604 - 628 Yates Street
When the streetcar travelled past this block of Yates Street between
Broad and Government, it still boasted vintage buildings. Among the
businesses housed on the north side of this block were Arthur Holmes -
clothing, D. F. Sprinkling - tailor, F. G. Moody - dentist, E. J. Eyres
- photographer, International Correspondence Schools, W. Henry Pennock
- jeweler, H. P. Winsby - real estate, McFadden and Mould - meat
market, S. M. Okell & Co. - manufacturer's agents, J. and F.
Hepworth - tailors, Coast Locators, B. Williams and Co. - clothing,
Empire Realty, Diego Zarelli - cigars and shoe shine, the Manitoba Bar,
Drake and Horn - hardware, and the Turfman's Club. At the corner
of Yates and Government was the Imperial Bank Chambers with Aikman and
Courtney - barristers, Albert C. West - dentist, and Moresby and
O'Reilly - barristers above the main banking floor.
The scene is quite different in 2009. At the corner of Yates and Broad
is the Legacy Art Gallery and Cafe housed in the former Bank of Toronto
(William Frederick K. Gardiner, Architect,1950). The corporate heraldic
shield is sculpted in low relief above the entrance and remains as a
visual key to the building's history. Further on, new buildings have
been built next to old ones, housing clothing outlets, interior design
firms, and an architectural office.
At
the end of the block, at the corner of Yates and Government, is a
complete remodeling of the 1883 Pritchard House of which all visible
traces have been removed. Built for the Imperial Bank of Commerce in
1946 by D C Frame and Douglas James, Associated Architects, it is now
the home of Starbuck's coffee.
This Hallmark Society project has been funded by the Hbc Foundation and the BC150-Heritage Legacy Fund.
Project manager and researcher: Helen Edwards.
Principal Photography & Consultant:
Ron Bukta, West Ventures Photography.