Constructed
in 1928, the architectural design of 360 St. James symbolized
the strength, stability and permanence of Canadian banking.
Royal Bank had leveled a small city block to make room
for this breath-taking skyscraper and, upon its completion,
the bank finally had an appropriate "showcase" building
worthy of Canada's largest bank. 360 St. James has been
recognized as one of Montreal's heritage buildings.
Cornerstone
of new head office building, April 22, 1927
Sir
Herbert S. Holt, Royal Bank's president, declared the
cornerstone "well and truly laid." In the cornerstone
is a copper box time capsule containing copies of Montreal's
newspapers, various bank publications, a 1927 Royal
Bank calendar, list of bank shareholders, Canadian postage
stamps, timetables for both Canadian Pacific Railway
and Canadian National Railway, a sampling of Canadian
copper, silver and gold coinage and both Canadian and
Royal Bank paper money. From left is seen part of Morris
Wilson (assistant general manager), followed by bank
directors: the Honorable R.B. Bennett (later Canadian
prime minister), Robert Adair, G.H. Duggan A.J. Brown,
Hugh Paton, Sir Herbert Holt, Charles Neill (vice-president
and general manager) and Edson Pease (vice-president).
