The Tour de la Bourse & Other Quebec Curios

The Tour de la Bourse was designed by architect Luigi Moretti and the engineer at its head was Pier Luigi Nervi. Built in the middle of an economic and social boom of Montreal in 1963, the building was the tallest reinforced concrete building in the world until Chicago’s Lake Point Tower took over such an honorific in the mid to late 1960s. The Tour would be Montreal’s tallest building for a few decades until the 1990s, with Place Ville-Marie following behind at a close second. Like its big sibling PVM, it is also built in the International Style of architecture that was popular back in the years dating to its construction.

Built to house none other than the Montreal Stock Exchange, its intended occupants still are housed in the Tour. The Montreal Exchange, as it has been known since the 1980s, is joined by fellow economic giant, the Autorité des marchés financiers, a Quebec organisation responsible to survey and regulate the Quebec economic market, including the Montreal Exchange. Other tenants in the building include Fasken Martineau, a general practice law firm, and a Royal Bank branch. Directly across from the Tour de la Bourse is the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation), an important agency within the United Nations.

Like many buildings in Ville-Marie, the Tour de la Bourse is connected to Montreal’s Underground City, linking many important Montreal business centres to each other and to Montreal and Off-Island public transportation. Measuring up at 190m and 47 floors, the Tour de la Bourse is currently Montreal’s third tallest building following 1000 de la Gauchetière (tallest) and 1250 René-Lévesque (second tallest). Its closest metro station is none other than Square-Victoria-OACI.

Visit the Tour de la Bourse at 800 Square Victoria.