1915 – Canadian Bank of Commerce, Main Street, Vancouver, Canada

“The East End Branch, Vaucouver, B.C., is constructed of reinforced concrete with granite and terra cotta. It is quite a good sized building, and in keeping with the policy of this institution of erecting buildings consistent with the importance of the city or district in which they are located.”

A fabulous example of the monumental Edwardian Baroque Style built in 1914-15, the design also reflects the Bank of Commerce’s aggressive expansion into Western Canada during the first two decades of the century. Designed by Victor Daniel Horsburgh, the Toronto-based architect for the Canadian Bank of Commerce. Still a bank branch today.

The accompanying illustration shows the design for the substantial branch building which the Canadian Hank of Commerce is erecting at the corner of Main and Pender Streets, Vancouver, at a cost of $125,000. The building will be three and it will have a frontage of fifty-six feet on Main Street, and a depth of ninety feet on Pender Street.

With the exception of one store to the rear, the entire ground floor is given over to the banking room. The interior will be divided by two ranges of Doric columns, and the side aisles and ceiling will be supported by deep moulded beams. The counters and woodwork will be of quarter-cut oak. The main part of the flooring will be done in marble. The upper floors are laid out for renting as offices. The building is to be fireproof throughout, the structural system consisting of reinforced concrete and terra cotta tile. The lower portions of the exterior of the building is designed in B. C. granite, and the upper portion in unglazed terra cotta. Of the interior installation mention may be made of the latest improved type of Otis-Fensom electric passenger elevator. The speed of this elevator is two hundred and fifty feet a minute. It is equipped with the latest safety devices.
Engineering and Contract Record, April 28 1915

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