The Toronto-Dominion Branch
10860 Whyte Avenue
Constructed: 1965
Toronto-Dominion’s Whyte Avenue branch is a small but mighty application of International Modern design. A Guide to Canadian Architectural Styles writes that this style manifested itself through its use of “a module, usually a square or rectangle, that forms the basis of a building’s design. Hard, angular edges, severely plain surfaces, and large expanses of glass express a structural system based on a skeleton of steel or reinforced concrete. At its best, it is a style of subtlety, relying for its beauty upon harmonious proportions and beautifully finished materials.”
Combining time-honoured finishes with modern flair, the branch is equal parts traditional and practical. Its use of brick for instance, provides a link to banks of old and helps to convey a sense of stability. The large precast overhang likewise is evocative of the ornamental cornice, yet its plain rectangular form is decidedly Modernist in approach. This feature — and the sense of floating it has thanks to large plate-glass windows underneath — is evocative of J.B. Parkin & Associates’ Ottawa Train Station design, a direct contemporary and well-publicized interpretation of the style.
The Bank’s new branch opened to much fanfare on Saturday, February 26th, 1966. “Yes we’re celebrating,” read an advertisement in the Edmonton Journal. “Celebrating our modern new look in splendid premises […] Manager R.J. Furneaux, Assistant Manager W.G. Wyatt and the entire staff will be on hand to bid you a cordial welcome. Mayor Vince Dantzer will perform the ribbon cutting, and Mr. G.T. Corlett, General Manager of Toronto-Dominion’s Alberta Division will give the official opening address. There’ll be light refreshments, and special treats for the children.”
The pictures featured here were taken in September 2020. At that time the building was undergoing a light renovation, and corrugated siding along the ‘cornice’ was removed, revealing the original precast underneath. Cooler than that, it also revealed the ghost signs of the bank’s original signage.
Image Gallery:
Sources:
Leslie Maitland, Jacqueline Hucker, Shannon Rickets, A Guide to Canadian Architectural Styles (Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press, 1993), 178.
“Come Celebrate With Us!,” Edmonton Journal, February 25, 1966.
“VIA Rail Station,” Canada’s Historic Places, accessed May 21, 2021,
https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=15815.
