Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Montreal on Marine
The Bank of Montreal originated in 1817 in Lower Canada. The name became Bank of Montreal in 1922. It funded building of the 1st canal in Canada from 1821 to 1825, the first railway in 1832, and the 1st telegraph in 1840. In 1859 it opened an office in New York and in 1861 an office in Chicago. It was in 1892 that the Bank of Montreal came to British Columbia, first to the city of Nelson. (See Link.)
The Bank of Montreal at 1120 Marine Drive was built in 1961 for $105,000. The square, multitoned brown brick, flat roofed building sits on the commercial corner of Marine Drive and Lloyd Avenue. In 1971 the branch manager was T. Roberts, in 1980 it was Sylvia Faoro, and in 1995/96 it was Douglas Mosby. Today that area of Marine Drive is receiving a face lift. The buildings in the 1100 block to the west of the bank have already been demolished as have those in the eastern half of the 1300 block.
The plan for the 1100 block is the "construction of three new buildings, including ground floor commercial space fronting Marine Drive, underground parking, an interior drive court, and condominium apartment units on the upper floors. The site is approximately 7284 m2 (1.8 acres) in size and the development proposes approximately 1589 m2 (17,100 sq. ft.) of commercial space and 129 condominium apartments. ... approximately 194 parking spaces (are) proposed." Link 2.
Photo: Taken in February 2010 by SW.
