The Simpson Tower is the 26th-tallest building in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

. Completed in 1968 by architect John B. Parkin, as the headquarters of the Simpsons department store

Department store

A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...

 company, it has 33 floors and is 144 metres high. In 1978, as part of a corporate takeover, the Simpson Tower became the property of the Hudson's Bay Company

Hudson's Bay Company

The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...

. The building today remains the head office of HBC and also houses the head office of subsidiaries The Bay

The Bay

The Bay is a chain of 91 department stores that operate across parts of Canada. It is the main brand of Hudson's Bay Company , North America's oldest company. It has its headquarters in the Simpson Tower in Toronto. In French, the chain is known as la Baie, short for "Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson"...

 and Home Outfitters

Home Outfitters

Home Outfitters is Canada's largest kitchen, bed, and bath superstore, with 69 stores across the country selling bedding, towels, housewares, and other home accessories....

. It is adjacent to the historic Simpsons store at Yonge and Queen, which included Arcadian Court

Arcadian Court

The Arcadian Court is an Art Deco restaurant and banquet hall on the eighth floor of the flagship downtown Toronto location of the Canadian department store The Bay, whose wrought iron railings, arched windows and huge chandeliers made it one of Toronto's most exclusive dining spots for many years...

. Today that store is the flagship store for the Bay, integrated with the Eaton Centre

Eaton Centre

Eaton Centre is a name associated with shopping malls in Canada, originating with Eaton's, one of Canada's largest department store chains at the time that these malls were developed. Eaton's partnered with development companies throughout the 1970s and 1980s to develop downtown shopping malls in...

across the street.