Place Ville-Marie
Place Ville -Marie is a skyscraper in Montreal. It is located in the city center at the junction of Boulevard René Lévesque and Rue - University. With a height of 188 meters and 47 storeys, it is the fourth tallest building in the city. The skyscraper in the International style has a distinctive cross-shaped floor plan. At the time of opening in 1962 it was the tallest building in the city and throughout Canada.
History
The land on which the building stands, was originally a wider incision at the edge of Mont Royal, where the railway line of the Canadian National Railway running between the main station and the southern entrance to the Mont -Royal tunnel. A large part of the building thus created on the tracks. The entire area belonged to the railway company, with the exception of the venerable St. James Club, in which perverse Anglophone elite of the city. Mayor Jean Drapeau ordered the confiscation and sale to the builder William Zeckendorf.
Main architect was Henry N. Cobb, who was supported by IM Pei and Dimitri Dimakopoulos. The design has been controversial from the beginning, due to the close proximity to many Montreal attractions and the tremendous changes he would bring in the city center itself. According to the design historian Mark Pimlott was the " most radical aspect of those that almost half of the area of 280,000 square meters was below street level ... This led to the undeniable advantage of being protected from the extreme winter and summer climate of Montreal. "
The construction work began in 1958. At the time of its opening on September 13, 1962 Place Ville -Marie was the tallest building in the city and Canada, but also the tallest building in a Commonwealth country and in terms of the effective area, the world's largest office building. The name Jean Drapeau had personally decided, in memory of the Fort Ville- Marie, the first French settlement in the urban area. During the construction phase, the responsible to build three additional floors chosen so that the building would not be surpassed by also being constructed, Tour CIBC. Place Ville -Marie remained only until 1964 the tallest building in the city, after which he was the Tour de la Bourse surmounted.
Building
The name of Place Ville -Marie is usually only used for the cross-shaped building, but the complex also includes three lower skyscrapers that were built 1963/64, as well as a large space between them. The court satisfied the need for a large, publicly usable space in the city center and evolved over the years become a popular place for political rallies. The main tenants are the Royal Bank of Canada ( the main building ) and the railway company VIA Rail ( in the building Place Ville -Marie 3). In the 1970s, Air Canada also had its headquarters here.
On the roof a light buoy is installed, which is from sunset to sunrise in operation. They needed every 32 seconds per revolution and is up to a distance of 58 kilometers visible. On the top floor the restaurant Altitude is 737 (named after the sea level in feet), which also has a terrace and a disco. For the tenth anniversary of the building on the forecourt designed by Gerald Gladstone fountain was unveiled in 1972 with a diameter of eleven meters. During the Christmas season, an artificial Christmas tree made of iron wires and LED lights will be placed there since 1966. The shopping center at the Place Ville- Marie is integrated into the extensive underground city and is its oldest part. From there you get protected from the weather to numerous adjacent buildings and to several metro stations.