Manitoba Municipal Heritage Site No. 55

Birtle Union Bank Building
738 Main Street,
Birtle

The Birtle Union Bank Building, rectangular in design and modest in size, with a comfortable residence for the manager provided, recalls the ambitious manner in which the Union Bank of Canada expanded its services in rural Manitoba in the early 1900s. The bank, recognizing an opportunity to promote and profit from the growing farm economy, was the first to provide an extensive branch system throughout the Prairies and it maintained a strong presence in rural towns until it was taken over by the Royal Bank of Canada in 1925. The fieldstone and stucco branch in Birtle, which served as a bank until 1969, projects an image of unadorned stability and substance.