| Architect: 1886 - E. McCoskrie. 1909 - Frank Darling
and John Pearson of Toronto. 1911 - Hodgson, Bates and
Beatty of Calgary. Many other architects were responsible
for interior renovations over the years.
Construction materials:
Sandstone.
Architectural style:
The 1886 structure was a
square plan. The main entrance faced Stephen Avenue with
a display window on the Southwest corner. The ground
storey featured inset entranceways, one on the Baker side
and two on the Dunn and Lineham side. Ceiling high
windows allowed the display of merchandise. Second storey
had six windows, three on the Baker side and three on the
Lineham side, each with arched surrounds and keystones.
1909 structure - Neo
Classical Revival.
Historical highlights:
- Lots 37-40 on the
corner of Stephen Avenue and McTavish Street were
originally owned by Canadian Pacific Railway and
sold in November 1885 for $4,000 to Charles E.
Conrad of the I.G. Baker Company. The property
included the future site of the Lineham Block
(later the Parisian Department store) and the
I.G.Baker store (later the Imperial Bank of
Canada Building).
- In February 1886
Conrad sold parts of lots 38 and 39 to Matthew
Dunn and John Lineham.
- Between March 1884
and February 1886 the I.G. Baker Company hired
architect E. McCoskrie to develop plans for a new
store.
- By January 1887 the
I.G.Baker Company moved into the two storey stone
building which had been jointly constructed by
the Baker Company, John Lineham and his partner
Matthew Dunn from Great Falls, Montana.
- Photographs from
the 1888 period reveal that identical two-storey
stone buildings were constructed on a portion of
the four lots. The Bank of Montreal leased the
Lineham Block and the I.G.Baker store (later the
Imperial Bank building) occupied the adjacent
corner building.
- By January 1891 the
Calgary branch of the Baker Company had been
turned over to the Hudson's Bay Company.
- In April 1892 the
Hudson's Bay Company sold the Baker property to
the Imperial Bank of Canada.
- The Toronto based
Imperial Bank of Canada first acquired its
charter in 1874. When it opened its third Western
Canadian branch in Calgary in 1886, it was one of
only twenty one in Canada.
- The Imperial Bank
hired architects Darling, Curry, Sproat and
Pearson of Toronto to redesign the interior to
accommodate the business of banking.
- In May and June of
1909 building permits were issued for renovations
of the building worth $13,000 based on plans
drawn up by Toronto architects Frank Darling and
John Pearson.
- In August 1911 a
permit was issued for alterations worth $9,000
following the plans of Hodgson, Bates and Beatty.
- Between 1909 and
1911 the original stone structure was completely
rebuilt by the contracting company of McNeil
Burns. The frontier style building was
transformed to a Neo-Classical style structure
befitting a financial institution like the
Imperial Bank of Canada.
- Additional features
included decorative armorial shield designs, a
classical roofline, a portico-covered entranceway
and a sandstone extension to the rear.
- Between 1902 and
1945 the law offices of Arthur Sifton, James
Short and Charles Stuart occupied the bank's
second storey.
- Alterations to the
building occurred in 1912, 1920, the mid 1940s
(at that time the sandstone portico, pillars and
central doorway were removed and replaced with a
south elevation entrance) A later addition in the
1960s included the installation of a night
deposit box (since enclosed) and some
modifications to the west wall.
- The building was
subsequently occupied by the Alberta Treasury
Branch, Calgary Housing Authority and finally in
the 1980s the Alberta Historical Resources
Foundation until the office was closed and moved
to Edmonton in 1990.
- Designated a
Provincial Historic Resource on March 15, 1977.
- The building is
currently vacant.
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Imperial Bank of Canada