Description of Historic Place

The Bank of Montreal Building, a one-storey brick structure built in ca. 1922, stands near the south end of Ethelbert's small main street among a few other commercial properties. The municipal designation applies to the building and its narrow lot.

Heritage Value

The compact Bank of Montreal Building is a fine example of the type of branches Canadian chartered banks built in small rural communities in the early 1900s. It incorporates the distinctive elements of Classical Revival-style architecture, including a flat, unadorned roofline, projecting cornice and corner entrance with a pediment and pilasters. A branch site for nearly 10 years, the building has adapted well to the various needs of a small community, serving as the law office and home of a prominent Ethelbert resident, Michael Hyrhorczuk, and as the office of the Rural Municipality of Ethelbert. The structure retains a high level of architectural integrity and is one of the few remaining historic buildings in Ethelbert's business district.

Source: Village of Ethelbert By-law No. 1996-11, March 6, 1996

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Bank of Montreal Building site include:
- the placement of the building on a narrow grassed lot beside similarly sized buildings on the east side of Railway Avenue N in Ethelbert

Key exterior elements that define the brick building's Classical Revival style include:
- the deep one-storey rectangular form with a flat roof and solid side parapet walls
- the primary (west) facade dominated by a pedimented, raised front entrance, its transomed door set between capped brick pilasters
- the rectangular-shaped openings, including the single and three-part sash windows with transoms in plain wooden surrounds
- the fine materials and finishes, such as the red brick finish laid in the common bond method, the front brick stringcourse, the brick lintels, sills and decorative detailing with rowlock and soldier courses, the capped chimney, high concrete foundation, smooth cornice, wooden flagpole, etc.

Key internal elements that define the building's heritage character include:
- the brick fireplace with soldier- and rowlock-course detailing that carries through from the exterior

Key elements that recall the building's function as a bank include:
- the interior main-floor vault supported on its outside wall by solid brick exterior buttresses with concrete caps and the small basement windows with steel security bars