View source for Sun Life Building

{{Infobox building
| name                = Sun Life Building
| native_name         = 
| image               = 17-08-08-Montreal-RalfR-DSC 3562.jpg
| start_date          = 1913
| completion_date     = 1931
| building_type       = Office
| address             = 1155 Metcalfe Street, [[Montreal]], Quebec
| coordinates         = {{coord|45|30|0.75|N|73|34|12.81|W|region:CA-QC|display=inline,title}}
| roof                = {{convert|122|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| top_floor           = 
| antenna_spire       = 
| floor_count         = 24
| floor_area          = 
| elevator_count      = 25
| architectural_style = [[Neo-classical architecture|Neo-classical]]
| architect           = {{ubl | [[Darling, Pearson and Cleveland]] | Le Groupe Arcop}}
| references          = <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/112325 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415192338/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/112325 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=April 15, 2021 |title=Emporis building ID 112325 |work=[[Emporis]]}}</ref><ref>{{skyscraperpage|2077}}</ref>
}}

The '''Sun Life Building''' is a historic {{convert|122|m|ft|adj=on}}, 24-[[Storey|story]] [[office building]] at 1155 [[Metcalfe Street (Montreal)|Metcalfe Street]] on [[Dorchester Square]] in the city's [[Downtown Montreal|downtown core]] of [[Montreal]], Quebec, Canada.

The building was completed in 1931 after three stages of [[construction]]. It was built exclusively for the [[Sun Life Financial|Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada]]. Although the then-new head office of the [[Royal Bank of Canada]] at 360 [[Saint Jacques Street]] in Montreal was taller by several floors, the Sun Life Building was at the time the largest building in square footage anywhere in the [[British Empire]]. The Sun Life Building went through three different stages of construction, the first one starting as early as 1913, but it was not until 1931 that its main 24-storey tower was erected, thus completing the project.

== Construction ==
[[File:View. Sun Life BAnQ P48S1P17178.jpg|thumb|Building in 1948|left]]
[[File:Sun Life Building by Samuel Herbert Maw.jpg|thumb|alt=Etching of a side of the building|Early etching of the Sun Life by [[Samuel Herbert Maw]]|left]]
[[File:Sun Life Assurance Montreal.jpg|thumb|The vault with combination viewer was designed by [[Frederick S. Holmes]] and built by York Safe & Lock Co.|left]]
The stages of construction were as follows:

* 1913–1918: 7-storey southern part of base;
* 1923–1926: extension of base eastward and northward; and
* 1929–1931: 16-storey set-back tower.

Today, the "Sun Life" is Montreal's 17th tallest building and stands in the middle of the [[central business district]] centred on [[Dorchester Square]], dwarfed by neighbouring [[Place Ville Marie]] and the nearby [[CIBC Tower]].

==Previous structure==
The first Sun Life Building, designed by [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]] [[architect]] [[Richard A. Waite]], was built in 1889 and expanded by [[Robert Findlay (architect)|Robert Findlay]] in 1890. The red [[brick]] building was home to Sun Life until 1913, when the company moved to the first stage of the newer building.

==Operation Fish==
During the [[Second World War]], during [[Operation Fish]], [[United Kingdom|Britain]]'s [[gold reserve]]s and negotiable foreign securities were secretly packed in crates labelled 'Fish' and shipped across the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to Canada. The securities, arriving at [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]] on July 1, 1940, were locked in an underground vault three storeys beneath the Sun Life Building, guarded around the clock by the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]]. The gold was shipped on to [[Ottawa]]. The extremely secretive United Kingdom Security Deposit, operating in the vault, arranged for the sale of Britain's negotiable securities on the [[New York Stock Exchange]] over the next few years to pay for Britain's war expenses. The 5,000 Sun Life employees never knew what was stored away beneath them. None of the cargo went missing and no information about the operation was ever leaked.<ref>[http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/cool/002027-2301-e.html Library and Archives of Canada - Hiding British Gold]</ref>

==See also==
* [[Sun Life Centre]]
* [[List of old Canadian buildings]] (1809–1939)
* [[List of old Montreal buildings]] (1829–1939)

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*Rémillard, François, ''Old Montreal: A Walking Tour'', [[Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec]], 1992

==External links==
*[http://edificesunlife.ca/ Official website]

{{Montreal skyscrapers}}
{{Montreal landmarks}}
{{Commons category|Sun Life Building}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Darling and Pearson buildings]]
[[Category:History of Montreal]]
[[Category:Office buildings completed in 1931]]
[[Category:Beaux-Arts architecture in Canada]]
[[Category:Skyscraper office buildings in Montreal]]
[[Category:Downtown Montreal]]
[[Category:Headquarters in Canada]]
[[Category:1931 establishments in Quebec]]