Keys to History

This building is interesting for what it represents: the solid power of the financial system on the Canadian prairies. The Bank of Montreal, founded in 1817, was Canada's first chartered bank. It played an important part in the settlement of the Prairies, especially in financing the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. It served as Canada's central bank until that role was taken over by the Bank of Canada in 1935. This solid branch, located in Calgary, Alberta, was designed to reassure investors, and perhaps to make borrowers feel humble. Looking at it, it is hard to believe that only 15 years before this picture was taken, the whole city was nothing but grassland.