Vignettes
/ The Exchange
District / Main
Bank of Toronto
(Ukrainian Canadian Committee)
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Situated on the west side of Main Street, between McDermot
and Bannatyne Avenues, in an area known as Banker’s
Row, the Bank of Toronto building was the first bank to
have a marble façade. The bank location between
two retailers, the Imperial Dry Goods Store and the Blue
Store reflects the shift of Winnipeg’s retail district
to Portage Avenue in the early 1900s.
A latecomer to the city, the bank opened its first local
office in the spring of 1905 in the Grundy Block on Main
Street. Within a short period of time, a lot was purchased
from a local land speculator for $66,000 and a monumental
banking hall was to be erected to compete with the existing
financial institutions not only for business but also for
prestige.
