Until the mid-1970s, two classic bank buildings anchored Beatty’s corner. Customers of both Scotiabank and the CIBC recall the polished wood panelling and gleaming brass tellers’ cages.
In July 1893, the Bank of Ottawa had arrived, the first bank in Parry Sound, at Seguin and Miller Streets.
The Bank of Ottawa remained the only bank in the District for several years. In 1901, it purchased the corner lot south of the new IOOF building. Above the bank’s offices in the red brick building were six suites and twelve rooms. Many of us remember Dr. Bradey’s dental office in that building. The floor plans from Scotiabank’s archives show a little-known treasure, a spacious apartment taking up the entire top floor.
The building quickly became a landmark, its fine European features a focal point in every picture of the main street’s east side. The Bank of Ottawa amalgamated with The Bank of Nova Scotia in 1919.
In 1935, the customer walked the whole length of the bank to get to the office of the manager, George Lichty Ziegler. After the 1940 renovations, his office was next to the front door. The ornate brass cages replaced by brass and glass wickets, the highly polished woodwork stayed. The building was lighter and the office more open. Recently the design of many banks has reverted to the layout of the earlier days.
The Bank of Commerce was a handsome grey stone building on the southwest corner from 1906. Its imposing presence perfectly balanced the intersection. It was demolished in 1975.
By 1976, the character of the James and Seguin intersection had changed, both early banks replaced with modern edifices.
According to the Heritage Canada Foundation, Canada has lost 20 per cent of its pre-1920 buildings in the past 30 years, a third of landfill waste.
Fortunately, elegant houses of Parry Sound’s earlier times have been preserved and restored. In addition, a close look at the upper windows and rooflines of downtown buildings will carry the eye past the storefronts to their gracious ancestry. Those attractive faces whisper to us of neighbours past.
Banks of Parry Sound
Date: Mar 09, 2010
Bank of Nova Scotia, Parry Sound, September 1932.
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