Saint Jacques Street

The Rue Saint -Jacques (English Saint -Jacques Street, formerly predominantly St. James Street called ) is a street in Montreal. It begins in the arrondissement of Lachine on the Autoroute 20, runs through the eastern part of the city center and ends after 4.7 kilometers in the old town (Vieux -Montreal ). The easternmost section of the Rue Saint -Jacques was until the 1950s the main financial center of Canada.

History

François Dollier de Casson, the local head of the Sulpizianerordens, surveyed in 1672 along with the surveyor Bénigne Basset a new mandatory street grid and laid down the names of the streets. The Rue Saint -Jacques he named after Jean -Jacques Olier, founder of the Sulpician and the Société Notre- Dame de Montréal. The name may also be of Jacques Archambault is derived, one of the first settlers in Montreal, on whose land the road passed.

In the second half of the 19th century, the Rue Saint -Jacques finally lost its character as a residential area and walked towards the center of Canada's financial services industry. Several major insurance companies and banks established their headquarters on the road. The Tour de la Banque Royale, the headquarters of the Royal Bank of Canada, when it opened in 1928, was the tallest building in the British Empire. Also represented here were here, among other things, the Bank of Montreal and Bank of Nova Scotia. Another element was the editorial offices of several influential newspapers.

In the late 1950s, the decline of the financial center began in the Rue Saint -Jacques. Different companies set moved into new, west adjoining business district, created in the numerous skyscrapers. Others preferred to move to Toronto, where the Bay Street became the new center of the Canadian financial services industry. This trend intensified after 1976 during the reign of the separatist Parti Québécois.

Current situation

In response to the striking loss of importance of the Rue Saint -Jacques, the city and the Ministry of Culture of the Province of Québec implemented a development program and the road drew companies from the fields of communication, design and culture. Several former bank and insurance buildings have been converted into luxury hotels or apartment houses. In addition, bars, restaurants, boutiques, and the studios of the television station V. Find

Other road

In the eastern part of the Rue Saint -Jacques is parallel to the Rue Notre -Dame. Major cross streets are among others the Rue Guy, rue Peel, Rue University, Rue McGill and the Boulevard Saint- Laurent.

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