Cleveland References [1][2] The Sun Life Building is a historic office building on Dorchester Square (1155 Metcalfe Street) in downtown Montreal, Canada.
Contents
History and construction
The building was finished in 1931 after three stages of construction. It was built exclusively for the Sun Life Insurance Company. It measures 122 metres (400 ft) in height and counts 24 storeys. Although the then-new head office of the Royal Bank of Canada at 360 Saint Jacques Street in Montreal was taller by several floors, the Sun Life Building was at the time the largest building in terms of square footage anywhere in the British Empire. The Sun Life Building went through three different stages of construction, the first one starting as early as 1913, but it was not until 1931 that its main 24-storey tower was erected, thus completing the project.
The stages of construction were as follows:
- 1913–1918: 7-story southern part of base;
- 1923–1926: extension of base eastward and northward; and
- 1929–1931: 16-story set-back tower.
Today
Today, the "Sun Life" is Montreal's 17th tallest building and stands in the middle of the central business district centred on Dorchester Square, dwarfed by neighbouring Place Ville-Marie and the nearby CIBC building.
Previous building
The first Sun Life Building, designed by Buffalo architect Richard Waite, was built in 1889 and expanded by Robert Findlay in 1890. The red brick building was home to Sun Life until 1913, when the company moved to the first stage of the newer building.
See also
- List of old Canadian buildings (1809-1939)
- List of old Montreal buildings (1829-1939)
References
- ^ Sun Life Building at SkyscraperPage
- ^ Sun Life Building at Emporis
- Rémillard, François, Old Montreal: A Walking Tour, Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec, 1992
External links
- Sun Life Building official website (English)
- News story from CBC radio, 6 Jan 1978. Announces Sun Life will leave the building (English)
- Information for tourists (English)
- Profile of the architect of the first Sun Life building (English)
- Construction of Sun Life Building in 1923
- Sun Life Building - Technical Specifications
Categories:- Pearson and Darling buildings
- Skyscrapers in Montreal
- History of Montreal
- 1931 architecture
- Skyscrapers between 100 and 149 meters
- Beaux-Arts architecture in Canada
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