Former Bank of Upper Canada Building, Port Hope, Ontario, Canada
Built in 1857 at no. 86 John Street.
"The three-storey, square plan of the Bank of Upper Canada is distinguished by its Italianate style, with ornamental brackets, tall narrow windows, and heavy decorated hood surrounds. It is located on John Street, just blocks away from Port Hope's downtown commercial district and just west of the Ganaraska River.
The Bank of Upper Canada at 86 John Street is recognized for its heritage value by the Town of Port Hope By-law 34/81, Schedule B, passed on May 25, 1981.
The Bank of Upper Canada was originally established in Toronto in 1822, and had established a branch on Walton Street in downtown Port Hope by 1840. Until its demise in 1866, the Bank was one of North America's leading banks, and played a significant role in the financial development of Upper Canada. The 'new' Bank of Upper Canada was built on John Street in 1857, and operated there until 1866 when the building was sold to the Ontario Bank. It remained as the Port Hope branch of the Ontario Bank until 1881.
In 1881, Dr. Robert Astley Corbett M.D purchased the property to use as both his home and medical offices. Corbett went on to become President of the Port Hope Electric Light Company, having constructed a dam on the Ganaraska River that facilitated the delivery of electric power by the installation of a generator on Cavan Street.
This building is an excellent example of the Italianate style. It was designed by Cumberland and Storm, a prominent Toronto architectural firm. Previously, the firm had also designed two other branches of the Bank of Upper Canada, in Windsor (1855) and Sarnia (1857). The building has the massive, square, blocky form often seen in the design of Italianate buildings and includes impressive window trim, hood mouldings and a bracketed cornice line.
Character defining elements of the Bank of Upper Canada include its:
- features embodied in the Italianate style, demonstrated in its square plan, flat roof with wide eaves supported by decorative brackets, the tall and round headed windows, and ornamental window trim and hood moulds and three-storey height
- other decorative elements, including cast iron balconies
- location just south of the downtown core at the corner of John and Augusta Streets" - info from Historic Places.
"Port Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, approximately 109 km (68 mi) east of Toronto and about 159 km (99 mi) west of Kingston. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County. The private Trinity College School opened here in 1868.
The Cayuga people, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, migrated as United Empire Loyalists to the Port Hope area from New York state in 1779. They had been forced from their ancestral homeland in the Finger Lakes region, south of the Great Lakes, after having fought for King George III as Loyalists during the American Revolution. Great Britain had ceded their lands, along with all other territory in the Thirteen Colonies east of the Mississippi River, after the United States won independence.
In 1793, other Loyalists from the northern colonies became the first permanent settlers of European heritage in Port Hope, as the Crown granted them land as compensation for being forced to leave the colonies (much of their property was confiscated by rebel governments) and as payment for military service. The new colonists called the settlement Smith's Creek after a former fur trader. They developed mills and a town plot by the turn of the century.
After the War of 1812, the Crown tried to recruit more British settlers, and townspeople wanted a new name. After a brief fling with the name Toronto, the village was renamed in 1817 as Port Hope, after the Township of Hope of which it was a part. That was the namesake of Colonel Henry Hope, lieutenant governor of the Province of Quebec. The post office dates from 1820. In 1834 Port Hope was incorporated as a town.
Relatively slow growth from 1881 to 1951 resulted in much of the town's 19th century architecture surviving. In the early 21st century, Port Hope's downtown is celebrated as the best-preserved 19th-century streetscape in the province of Ontario. The town's local chapter of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario and the Heritage Port Hope Advisory Committee are very active and advise on the restoration and preservation of architecturally or historically significant buildings.
With over 270 heritage-designated buildings throughout the municipality, Port Hope has a higher per capita rate of preservation than any other town or city in Canada. Downtown businesses are regulated by the municipality to maintain the town's unique character. This special character makes Port Hope a destination for heritage tourism and people interested in architecture." - info from Wikipedia.
Late June to early July, 2024 I did my 4th major cycling tour. I cycled from Ottawa to London, Ontario on a convoluted route that passed by Niagara Falls. during this journey I cycled 1,876.26 km and took 21,413 photos. As with my other tours a major focus was old architecture.
Find me on Instagram.
Feel free to make a donation if you appreciate my photos.
Former Bank of Upper Canada Building, Port Hope, Ontario, Canada
Built in 1857 at no. 86 John Street.
"The three-storey, square plan of the Bank of Upper Canada is distinguished by its Italianate style, with ornamental brackets, tall narrow windows, and heavy decorated hood surrounds. It is located on John Street, just blocks away from Port Hope's downtown commercial district and just west of the Ganaraska River.
The Bank of Upper Canada at 86 John Street is recognized for its heritage value by the Town of Port Hope By-law 34/81, Schedule B, passed on May 25, 1981.
The Bank of Upper Canada was originally established in Toronto in 1822, and had established a branch on Walton Street in downtown Port Hope by 1840. Until its demise in 1866, the Bank was one of North America's leading banks, and played a significant role in the financial development of Upper Canada. The 'new' Bank of Upper Canada was built on John Street in 1857, and operated there until 1866 when the building was sold to the Ontario Bank. It remained as the Port Hope branch of the Ontario Bank until 1881.
In 1881, Dr. Robert Astley Corbett M.D purchased the property to use as both his home and medical offices. Corbett went on to become President of the Port Hope Electric Light Company, having constructed a dam on the Ganaraska River that facilitated the delivery of electric power by the installation of a generator on Cavan Street.
This building is an excellent example of the Italianate style. It was designed by Cumberland and Storm, a prominent Toronto architectural firm. Previously, the firm had also designed two other branches of the Bank of Upper Canada, in Windsor (1855) and Sarnia (1857). The building has the massive, square, blocky form often seen in the design of Italianate buildings and includes impressive window trim, hood mouldings and a bracketed cornice line.
Character defining elements of the Bank of Upper Canada include its:
- features embodied in the Italianate style, demonstrated in its square plan, flat roof with wide eaves supported by decorative brackets, the tall and round headed windows, and ornamental window trim and hood moulds and three-storey height
- other decorative elements, including cast iron balconies
- location just south of the downtown core at the corner of John and Augusta Streets" - info from Historic Places.
"Port Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, approximately 109 km (68 mi) east of Toronto and about 159 km (99 mi) west of Kingston. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County. The private Trinity College School opened here in 1868.
The Cayuga people, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, migrated as United Empire Loyalists to the Port Hope area from New York state in 1779. They had been forced from their ancestral homeland in the Finger Lakes region, south of the Great Lakes, after having fought for King George III as Loyalists during the American Revolution. Great Britain had ceded their lands, along with all other territory in the Thirteen Colonies east of the Mississippi River, after the United States won independence.
In 1793, other Loyalists from the northern colonies became the first permanent settlers of European heritage in Port Hope, as the Crown granted them land as compensation for being forced to leave the colonies (much of their property was confiscated by rebel governments) and as payment for military service. The new colonists called the settlement Smith's Creek after a former fur trader. They developed mills and a town plot by the turn of the century.
After the War of 1812, the Crown tried to recruit more British settlers, and townspeople wanted a new name. After a brief fling with the name Toronto, the village was renamed in 1817 as Port Hope, after the Township of Hope of which it was a part. That was the namesake of Colonel Henry Hope, lieutenant governor of the Province of Quebec. The post office dates from 1820. In 1834 Port Hope was incorporated as a town.
Relatively slow growth from 1881 to 1951 resulted in much of the town's 19th century architecture surviving. In the early 21st century, Port Hope's downtown is celebrated as the best-preserved 19th-century streetscape in the province of Ontario. The town's local chapter of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario and the Heritage Port Hope Advisory Committee are very active and advise on the restoration and preservation of architecturally or historically significant buildings.
With over 270 heritage-designated buildings throughout the municipality, Port Hope has a higher per capita rate of preservation than any other town or city in Canada. Downtown businesses are regulated by the municipality to maintain the town's unique character. This special character makes Port Hope a destination for heritage tourism and people interested in architecture." - info from Wikipedia.
Late June to early July, 2024 I did my 4th major cycling tour. I cycled from Ottawa to London, Ontario on a convoluted route that passed by Niagara Falls. during this journey I cycled 1,876.26 km and took 21,413 photos. As with my other tours a major focus was old architecture.
Find me on Instagram.
Feel free to make a donation if you appreciate my photos.