Now the home of Cranbrook Photo, this venerable old bank building still adds a touch of class to the downtown area. On the west side of the building can still be seen the faint imprint of the original "Imperial Bank of Canada" sign. The daughter company of the old Imperial Bank, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), remains one of the five major banks in Canada.
Beside the bank building is the statue of "Ed", the elephant escapee which, along with thirteen accomplices, caused the only elephant hunt in Cranbrook. Ed was a circus elephant who was traveling with the Sells-Floto Circus in 1922 when he and his cohorts decided to stage a jailbreak. The resulting elephant hunt lasted about five weeks, from August 6th until September 14th, when Ed was finally captured.
Also in this Lucky 7 is the Cranbrook Arch, officially opened Saturday September 11th, 2010, designed to replicate a similar pair of arches, one each at the east and west entrances to the city, constructed in the 1930s, partly as a make-work project.
The Imperial Bank of Canada building, constructed on the original townsite office lot on Baker Street in Cranbrook. The Imperial Bank opened in Cranbrook December 2, 1902 and this building was completed in 1909. The Imperial Bank of Canada eventually joined with the Canadian Bank of Commerce to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
From the Columbia Basin Institute
Imperial Bank Ad - January 17, 1907