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Commerce Court is a cluster of four office buildings in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in the financial district on King Street and Bay Street. The main tenant is the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).
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. Designed by the Canadian firm Pearson and Darling with the American bank specialists York and Sawyer as consulting architects, the 34-storey 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.
In 1972, three other buildings were erected, thus creating the Commerce Court complex: Commerce Court West designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners (the tallest building in the complex, at 57 storeys, and the tallest building in Canada from 1972–1976), Commerce Court East (13 storeys), and Commerce Court South (5 storeys). In 1994, Zeidler Partnership Architects was commissioned to renovate the Commerce Court urban plaza, the banking area at the base of Commerce Court West, and the below-grade retail area.
The latest addition to the district is 1 King West, a super slim condo hotel at the south-west corner of King & Yonge. Other notables here are the excellent Jump Cafe & Bar (inside Commerce Court East) and the elephant bronze sculptures named Tembo, Mother of Elephants.
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