Commerce Court

Commerce Court is a complex of four office buildings on King and Bay Streets in the financial district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, The primary tenant is the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). The buildings are a mix of Art Deco, International, and early Modernism architectural styles.

1931 North Tower

Commerce Court North circa 1930

The first building, now known as Commerce Court North, was built in 1930 as the headquarters of the Canadian Bank of Commerce, a precursor bank to the current main tenant. The building was the site of Toronto's first Wesleyan Methodist Church, a small wood chapel surrounded by woods (which later became the Metropolitan United Church) from 1818 to 1831, then as Theatre Royal from 1833 onwards.^[7] From 1887 to 1927 it was home to a seven storey head office of the Canadian Bank of Commerce, which was demolished to make way for Commerce Court North.^[8]

The Canadian Bank of Commerce head office (now Commerce Court North) was designed by the Canadian firm Pearson and Darling with the American bank specialists York and Sawyer as consulting architects. Structural engineering was provided by Harkness and Hertzberg.^[9] The 34-storey limestone clad tower was the tallest building in the British Empire/Commonwealth for roughly three decades, until 1962. At the time of its construction, the building was one of the most opulent corporate headquarters in Canada, and featured a public observation deck (since closed to the public for safety and liability concerns).

Later buildings

In 1972, three other buildings were erected, thus creating the Commerce Court complex: glass and stainless steel glass curtain wall international Style Commerce Court West designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners with Page and Steele (the tallest building in the complex, at 57 storeys, and the tallest building in Canada from 1972–1976), Originally, Commerce Court West 57 was an observation floor. Commerce Court East (1972: 13 storeys) and Commerce Court South (5 storeys) are glass and applied masonry structures also by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners with Page and Steele in 1972. In 1994, Zeidler Partnership Architects was commissioned to renovate the Commerce Court urban plaza, the banking area at the base of Commerce Court West, and the below-grade retail area. There are 65 retails shops in the plaza below the complex.

The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce sold the complex in April, 2000, now managed by GWL Realty Advisors, but the head office of the bank remains the anchor tenant.

On Wednesday, January 9, 2008, a portion of a CIBC sign at the top of the Commerce Court West building blew off as a result of wind gusts. Police cordoned off the area as a precaution. As a result, Bay St. from Front to Richmond and King St. from York to Yonge were shut down. Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) service was diverted.^[10][11] This took place eight months after a piece of white marble panel fell from the 60th storey of the First Canadian Place building, and ten months after layers of ice fell from the CN Tower.

Commerce Court plaza

The British airship R100 flying over the Commerce Court North Building during its sole trans-Atlantic voyage in August 1930.

Surrounding the Commerce Court complex of buildings is a plaza featuring a fountain in its centre, and a three piece bronze sculpture by Derrick Stephan Hudson entitled, Tembo, Mother of Elephants completed in 2002. The sculptures were installed on site in 2005 on loan from the L.L. Odette Foundation of Windsor, Ontario.

In popular culture, the plaza was used as a stand-in for Wall Street in a pair of Kids In The Hall sketches featuring Mr. Tyzik, the Headcrusher.^[12]

Tenants

Anchor tenants

• Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)
• Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
• Barrick Gold
• Deloitte & Touche LLP
• Deutsche Bank
• Guardian Capital Group
• Stikeman Elliott LLP

Other notable tenants

• Canadian Bankers Association
• Ricoh
• CIBC Wood Gundy

See also

• List of tallest buildings in Toronto
• List of tallest buildings in Canada
• Tour CIBC
• Old Canadian Bank of Commerce Building, Montreal
• Commerce Place I and Commerce Place II in Hamilton, Ontario

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Commerce Court.

• Commerce Court official website