Don’t look for any official signs, it is my own personal appellation of this neighbourhood.  When you visit this area of the Old Montreal you might not realize it but once you take a step back you come to realize that St-Jacques Street and nearby constructions is a consolidation of money exchange places.

• Bank of Montreal (1847)– 119 rue St-Jacques
• Édifice de la London and Lancashire Life (1898)– office of the Nova Scotia bank – 244, rue St-Jacques
• Canadian Bank of Commerce (CIBC)  (theatre St-James) (1909) – 275, rue St-Jacques
• Molson’s Bank (now private office) (1864) – 288, rue St-Jacques
• Royal Bank Tower (Montreal) (1928) – 360, rue St-Jacques
• Merchant Bank (Hotel le St-James) (1870’s)– 365, rue St-Jacques
• Old Montreal Stock Exchange building (Theatre Centaur) (1903) – 457, rue Saint-François-Xavier

You can’t deny the financial dominance of this neighbourhood. The constructions dating from the end of the 1800’s to the beginning of the 1900’s demonstrate beautiful architectural features that were meant to impress customers by showing serious solid foundations, implying confidence and trust.  Major transactions occurred in the area before the major economic crisis of the 1930’s and before major head offices moved to Toronto as their new base. The Bank of Montreal is the first and only infrastructure still operating as a bank at the same address.

However, things might be returning. The National Bank has decided to go back to its roots and a new construction (expected for 2022) will become the head office for the bank and guess where? St-Jacques Street and Robert Bourassa Boulevard in Montreal. No wonder, they selected Montreal: It is a beautiful talented multilingual multicultural diverse city with beautiful places to explore. You can’t get bored when you live in Montreal.

For an overview of Montreal click here.

For all posts on Montreal click here.

To know more on Old Montreal click here.