26. CIBC Bank

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The Bank – River Street (CIBC) – 74 River St

A bank has occupied this prominent corner of River and Albert streets for more than a century.

In 1902, the Western Bank of Canada opened a branch in Sunderland. Fire insurance maps from 1904 identify the bank at this location as the Western Bank, while by 1910 it had become a branch of the Standard Bank of Canada.

In the early 1900s, E. G. Sutherland managed the Western Bank branches in Sunderland and Pefferlaw. At the Sunderland branch, the manager lived in an apartment above the bank, and guarding the premises at night was reportedly considered part of his responsibilities.

The names on the building changed as Canada’s banking industry consolidated. In 1928, the Standard Bank was absorbed by the Canadian Bank of Commerce. In 1961, the Canadian Bank of Commerce merged with the Imperial Bank of Canada to create the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce—CIBC.

The bank building itself played a part in one of Sunderland’s most dramatic events. During the Great Fire of 1949, which destroyed the McDermott Block across the intersection, bank employees and local residents climbed onto the roof despite the cold and slippery conditions. They worked to extinguish sparks and embers before they could ignite the building, while others hurriedly moved ledgers and important documents into the bank vault for protection.

The bank survived, helping preserve an important part of Sunderland’s historic main intersection.

Sunderland was also served by several other early banking institutions. James Doble was associated with a private bank that dated to the 1880s and was later acquired by the Home Bank. The Home Bank operated at other locations along River Street before its failure in 1923.

Through mergers, fires and more than a century of change along River Street, this corner has retained its association with banking and remains one of the recognizable landmarks of downtown Sunderland.