Manitoba Municipal Heritage Site No. 351

Canadian Bank of Commerce
141 Main Street
Rivers

Built in 1910, the Canadian Bank of Commerce is one of the few that remain from some 70 prefabricated wooden branches opened by the bank across the Prairies in the boom years before World War I. Designed and shipped by rail from Vancouver by the B.C. Mills Timber and Trading Company, the structure’s components, including numbered pre-painted panels, arrived at Rivers in two boxcars and were said to have been erected by a crew on a prepared foundation in two days. The two-storey design, designated “Number 2,” featured a modest, classically appointed facade in three bays separated by paired pilasters on the main floor, with the gable front reading as a shallow pediment; a commodious manager’s residence occupied the second floor. Located on the main street near the railway facilities that sustain the town, the bank has seen several transformations, most recently to a private dwelling, reflecting the evolution of the local economy.

Return to list by Site Name or by Area