The Bank of Montreal on Wellington Street is a Classified Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.
The Bank of Montreal is situated between Wellington and Sparks streets, opposite to Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Constructed from a monumentally-scaled block of granite and limestone, the building features symmetrical façades and Modern Classical detailing. On its principal façades, large rectangular windows are separated by giant pilasters supporting an immense entablature. At the upper level, smooth surfaces serve as a foil for sculptured panels that carry nationalistic and didactic themes. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
The character-defining elements of the Bank of Montreal should be respected.
Its excellent aesthetic design, craftsmanship and materials, and very good functional design as evidenced by:
- its monumental massing, designed in the traditional temple form with a symmetrical façade, entablature and attic storey;
- its steel-frame construction, with a Stanstead granite base and Queenston limestone above;
- the elaborate Sparks Street and Wellington Street façades with central doorways with a carved moulding and a superimposed sculpture of the bank’s coat of arms above each;
- the arrangement of the tall narrow windows protected by intricately wrought metal screens;
- the Art Deco elements, including geometric ornamentation, sharply incised detailing and flattened surfaces;
- the Modern Classical elements, including its shallow, incised pilasters, plain plinths and moulded caps, a simple Doric architrave, and simple entablature,
- the allegorical and historical bas-reliefs (Emil Seiburn, sculptor) regularly disposed about its façades, which contributed to the search for a Canadian ornamental vocabulary active at that time;
- the interior layout of the building, including the spacious central banking hall;
- the interior materials, including marble floors with terrazzo inserts and mosaic inlay of intricate design, Benedict stone walls, black and gold marble dado bronze fittings, an arched and coffered plaster ceiling and bronze and stained glass light fixtures;
- the interior detailing, finishes and decoration, including marble sculpted figures and provincial coast of arms.
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The bas-reliefs are located on the exterior and upper part of the building. They have been sculpted in accordance with the art deco style. They show women, men, a child and a goat or sheep. The figures appear to be based on a civilization that preceded the Roman era, the Etruscans perhaps.