Originally constructed for the I.G. Baker company in 1887, the building was purchased by the Imperial Bank of Canada in 1892. The parapet on the top of the building was added as part of renovations between 1909 and 1911.
The I.G. Baker company, based in Fort Benton, Montana, played a crucial role in the early settlement of Western Canada. I.G. Baker supplied badly-needed provisions for the North West Mounted Police (NWMP, later RCMP) on their famous March West in 1874. The company then provided the materials needed to build the NWMP's Fort Macleod, Fort Calgary, and Fort Walsh. I.G. Baker went on to open stores next to these forts which supplied both the NWMP and the settlers and miners who followed in their wake.
In 1891, the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) bought all of I.G. Baker's Canadian operations. The HBC already had a store in Calgary, in a wooden building constructed in 1884 at 102 - 8 Ave SW (just a block away), so this sandstone building was quickly sold off to the Imperial Bank of Canada. The building was much plainer at that time. In fact, "[between] 1886 and 1887, the I. G. Baker Company collaborated with businessmen John Lineham and Matthew Dunn to erect two adjacent, identical sandstone buildings" (from (
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Over the years, there have been significant changes to both buildings. Although the adjacent Lineham Block's lower two sandstone storeys more closely preserve the original appearance of the Imperial Bank building, two additional brick storeys were built onto the Lineham Block in 1907.
Between 1909 and 1911, the Imperial Bank of Canada renovated their building and made it look more imposing. The parapet and balustrade around the roof was added, along with a prominent cornice. The large decorative shields, with festoons of fruit and flowers, were also added. Like other chartered banks, the Imperial Bank of Canada issued its own banknotes (
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In 1961, the Imperial Bank of Canada merged with the Canadian Bank of Commerce, creating today's Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).
REFERENCES and FURTHER READING
Alberta Register of Historic Places: Imperial Bank of Commerce (
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Wikipedia: Imperial Bank of Canada (
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Internet Archive. Henderson’s Calgary Directory 1916. [Ad for Imperial Bank of Canada] (
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University of Calgary Digital Collections: I. G. Baker and Company store, Calgary, Alberta. [Frederic Remington sketch for Harper’s Weekly, 1889] (
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University of Calgary Digital Collections: I.G. Baker and Company store, Stephen Avenue, Calgary, Alberta. [1886 sandstone building, still standing at 102 - and 104 - 8 Ave SE] (
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Wikipedia: I.G. Baker Company
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RELATED WAYMARKS
I.G. Baker & Co. Store - Calgary, AB, Canada (
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Imperial Bank of Canada - Winnipeg MB (
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