The Union Bank Building ( the Union Bank Tower or Former Union Bank Building and Annex), located in the
Exchange District
The Exchange District is a National Historic Site of Canada in the downtown area of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Just one block north of Portage and Main, the Exchange District comprises twenty city blocks and approximately 150 heritage buildings ...
of
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
,
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
, is the first skyscraper in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, once forming the northern end of
Main Street's prestigious Banker's Row.
It was designated a
National Historic Site of Canada
National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment
An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...
in 1997.
The 11-storey (including mezzanine) building towers over its neighbours at a height of .
Beginning construction in 1903 and opening in November 1904, the Union Bank Tower was the tallest building in Winnipeg at its completion, beating the eight stories of the newly-built Merchants' Bank building (now demolished). At the time of opening, the top floor of Union Bank was the second-highest in the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
, just below London's tallest building.
Union Bank Tower is the oldest surviving of Canada's tallest buildings to incorporate a
steel skeleton structure that fully supports a light-weight, veneer '
curtain wall' facade—a design innovation that facilitated the proliferation of skyscrapers in the 20th century. The Merchants' Bank building proceeded it by several years in use of steel structure construction. Moreover, Union Bank Tower had the largest and fastest elevator in Western Canada and was the first building in the nation to introduce the modern concept of a
general contractor
A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...
to oversee construction.
Initially built for the Union Bank of Lower Canada, it remained vacant for 18 years beginning in the late 1990s, until it was redeveloped into the
Paterson GlobalFoods
Paterson GlobalFoods (PGF) is a family-owned international agri-food business. It was established in 1908 as the N. M. Paterson Company.
In 1912, N. M. Paterson built its first elevator at Fort William, with a handling capacity of 75,000 bushels. ...
Institute and student housing for
Red River College in 2013.
Original construction
![Union Bank of Canada, Leland Hotel, Volunteer Monument and City Hall, Winnipeg, Man](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Union_Bank_of_Canada%2C_Leland_Hotel%2C_Volunteer_Monument_and_City_Hall%2C_Winnipeg%2C_Man._..jpg)
As an example of the
Chicago architectural school, the building was constructed with a network of steel and
reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...
that provided support for the brick and
terracotta
Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous.
In applied art, craft, construction, a ...
walls.
This technology was cutting edge for its time, as the previously-common building support system was that of wooden beams and posts or masonry. The
steel framing
Steel frame is a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal I-beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame. The developm ...
accordingly increased the overall rigidity and fire resistance of the structure compared to its predecessors.
[
The structure is built on a floating platform base, its foundation being supported by large concrete ]caissons
Caisson (French for "box") may refer to:
* Caisson (Asian architecture), a spider web ceiling
* Caisson (engineering), a sealed underwater structure
* Caisson (lock gate), a gate for a dock or lock, constructed as a floating caisson
* Caisson (pe ...
. At the time of its original construction, the building rose to above grade, running on Main Street, along William Avenue, at the rear, and on its south side.[
At the time, the spacious ground floor was to be used entirely as a banking room, including marble ]Ionic columns
The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...
, patterned marble floor, coffered ceiling
A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault.
A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also c ...
with moulded plaster elements. The rest of the building was divided into suites of offices, each with its own vault, telephone box, and lavatory; moreover, the building was to have three elevators.
Designed by two of Canada’s top architects, Frank Darling and John Andrew Pearson, the Union Bank Tower follows the classical palazzo model, one of two Beaux Arts-inspired forms used for early skyscrapers. The design is based on a classical column. The bottom two storeys form the base and are highly ornamented. The middle storeys form the body of the column and are less ornamented, and the upper level have similar embellishment to the ground floor.
History
Reflecting the central role played by finance in the expansion of the West from 1896 to 1914, the building began construction in 1903.
Designed by two of Canada’s top architects, Frank Darling and John Andrew Pearson, the Union Bank Tower is an example of the Chicago architectural style. With an initial construction cost of C$420,000, the building was built by two New York City construction firms: George A. Fuller Company
George A. Fuller (1851 – December 14, 1900) was an American architect often credited as being the "inventor" of modern skyscrapers and the modern contracting system.
Early life and career
Fuller was born in Templeton, Massachusetts, near W ...
and Thompson–Starrett Co. The frame of riveted interlocking girders was manufactured by Dominion Bridge of Montreal, and the ochre brick came from the Lac du Bonnet brickworks.
The building officially opened in November 1904. In 1921, a single-storey annex was added to the original 10-storey tower to accommodate the Bank's savings department.
The Royal Bank of Canada
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; french: Banque royale du Canada) is a Canadian multinational financial services company and the largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 17 million clients and has more than 89,000& ...
(RBC) took over the Union Bank in 1925, and operated out of the Union Bank Building until 1992. (The building served as the main branch for the Royal Bank in Winnipeg until 1966.) In 1992, the Royal Bank moved out of the building and to a new location at James Avenue and Main Street.
On September 22, 1997, the Government of Canada designated the building as a National Historic Site.
The building sat vacant for 18 years before being renovated, repurposed and opened as the Paterson GlobalFoods
Paterson GlobalFoods (PGF) is a family-owned international agri-food business. It was established in 1908 as the N. M. Paterson Company.
In 1912, N. M. Paterson built its first elevator at Fort William, with a handling capacity of 75,000 bushels. ...
Institute of Red River College in 2013.
Paterson Globalfoods Institute
In May 2009, the Government of Canada
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
pledged Red River College (RRC) with $9.5 million of funding to help reconstruct the Union Bank Building at the corner of Main Street and William Avenue in downtown Winnipeg to house the new Paterson GlobalFoods Institute. The Paterson Globalfoods Institute is an addition to RRC's Exchange District Campus that was completed in January 2013, and serves as the new home of the Culinary Arts, Hospitality and Tourism Management and Professional Baking and Patisserie programs.
The Manitoba government also announced a contribution of $5 million towards the construction of the building. The project was developed by RRC, with additional project partners including: Paterson GlobalFoods Inc., Centre Venture, City of Winnipeg, Province of Manitoba, Government of Canada
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
, and Prairie Architects. Both the exterior as well as a significant amount of the interior of the Tower (including the main floor banking hall) were fully restored as part of the renovation.
The new institute provides classroom and kitchen space and two restaurants on the first three floors, a rooftop patio and garden, as well as residence for 103 students on the floors above.[ The housing units are available in one or two bedroom configurations.][ The renovation was expected to cost $34 million, up from the initial $27 million estimate,] and involved the addition of two new glass fronted structures adjacent to the existing Union Bank Tower. The new adjacent structures were required for the project because the tower itself could not house the necessary heating and cooling systems. The adjacent structure is located on the lot formerly occupied by the Leland Hotel which burned down in 1999.
Jane's Restaurant is an 80-seat fine dining restaurant located in the renovated main banking hall. The building also features a 94-seat casual cafe called the "Culinary Exchange", and "Grab-and-Go", a quick service food outlet.
References
External links
*
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Buildings and structures in downtown Winnipeg
Office buildings completed in 1904
Chicago school architecture in Canada
Darling and Pearson buildings
Skyscrapers in Winnipeg
Skyscraper office buildings in Canada
National Historic Sites in Manitoba
Historic bank buildings in Canada
Municipal Historical Resources of Winnipeg
Red River College