Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

The heritage value of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce resides in its long association with the economic and commercial life of Radville. The bank has provided financial services to Radville and district from the same prominent Main Street location for over 90 years, first as the Canadian Bank of Commerce, then, following a 1961 merger with the Imperial Bank of Canada, as the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Built in 1911, the year of Radville’s incorporation, the bank is one of the town’s oldest buildings, housing its longest-serving business.

Further heritage value lies in the building’s architecture. The bank is a fine example of the numerous prefabricated buildings erected by the Bank of Commerce in western Canada during the early years of the twentieth century. As towns sprung up along expanding rail networks, banks competed to be the first to establish a branch in the new settlements. The use of prefabricated buildings manufactured by the British Columbia Mills, Timber and Trading Company allowed the Bank of Commerce to quickly erect substantial buildings in frontier areas where local supplies of labour and materials were limited. The prefabricated buildings also provided a way for the Bank to economically render the architectural styles typical of its large stone and masonry city branches in the more modest wood-frame structures built in small communities. The Radville branch’s Georgian Revival composition and Edwardian Classical detailing project a conservative image of prosperity, stability and security, qualities befitting a bank. To this day, the bank remains one of the finest and most imposing buildings on Radville’s principal street.

Source:

Town of Radville Bylaw No. 9-84.