Emerging from the depression of the previous decade, the 1880s proved to be a prosperous time for Canada. Reflecting this growing wealth was the construction of a building on the corner of Yonge and Front Street in Toronto. Commissioned by the Bank of Montreal, the building was designed to inspire confidence and represent prosperity. The building was constructed by Canadian architects Frank Darling and his partner S. George Curry. Darling was significant in the design of many ornate buildings in Toronto. Curry had started as a junior in Darling's architecture firm, only to become one of Darling's Partners. Darling favoured the Beaux Arts Style of architecture, and this is evident in the building he designed for the Bank of Montreal to serve as its head office in Toronto.
The design is ornate, with elaborate stone work. Holbrook and Mollington were responsible for designing the statues that decorate the building. Their sculptures are based on sketches provided by Darling. The interior of the bank was said to be the most decorative in the dominion at the time. The west wing contained the Manager's Office, a board room and a private apartment that had outside access through an adorned door with richly ornamented surrounds on the exterior of the building.
The largest dome in Toronto soars above the bank hall. The dome was constructed by Joseph McCausland and Sons with stained glass. Twenty-four fanned panels decorate part of the dome depicting allegorical dragons protecting gold from gorgons and chimaeras. The outside is decorated with a cornucopia of flowers and fruits. Piers were decorated with carved masks and shields under which elements of the arts and industry are represented. A carved telegraph pole represents communication and the railway, while coins and ledgers represent banking. A lute and clarinet illustrate music, tools represent architecture, while sheaves of wheat depict agriculture.
The building remained the head office of The Bank of Montreal until 1949 and an important branch of the bank until 1982 when it closed. The beautiful building remained mostly unused until it was restored by BCE Place (now Brookfield Place) for use as the Hockey Hall of Fame. It reopened as the Hockey Hall of Fame on the 18th of June 1993.
The design is ornate, with elaborate stone work. Holbrook and Mollington were responsible for designing the statues that decorate the building. Their sculptures are based on sketches provided by Darling. The interior of the bank was said to be the most decorative in the dominion at the time. The west wing contained the Manager's Office, a board room and a private apartment that had outside access through an adorned door with richly ornamented surrounds on the exterior of the building.
The largest dome in Toronto soars above the bank hall. The dome was constructed by Joseph McCausland and Sons with stained glass. Twenty-four fanned panels decorate part of the dome depicting allegorical dragons protecting gold from gorgons and chimaeras. The outside is decorated with a cornucopia of flowers and fruits. Piers were decorated with carved masks and shields under which elements of the arts and industry are represented. A carved telegraph pole represents communication and the railway, while coins and ledgers represent banking. A lute and clarinet illustrate music, tools represent architecture, while sheaves of wheat depict agriculture.
The building remained the head office of The Bank of Montreal until 1949 and an important branch of the bank until 1982 when it closed. The beautiful building remained mostly unused until it was restored by BCE Place (now Brookfield Place) for use as the Hockey Hall of Fame. It reopened as the Hockey Hall of Fame on the 18th of June 1993.
The building is said to be haunted by the ghost of Dorothy Mae Elliot. A nineteen-year-old teller, Mae reportedly shot herself in the upstairs ladies washroom early on the morning of Wednesday March 11th 1953. She died twenty-two hours later at St Michaels Hospital. The long-since defunct Toronto Telegram ran a short item explaining the incident as "an attractive young brunette may have been despondent over a love affair". Three paragraphs about the suicide were run a day later by The Toronto Daily Star suggesting that Mae's death had been incited by her lover "taking a job on the boats". There have been rumours that Mae was, in fact, saddened by an unrequited love for the bank manager. Visitors to the building have experienced flickering lights and eerie feelings. Doors and windows seemingly open and close on their own, and a crying woman has been heard in deserted parts of the building. A harpist playing at an event in the building reportedly saw a full-bodied female apparition on the staircase above where she was playing. Some employees have refused to go to the upstairs parts of the building, saying they feel as though they are being watched.
The Hockey Hall of Fame is housed in a beautiful building that now hosts more than 300,000 visitors a year.
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