This three-storey brick and stone architecturally impressive building on Main Street in Carberry was designed by Winnipeg architect George Creeford Browne and built in 1901 as a branch of the Union Bank of Canada at a cost of about $30,000.
In 1925, when the Union Bank merged with the Royal Bank of Canada, it was a branch of the merged company until 1934 when it became a branch of the Bank of Montreal. The ground floor of the building held the banking hall which had rich oak panelling and staircases, and half a dozen fireplaces. The second floor had a small dance floor and reception area, while the third floor was used as a residence for the branch manager. It is a municipally-designated heritage building (2007).
At the time of a 2024 site visit, the building was in the process of being deconstructed.
Postcard view of the Union Bank Building at Carberry (circa 1911)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2017-0087
Bank of Montreal at Carberry (May 1949)
Source: Carberry Plains Archives
Former Bank of Montreal at Carberry (April 2010)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Former Bank of Montreal at Carberry being deconstructed (May 2023)
Source: Jordan Makichuk
Former Bank of Montreal at Carberry being deconstructed (September 2024)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.86691, W99.35953
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: George Creeford Browne (1852-1919)
Manitoba Business: Union Bank of Canada
Manitoba Business: Royal Bank of Canada
Manitoba Business: Bank of Montreal
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites
Historical Tour - Carberry, Manitoba by Rosemary Malaher
Manitoba History, Number 14, Autumn 1987
“Tenders for bank building,” Manitoba Free Press, 23 May 1901, page 2.
Carberry Plains, Century One: 1882-1982 by Carberry History Committee, 1982.
Old Bank of Montreal, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch.
“Fine building that shouldn't have been,” Winnipeg Free Press, 2 August 2013.
Carberry's Heritage Sites, Heritage Manitoba.
We thank Jordan Makichuk and George Penner for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 9 December 2024
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