Historic Sites of Manitoba: Alloway and Champion Bank Building (667 Main Street, Winnipeg)

In 1905, this three-storey building on the east side of Main Street between Logan and Henry avenues, one block south of the Canadian Pacific Railway station, was designed by local architect James Henry Cadham and built for bankers William Forbes Alloway and Henry Thomson Champion. It was their second building, after the original bank at 362 Main Street in the centre of the city’s financial district, and was constructed by the Imperial Plumbing and Building Company at a cost of about $13,000.

The branch office of the Alloway and Champion Bank—which would eventually become the largest private banking firm in Canada—occupied the main floor of the three-storey building, with the law firm of Steinkopf and Bruce (later Steinkopf and Lawrence) on the second floor, and residential suites on the third floor. When the law firm moved out in the late 1920s, the second floor was renovated into residential space.

The Canadian Bank of Commerce (which bought Alloway and Champion in 1923) operated a branch at the location until the mid-1930s. After standing vacant for a couple of years, it was renovated for use as a restaurant until the late 1970s when it became a furniture store. The building is a municipally-designated historic site.

The former Alloway and Champion Bank Building at right, with the Zimmerman Block at left (June 2014) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.90326, W97.13503 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: James Henry Cadham (1850-1907)

Memorable Manitobans: William Forbes Alloway (1852-1930)

Memorable Manitobans: Henry Thomson Champion (1847-1916)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Alloway and Champion Arch (Waterfront Drive, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites

Sources:

City of Winnipeg Building Permit 1729/1905, City of Winnipeg Archives.

“Bank of Commerce takes over business of Alloway and Champion,” Winnipeg Tribune, 24 December 1923, page 1.

Alloway & Champion Building, 667 Main Street, Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee, February 1986.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.

Page revised: 2 July 2022

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