The Bank of Montreal is the oldest bank in Canada.

Arriving in Winnipeg in 1877, the Bank of Montreal bounced around until 1913 when plans were made to construct their grandest banking hall in Winnipeg to-date. Their new location was the corner of Portage Avenue and Main Street. Premiere bank architects McKim, Mead & White were hired to design the new headquarters.

Designed to resemble a Roman temple, the estimated cost of construction was $1,295,000. Each of the six Corinthian columns that dominated the entrance were nearly five feet in diameter and weigh twelve tons, rising 50 feet above street level. All aspects of the bank’s neo-classical design were meant to flaunt the company’s wealth, and nowhere is that more obvious than in the intricate gold leaf ceiling.

Marble is used liberally throughout the bank, across columns and even on the horseshoe teller counter. In the basement are triple stacked vaults, which were the first things built during the construction process.

A $2.4 million restoration project took place in 1974 and modernized the banking facilities, but the final holdout on Winnipeg’s historic Bank’s Row eventually departed in 2020. The building is being redeveloped as Métis Nation Heritage Centre.

It still stands on the corner of Portage and Main as a monument to the wealth of the Bank of Montreal.