The Bank Of British North America
Between the years 1955 and 1975 some 20,000 of Toronto’s oldest buildings became nothing more than entrées served at an enormous banquet for hungry bulldozers to devour, turning our once grand streets into an all-you-can-eat-buffet made of stone.
Sadly there are only a handful of these imposing 19th century buildings left standing after miraculously escaping the ravenous appetite of the wrecker’s ball.
The structures that were spared during Urban Renewal (including the Bank of Montreal now the Hockey Hall of Fame on Front St, the 7th Post Office on Toronto Street and St. Lawrence Hall) no matter how opulent they may appear today were, in the late 19th century, the norm.
Another architectural tour de force that incredibly was saved considering it was right in the heart of this mass destruction is the Bank of British North America (BNA) opened in 1874 on the NE corner of Wellington and Yonge and now home to the Irish Embassy Pub.
It stands today as a testament not only as a reminder to what was lost during the great feeding frenzy but also to the man who built it: the inspired architect Henry Langley.
In 1844 the Bank of BNA erected its first bank in Toronto on the NE corner of Yonge and Wellington.
( Pictured in the next post of this thread ) This is the original BNA building before it was torn down in 1874 to make way for the one posted at the end of this story
It like most pre-confederation buildings standing in Toronto at the time was sedate yet imposing and like most bank buildings constructed throughout the British Empire it was built to resemble the big daddy of all bank buildings The Bank of England back home in London which set the standard for all banks to follow.
Georgian in design, neo-classical in form and much more importantly completely intimidating to all who dare entre its doors.
TheToronto chapter of the Bank of BNA was under the chairmanship of Charles Berczy the son of one of the interesting people ever to have lived in Toronto, Joann Albrecht Ulich von Moll known today as William Berczy the man who built Yonge Street.
However John Graves Simcoe our first lieutenant governor threw Berczy into debtor’s prison when he and his fellow German workers failed to complete the job on time.
After his release Berczy along with his wife Charlotte and two sons William and Charles left for Montreal and died in New York under mysterious circumstance in 1813.
Eventually his sons moved back to Toronto where eldest son William Bent Berczy became a member of the Town Council. In March of 1834 it was William who first proposed that the Town of York, now on the brink of becoming a city, should revert back to being called ‘Toronto.’ It was Simcoe 41 years earlier who decided that the name was too ‘Indian’ sounding and changed it to the more British sounding ‘York’.
In 1841 younger son Charles became the founder of the Consumers Gas CO and in c1844 took over the chairmanship of the Bank of British North America. Charles was proud of the fact after all the ordeals his father had suffered was now one of Toronto’s most wealthy and influential citizens.
By 1872 with a new generation at the helm of Toronto’s great financial district it was decided to construct a more impressive Bank of BNA building to match the other great banks that were now springing up in the area.
What the Bank of BNA needed was an architect who understood the need for this new expressionism of wealth and power.
Toronto while still very British at its core was experimenting with more international styles when it came to its architecture and none more so championed this cause than Henry Langley.
Langley loved Paris and its opulent Second Empire style architecture and was determined to bring some of it to Toronto.
Langley was showered with accolades for his breathtaking work with the loudest shouts coming from the powers that be at the Bank of British North America who were searching for a master architect to design an equally imposing head office for them.
Langley was a superstar in the architectural world and caused a sensation when his Government House open in 1870 on the site of present day Roy Thompson Hall.
The Bank of BNA project on Wellington and Yonge while not as commanding a presence as his post office or the Lt. Governor’s residence would have to be just as imposing however if it was to compete with its neighbours.
Down the street on the NW corner of Leader Lane (originally named Berczy Street) once stood Toronto’s first stock exchange a monumental structure that had massive Greek columns running along its side.
Over on the NW corner of Wellington and Church stood the impressive Bank of Toronto (1862-1960) ( PICTURE COMING SOON ) founded by George Gooderham whose other building known today as the Flatiron still stands at the apex of Front, Church and Wellington Sts. There was the charming Bank of Ontario building on the NE corner of Scott and Wellington ( A couple of posts back ) that looked like it was plucked from the banks of the Grand Canal in Venice.
In order to make his new structure stand out in this forest of marble and stone Langley used gold coloured Ohio stone for the exterior of his Bank of BNA giving it a luminous effect and the look and feel of one of those opulent homes he admired so much on the Champs de Elyees in Paris.
The new Bank of British North America open its doors in 1874 with its main entrance on Wellington Street then most sought after address in the entire banking community.
In 1903 Wellington Street was losing its appeal as the city’s great thoroughfare so the massive stone entrance of the Bank of BNA with its carved floral designs was moved to Yonge Street which by the turn of the century was becoming a much more fashionable address.
In 1907 Henry Langley the son of a Toronto shoemaker died.
During the 20th century his beautiful bank with its mosaic floors and arching interior columns became home to a branch of the Bank of Montreal and later a Bank of Commerce.
In 1982 the building was completely restored by Greymac Trust who in turn sold to Household Finance and now is owned by Calloway REIT in an unbroken line of banking ventures dating back to 1844.
The former banking hall of the Bank of British North America is now home to the Irish Embassy Pub which opened on St Patrick’s Day 2001. Owned and operated by Gavin Quinn a true Irish gentleman in every sense of the word who not only can appreciate a fine pint but also the need to preserve what little remains of our once rich 19th century architectural past.
Here is the building opened in 1874 and home to the Irish Embassy today
Story courtesy of Bruce Bell - Historian City of Toronto
