Commerce Court - 1931 North Tower

1931 North Tower

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. 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.

Commerce Court North was designed by the Canadian firm Pearson and Darling with the American bank specialists York and Sawyer as consulting architects, 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 due to safety and liability concerns).