“Bank
buildings in Hamilton, as a rule, are models of architectural skill, and the
new Bank of Hamilton, now nearly finished, is one of the handsomest in exterior
and interior in the Dominion,”
“A Handsome Structure : The New Bank
of Hamilton Now Nearly Ready for Occupancy”
Hamilton Spectator June 12, 1892.1
Situated on the southwest corner of
James and King streets, facing Gore Park, the head office of the Bank of
Hamilton was a major addition to Hamilton’s stock of financial buildings in the
city’s downtown core.
Constructed of Connecticut brownstone,
with a sand-polished surface, the building, designed by architect Richard A.
Waite of Buffalo, New York, was of the
Italian renaissance style.
Highlighting the exterior of the
building was a wealth of carvings in stone, executed in low relief and treated
in the modern Italian style of the day.
A major feature of the Bank of
Hamilton’s design was its strikingly imposing main entrance:
“The doors and woodwork of the
vestibule are of San Domingo mahogany, the walls of Low’s art tile, with a
heavy dado of brownstone. The ceiling is of Numadian marble of reddish cast,
blending handsomely with the rich, red mahogany, and is divided into panels.”1
The real eyecatcher
of the large banking room was its ceiling. Over 35 feet above the tellers’
counters, the ceiling was painted a golden color with sea green ornamentation.
The panel moldings and ornamental stucco work were painted ivory white, picked
out with lines of orange-red, and gold.
The Spectator reporter, obviously most
impressed, concluded that “there is nothing like this ceiling in Canada and its
effect is superb.”1
Above the principal
banking room were the president’s office, the chief cashier’s office and
apartment and “a handsome for the exclusive use of women, fitted up with a
check counter and other conveniences.”1
After a series of financially
successful years just after the turn of the century, the directors of the Bank
of Hamilton decided to enlarge their head office.
The original 1892 building’s rooms
were retained for the exclusive use of the Bank of Hamilton’s employees.
However, to make a much more profitable use of the prime location and King and
James streets, it was decided to construct a large office building above what
was already there.
Local architect Charles Mills was
given the task of designing the alterations to the Bank of Hamilton’s presence,
turning the three story structure of Richard Waite’s design into a modern
skyscraper.
In an article appearing in the Hamilton
Spectator on January 19, 1907, the new Bank of Hamilton was lauded as
surpassing “anything of the kind, not only in Hamilton, but anywhere else in
Canada. The Owners of the building – the shareholders of the bank – can boast
of having the most up-to-date office building as an asset that possibly could
be imagined.”
The tenants of the offices above the
banking rooms were provided with all the most modern conveniences available for
office buildings of the day. For example, there was a vacuum air cleaning
device to clean out every office at night. Each office had a wash basin,
supplied with hot and cold water, plus a movable quarter-cut cabinet for
hanging coats and hats. Each office also was provided with a mirror on the back
of the door to the hallway, and a combination vault to store valuables.
An attraction to potential tenants was
the means of access to all floors of the building. Two 30 horsepower Otis-Fensom
elevators, run by electricity, were installed.
In case of the electricity from the Cataract
Power Company being temporarily interrupted, a storage battery of large
capacity was available to run the elevators :
“This provision has not been provided for
anywhere else in the city. Tenants will appreciate this every much, as great
inconvenience has happened in other buildings through elevators stopping.”
Another innovative feature of the building
was the manner by which the offices and main entrance of the building were locked.
One key could unlock the main entrance door any of the toilet rooms in the
building. The same key would unlock the tenant’s office door, but no other
office door in the building.
Fire escapes were constructed on the west
side of the building :
“So that should a panic arise from smoke, the
occupants are not dependent for their safety by getting down the main
staircase.”
As for ventilation in general, the Bank of
Hamilton office building had a large Sturtevant fan on the roof which brought fresh
air down through pipes to every office and hallway in the building.
Another feature of the building, new to
Hamilton but already commonplace in the United States, was the method of
numbering the offices in the hundreds For instance, the offices on the fourth
floor would start with the number 400 :
“It, at once, appeals to the tenant that room
409 sounds infinitely better than room 49, thus the reason for using this style
of numbers.”
On the top floor of the building, a lunch
room was provided for the use of tenants, while on third floor a bath room was
provided “so that tenants can get a refreshing bath at any time if they so
desire.”
