Bank Of Commerce – Ottawa Street – 1950

One of the coolest parts of running this website, as an architectural fan and local historian, is to come across buildings that I had never seen before, and never even knew existed. Case in point, the building above. I was searching to see if I could find anything about the Bank of Commerce at Ottawa & Moy, that is there today. It looks to be mid 1970’s in style with precast concrete panels. A good looking building (in my opinion), but I came up blank on it. Although I did find the building above.

The Bank of Commerce shown above, opened in December, 1950. It was designed by local architect J C Pennington. It was built to replace a smaller branch, which was located one block west, between Gladstone & Moy.

Immediately to the east of the bank, was the Park Theatre. The Park was closed and demolished in 1972, when the Devonshire Mall Cinema opened. The property became a parking lot for the bank, which it is still today. I am assuming at some point the 1950, J C Pennington building was demolished, and replaced with the building we see today, although I suppose it’s possible it was only renovated and expanded? I don’t know for certain. This one remains a mystery. The one thing I do know, is that the bank in the photo above, was a nice looking building, and it’s a shame it’s lost to history.