The Eaton's Ninth Floor Restaurant (known as "The Ninth Floor" or "Le 9e") is an Art deco landmark in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was operated by the Eaton's department store for 68 years, up until its bankruptcy and closure in 1999. After being closed to the public for a quarter of a century, it was renovated and reopened as a special events venue with the Ile de France Restaurant in 2024. The space is a registered historical site.
Lady Eaton, the wife of the multi-millionaire owner of the Eaton's department stores, gave her interpretation of "class and style" to the major Eaton's stores. In 1925 Eaton's purchased the three storey Goodwin building [1] located at 677 Saint Catherine Street West and commissioned architects Ross & MacDonald to build it up to six storeys in 1927. The top three floors were added in 1930–31. [2] On January 26, 1931, Lady Eaton opened a large art deco restaurant on the 9th floor of the building. The restaurant was designed by architect Jacques Carlu and [3] the floor to ceiling mural at the back of the restaurant was created by his wife Natacha Carlu. [4] It was patterned on dining hall of the transatlantic liner Ile de France. The 9th floor corridor between the elevators and restaurant is also in the art deco style.
The waitresses and loyal customers of the restaurant were the subject of a 1998 National Film Board of Canada documentary, Les Dames du 9e (The Ladies of the 9th). [5]
Shortly following Eaton's bankruptcy, the restaurant closed on October 14, 1999. A bagpiper played "Amazing Grace" to mark its end. [6] After remaining vacant, the 9th floor restaurant was given heritage status by the Québec government. Plans for bringing the restaurant up to modern safety standards were drawn up by Fournier, Gersovitz, Moss et associés but never implemented.
For nearly a quarter of a century, the former restaurant had sat behind locked doors and was slowly deteriorating. The dining room, lobby and bathroom area remained, but the kitchen had been demolished for office space. The current owners, Ivanhoé Cambridge, the real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, had refused in the past to allow media or preservation groups to inspect the site. Urban explorers who trespassed the site in 2004, took photographs documenting its then poor condition. On February 12, 2014, Heritage Montreal announced the restaurant was "under observation" due to the building's uncertain future. [7] Adding to the uncertainty at the time, the former occupants of the site, Les Ailes de la Mode, went bankrupt and closed in 2014 (while later transformed into an extension of the Montreal Eaton Centre, there had been no plans for the ninth floor). Ivanhoé Cambridge last opened the floor to CTV News in 2015, though the future of the floor space remained uncertain. [8] Throughout this time, the space was considered an endangered Art deco landmark. In September 2019 preservation advocate Gérald McNichols Tétreault launched a petition to measure public interest in reviving the space. [9] The building's owner reported that an estimated CA$15 million would be required to bring the space up to standards suitable for public use.
In March 2023, [10] Ivanhoe Cambridge, the owner of the Eaton Centre, announced the reopening of the iconic ninth Floor by the end of the year. The heritage conservation firm, EVOQ Architecture, carried out the work to ensure the preservation of its heritage, while bringing it up to current day standards. It was announced the re-imagined space would offer a restaurant, as well as a venue for shows and private events that can accommodate up to 500 people. [11]
In August 2023, it was announced the multi-purpose space (containing six different areas, including a small restaurant) would be officially known as "Le 9e", however the reopening was delayed until the spring of 2024. [12]
On April 11, 2024, a soft reopening was held in the space by invitation only, with an expected opening date for the public by mid-May. [13]
On May 17, 2024, the space officially opened to the public, featuring the upscale Ile de France Restaurant. The original Eaton's restaurant space was repurposed as a general purpose venue hall, with tables and chairs for the new smaller restaurant situated in the outside windowed corridors.
The T. Eaton Company Limited, later known as Eaton's and then Eaton, was a Canadian department store chain that was once the largest in the country. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an immigrant from what is now Northern Ireland. Eaton's grew to become a retail and social institution in Canada, with stores across the country, buying-offices around the globe, and a mail-order catalog that was found in the homes of most Canadians. A changing economic and retail environment in the late twentieth century, along with mismanagement, culminated in the chain's bankruptcy in 1999.
The Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, commonly referred to as the Château Frontenac, is a historic hotel in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The hotel is situated in Old Quebec, within the historic district's Upper Town, on the southern side of Place d'Armes. The Château Frontenac was designed by Bruce Price, and was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway company. The hotel is managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
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Sarah Evelyn Florence "Flora" Eaton, Lady Eaton, was a Canadian socialite, philanthropist and nurse. As the wife of Sir John Craig Eaton, who inherited the Eaton's department store business, she was a member and later matriarch of the prominent Eaton family.
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Ross and Macdonald was one of Canada's most notable architecture firms in the early 20th century. Based in Montreal, Quebec, the firm originally operated as a partnership between George Allen Ross and David MacFarlane from 1907 to 1912. MacFarlane withdrew from the firm in 1912, and Robert Henry Macdonald became a partner.
The Carlu is an historic event space in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1930 and known as the eponymous "Eaton's Seventh Floor", the venue was restored and reopened in 2003, renamed for its original architect. The Carlu is one of Toronto's best examples of Art Moderne architecture. The venue is owned by restaurant firm Oliver & Bonacini.
The Édifice Price is an 18-floor skyscraper in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Built in 1928–1930 amid controversy for Price Brothers Limited, it is the tallest building in the Old Quebec historical district, as well as one of the oldest skyscrapers in Canada. The building is the property of Ivanhoé Cambridge, a subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. A memorial is attached to the building. In 2001, it became the location of an official residence for the Premier of Quebec, which occupies two of the upper floors.
The Montreal Eaton Centre is a shopping mall located in the downtown core of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is accessible through the Underground City, which is connected to the Montreal Metro's McGill station.
Laurier Québec is one of Canada's largest shopping malls. It is located in Quebec City, Quebec.
Promenades St-Bruno is a two-level shopping mall located in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec, Canada. Ground was broken in the spring of 1977 to build the mall and it was completed in August 1978. Les Promenades St-Bruno is the largest mall in the Montérégie and part of its consumer base come from cities as far as Saint-Hyacinthe and Sorel-Tracy. The anchor tenants are The Bay and Simons.
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The Architects' Building was an office building located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was located at 1135 Beaver Hall Hill, on the southeast corner of Dorchester Boulevard in Downtown Montreal.
This is a list of small shopping centres in the island of Montreal.
