At the time of its construction in 1928, the Royal Bank of Canada's new headquarters at 360 St. James Street was the tallest building in the British Empire.

It was also home to the major brokerage houses such as Nesbitt, Thomson and Company, Pitfield, MacKay, Ross, Royal Securities Corporation and others.

More modern buildings include the Montreal World Trade Centre and the Stock Exchange Tower.

Square-Victoria–OACI, Lionel-Groulx and Place-Saint-Henri Metro stations are located on St. Jacques, to the west, it gives access to Autoroute 20 in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, where it passes through a largely industrial and large-surface commercial district at the top of the Falaise Saint-Jacques.

The following table shows buildings on St James Street beginning at its origin at boulevard Saint-Laurent.