New York Life Building, Montreal

Montreal's New York Life Insurance Building (also known as the Quebec Bank Building) was erected in 1887-1889. Located at Place d'Armes in what is now known as Old Montreal, it was the tallest commercial building in Montreal at the time. The first eight floors were designed for retail office space, though were quickly rented by the city's best lawyers and financiers. As such, when the clock tower was completed, the 9th and 10th floors were occupied by the largest legal library in the entire country, a gift to the tenants from the owner. The New York Life Insurance Building was built by architects Babb, Cook and Willard and contractor Peter Lyall for the New York Life Insurance Company as their offices in Canada. Sculptor Henry Beaumont...