Royal Bank Building

The Royal Bank Building is a stately single storey brick building constructed in 1928 located on one of the most prominent and publicly visible locations on the southwest corner of Carson Avenue and Reid Street in Downtown Quesnel, BC. The historic place includes the building and the parcel of land it occupies.

The Royal Bank Building is located in Downtown Quesnel which is the commercial and administrative center of the city. As the building is a physical reminder of the people and businesses that shaped the development of Quesnel it holds cultural and social value. The people important to the community and connected to the site include the Bank Manager, hospital board member, and curling and golf enthusiast Ray Commons.

Further exemplifying the social and cultural value the building has to the community, it was purchased in 1972 by the City of Quesnel. The city used the building as the library until 1977 and since 1986, the building has been the Cariboo Observer Building.

The character-defining elements of the Royal Bank Building include its:

- brick structure

- overall form and massing

- 1953 brick addition that maintained the overall integrity of the original structure

- stone accents

- double wrap around stone cornice line

- large windows with 20 panes showcasing strong symmetry

- stone steps at the entry

- flat roof

- prominent position on the corner of the City’s downtown business district