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.
Period
Manager
1893-?
F. H. Mathewson
?-1899
?
1899-1908
John Aird (1855-1938)
1908-?
?
Canadian Bank of Commerce Building No. 2 (c1910)
Source: Winnipeg Illustrated, Peels Prairie Provinces, University of AlbertaThe former Canadian Bank of Commerce building, now the Millennium Centre (June 2014)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughMillennium Centre (February 2021)
Source: George PennerEntrance to the Millennium Centre (August 2024)
Source: Greg PetzoldFormer management offices on the second floor of the building (May 2003)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughLighting above the grand glass dome (May 2003)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughThe vaults (May 2003)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89666, W97.13846
denoted by symbol on the map above
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
“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, and Greg Petzold for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Darryl Toews.
Page revised: 7 September 2024
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