Historic Sites of Manitoba: Canadian Bank of Commerce Building / Millennium Centre (389 Main Street, Winnipeg)

Link to:
Photos & Coordinates | Sources

The present structure at 389 Main Street is the third Bank of Commerce building to occupy the site. In 1893, on its arrival in Winnipeg, the bank leased space in the Bannatyne Block that once stood here and opened a branch under manager F. H. Mathewson. Six years later, the bank purchased then demolished the block and hired the Toronto architectural firm of Darling and Pearson, assisted by local architect Charles H. Wheeler, to design a replacement. Its first manager was John Aird, who later served in the bank’s senior management. By 1910, the building was no longer large enough so it was dismantled carefully and moved to Regina where it was re-erected.

Adjacent properties had been purchased quietly so a new, larger building could be erected at a cost of about $750,000. Constructed by the Lyall-Mitchell Company, the new bank opened officially in October 1912, with public banking space on the main floor and administrative offices on the second to fourth floors. The bank’s solicitors, Machray, Dennistoun, Locke and Crawley, were on the fifth floor, and a caretaker’s suite, restaurant, and washrooms were on the sixth floor. Safety deposit boxes were in the basement and mechanical equipment was in the subbasement.

A memorial tablet to the staff of the Winnipeg Branch of the Canadian Bank of Commerce who served in the First World War was unveiled by Governor General Sir Julian H. G. Byng of Vimy at a ceremony on 15 October 1923. The names of the 91 Winnipeg employees who served in the war are inscribed on the memorial with 17 of those identified as having been killed. The tablet was designed by Toronto sculptor W. S. Allward, who also designed the Vimy Memorial in France, and was built by the Winnipeg Marble and Tile Company. It is set in the wall of the building’s main entrance.

Relatively few renovations were made to the building through the years. In 1969, the bank relocated to the nearby Richardson Building and left this building vacant. Following public outcry, it was saved from demolition by the City of Winnipeg and, in 1979, became a municipally-designated historic site. In 2000, the building was donated by Marwest Management Canada Limited to the newly-formed 389 Main Street Heritage Corporation. With modest renovations supported by a donation from the W. H. & S. E. Loewen Foundation, the building was re-christened as the Millennium Centre. It now hosts weddings, banquets, and other events.

Managers

Period	Manager
1893-?	F. H. Mathewson
?-1899	?
1899-1908	John Aird (1855-1938)
1908-?	?

Photos & Coordinates

Canadian Bank of Commerce Building No. 2 (c1910) Source: Winnipeg Illustrated, Peels Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta The former Canadian Bank of Commerce building, now the Millennium Centre (June 2014) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Millennium Centre (February 2021) Source: George Penner Entrance to the Millennium Centre (August 2024) Source: Greg Petzold Former management offices on the second floor of the building (May 2003) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Lighting above the grand glass dome (May 2003) Source: Gordon Goldsborough The basement vaults (May 2003) Source: Gordon Goldsborough The basement vaults (November 2024) Source: Milan Lukes Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89666, W97.13846 denoted by symbol on the map above

First World War Casualties

Name	Occupation	Service	Rank	Birth Date	Death Date
Lewis MacKenzie Bean [Next of Kin]	Clerk	16th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	29 December 1892	23 April 1915
Clarence Edward Buzzell	Bank Clerk	78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Lance Corporal	18 December 1889	24 December 1916
George Jacobs Cameron [Next of Kin]	Bank Clerk	16th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	18 February 1895	1 October 1918
William Henry Dore	Banking	107th Squadron, Royal Air Force	Captain	27 April 1892	9 August 1918
George William Fraser [Next of Kin]	Bank Clerk	16th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Sergeant	9 December 1892	13 June 1916
Stanley Hodge [First Baptist, Stonewall]	Bank Manager	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	Private	11 March 1897	14 September 1918
Gerald Edward Latimer [Armoury, Brandon College, Next of Kin]	Bank Clerk	Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry	Private	9 September 1892	9 April 1917
St. George Otway Lloyd [Grandview]	Bank Clerk	78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Sergeant	1 March 1893	19 February 1917
John Low [Next of Kin]	Clerk	16th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	3 May 1883	18 May 1915
Earle Carman MacCallum [Next of Kin]	Bank Clerk	78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Lieutenant	30 July 1893	30 October 1917
Alexander Pearson MacMillan MC [Next of Kin]	Bank Accountant	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	Lieutenant	10 July 1889	26 August 1918
Haslett Morrison [Next of Kin, Wesley College]	Clerk	61st Battalion, Canadian Machine Gun Corps	Major	27 July 1890	23 April 1918
Rae Brydon McCarthy [Next of Kin]	Banker (Can. Bank of Commerce)	78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Lieutenant	6 April 1890	9 April 1917
Joseph Andrew Bright McClure [Next of Kin]	Bank Commissionaire	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Lieutenant	20 July 1877	21 August 1917
William Langston Ross	Bank Clerk	61st Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	26 February 1889	9 May 1920
George Baxby Syddall [Next of Kin, St. Margarets]	Banker	Canadian Infantry & 65 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps	Captain	1 October 1887	4 January 1918
Harvey Fleming Wilson	Bank Clerk	The Royal Canadian Regiment	Private	10 June 1895	30 October 1917

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: Robert Wilson (1855-1919)

Memorable Manitobans: John Aird (1855-1938)

Manitoba Business: Lyall-Mitchell Company

Manitoba Business: Machray, Sharpe, and Company

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites

Sources:

“Baron Byng, of Vimy, unveils war memorials,” Winnipeg Tribune, 15 October 1923, pages 1, 3.

389 Main Street, The Canadian Bank of Commerce, Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee, December 1980.

For the names of First World War casualities from Manitoba who do not appear on any physical monument in the province, see the Manitoba Historical Society War Memorial. If you know of a name that is omitted from this list, please contact the MHS War Memorial Researcher Darryl Toews (darryl@mhs.mb.ca).

Soldiers of the First World War - Canadian Expeditionary Force, Library and Archives Canada.

Canadian Virtual War Memorial, Veterans Affairs Canada.

Financial support for research reported on this page was provided by the Manitoba Heritage Grants Program (2015-2016).

We thank Terry Webber, George Penner, Greg Petzold, and Milan Lukes for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Darryl Toews.

Page revised: 9 November 2024

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