First Canadian Centre
Encyclopedia
First Canadian Centre is an office tower in Downtown Calgary
, Alberta
, Canada
.
Located at 350 7th Avenue SW, it stands at 167 metres (547.9 ft) or 41 storeys tall. The skyscraper has a floor area of 48275 m² (519,627.8 sq ft) and was built in the international
and late modernist
architectural styles.
The Bank of Montreal
occupies most of the ground floor with a large retail bank branch.
Original plans called for a two tower complex, with this tower being the first of the two tower project. The second tower would have had 64 storeys. A downturn in the local economy at that time forced plans for the second tower to be shelved. However, with the recent boom in Calgary, the vacancy rate in the downtown core has dropped to 0.5 per cent, the lowest in North America. This has created a highly rumoured resurrection of the second tower, as a land use amendment has been submitted to city council for approval.
Downtown Calgary
Downtown Calgary is a region of central Calgary, Alberta. It is not a single neighbourhood per se, but is actually a larger community containing three neighbourhoods and a number of districts....
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Located at 350 7th Avenue SW, it stands at 167 metres (547.9 ft) or 41 storeys tall. The skyscraper has a floor area of 48275 m² (519,627.8 sq ft) and was built in the international
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
and late modernist
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
architectural styles.
The Bank of Montreal
Bank of Montreal
The Bank of Montreal , , or BMO Financial Group, is the fourth largest bank in Canada by deposits. The Bank of Montreal was founded on June 23, 1817 by John Richardson and eight merchants in a rented house in Montreal, Quebec. On May 19, 1817 the Articles of Association were adopted, making it...
occupies most of the ground floor with a large retail bank branch.
History
It was designed by Bregman + Hamann Architects, and was the tallest building in Calgary (surpassing Scotia Centre) when it was completed in 1982.Original plans called for a two tower complex, with this tower being the first of the two tower project. The second tower would have had 64 storeys. A downturn in the local economy at that time forced plans for the second tower to be shelved. However, with the recent boom in Calgary, the vacancy rate in the downtown core has dropped to 0.5 per cent, the lowest in North America. This has created a highly rumoured resurrection of the second tower, as a land use amendment has been submitted to city council for approval.