Downtown in Vancouver in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia — Canada’s West Coast (North America)

Bank of Toronto

City of Vancouver Heritage Building

— Architect: Somervell & Putnam —

Bank of Toronto Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., August 28, 2024

1. Bank of Toronto Marker

Inscription.

Originally designed for the Union Bank of Canada, this Greek temple-style bank opened as the local head office of the Bank of Toronto in 1920, when Hastings Street was lined with ten other banks and served as Vancouver's main business street. Architect W. Marbury Somervell, trained in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, designed the Bank in the Italian Second Renaissance Style. Later the Toronto Dominion Bank had its main branch here until 1984. Peter Y.L. Eng on behalf of Allied Holdings Group donated the derelict building to Simon Fraser University and it was reopened in 2000 as the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue. The exterior restoration was made possible by a generous donation from Arthur and Rita Block.

Erected by City of Vancouver.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings. In addition, it is included in the Canada, Vancouver, City of Vancouver Heritage Buildings series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1920.

Location. 49° 17.07′ N, 123° 6.774′ W. Marker is in Vancouver, British Columbia, in Metro Vancouver. It is in Downtown. It is at the

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intersection of Hastings Street (Provincial Highway 7A) and Seymour Street, on the right when traveling east on Hastings Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 580 West Hastings Street, Vancouver BC V6B 1L6, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on British Columbia’s Lower Mainland

and in Coast & Mountains.

Globally, it is in North America,

in the Cascade Range,

in the Inside Passage,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Canada Pacific Railway Station (about 90 meters away, measured in a direct line); Financial District (about 90 meters away); Canadian Bank of Commerce Building (about 90 meters away); Meet You Under the Clock (about 90 meters away); Angel of Victory, CPR Station Bronze War Memorial (about 120 meters away); Royal Bank of Canada Building (about 150 meters away); Greenshields Building (about 210 meters away); BC Permanent Building

Bank of Toronto and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., August 28, 2024

2. Bank of Toronto and Marker

(approx. 0.2 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Vancouver.

Also see . . . Woodruffe Marbury Somervell (1872-1938) at Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada. (Submitted on August 29, 2024, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)

Credits. This page was last revised on August 29, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 29, 2024, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 199 times since then and 33 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 29, 2024, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.