What banks used to look like in Toronto surely sounds like the most boring idea for an archival photo post that I've come up with yet. When I floated the idea to my partner the other day, she responded by asking, "what, so you can show how they haven't changed?" That's what I would have thought, too — that is, before I dug around a bit in the Toronto Archives database. While some of the buildings featured below are still standing, not that many are still used as banks. Moreover, there's some fascinating photos of bank-anchored intersections that have been completely transformed in the last 40 years or so (e.g. Yonge and Bloor).

So, as was the case with gas stations and grocery stores, the point here is to take a familiar object and make it temporarily more interesting by revealing it in an unfamiliar context — i.e. the past. For it's not only the fact that many of these structures have been demolished or re-purposed that's fascinating, but also the way that one can track the different manner in which they've been built over the years. One could, for instance, easily identify the suburban banks depicted below even in the absence of a caption. And, it might even be fair to invoke that old cliche that "they don't build them like they used to" here. Even the smaller banks of the early 20th century were stately structures with architectural flourishes that showed off their social importance — those built today, not so much.

PHOTOS

Bank of British North America at Yonge and Wellington (built 1845), 1856

Bank of Montreal at Yonge and Front, 1900 (now the Hockey Hall of Fame)

Dominion Bank at Yonge and King, 1903

Dominion Bank at St. Clair and Vaughan, 1912

Dominion Bank at Queen and Broadview, 1914

Dominion Bank at Yonge and Cottingham (now just south of the rail overpass at Summerhill), 1914

Bank of Nova Scotia at Bathurst and College, 1919

Dominion Bank at Bathurst and Bloor, 1923

Dominion Bank at Bloor and Sherbourne, 1923

Imperial Bank at Bloor and Lansdown (northwest corner), 1931

Barclays near King and Bay, 1940s

Dominion Bank at Dovercourt and Davenport, 1947

Bank of Montreal at 55 Bloor Street West, 1950

Interior of unidentified bank in the 1950s

Bank of Nova Scotia at Yonge and Dundas (notice the subway entrance being installed), 1952

Toronto-Dominion Bank at Bathurst and Glencairn, 1956

Imperial Bank on the Queensway, 1957

Toronto-Dominion Bank on Islington, 1958

CIBC on Avenue Road just south of Dupont, 1959

Bank of Nova Scotia at Avenue Road and St. Clair (southwest corner), 1959

Toronto-Dominion Bank at Avenue and Davenport, 1959

CIBC at Yonge and Bloor (before the tower), 1960s

Royal Bank at Yonge and Bloor (northeast corner), 1960s

CIBC on Yonge north of Queen (now vacant), 1960s

Bank of Nova Scotia at Bloor and Spadina, 1960s

Bank of Montreal at St. Clair and O'Conner, 1960s

CIBC at Adelaide and Victoria streets, 1960s

The Vault at a Royal Bank, Ca. 1960s

Toronto-Dominion Bank on Yonge north of Queen, 1970s

CIBC (former Bank of British North America) at Yonge and Wellington, 1970s (thanks to Stephen Otto for the help in identifying this one)

CIBC at Yonge and College (now a Starbucks), 1970s

Royal Bank at Jane and Lawrence, 1971

CIBC at Yonge and Finch, 1972

Bank of Nova Scotia at Dupont and Spadina (now the subway entrance), 1974

Scotiabank at Bloor and Spadina (looks similar today), 1976

Royal Bank at Harbord and Spadina, 1979

RELATED POSTS

• What gas stations used to look like in Toronto
• What grocery stores used to look like in Toronto
• What sports stadiums used to look like in Toronto
• What malls used to look like in Toronto

All photos from the Toronto Archives