Description of Historic Place

The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) Building is located at 1 King Street East, at the southeast corner of King and Queen Streets in the City of Kitchener. The three storey red brick commercial building was constructed in 1885.

The property was designated by the City of Kitchener in 1988 for its heritage value under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act (By-law 88-251).

Heritage Value

The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) Building has been a bank site for over 100 years. Built in 1885 it was constructed by Jakob Fellman, and makes up part of the former Germania Block. The building was rented to the Bank of Hamilton, in 1893 and sold to them in 1914. The property was transferred to the Bank of Commerce in 1927, when it acquired the Bank of Hamilton.

The CIBC Building is a good representation of a nineteenth century Italianate commercial structure. The building is three storeys high, has a flat roof and a boxed cornice. The exterior is clad of red brick with engaged pilasters at the corners and along the Queen Street elevation. Recessed mouldings in the spandrels vertically separate the two upper storeys and add a distinctive note to the wall treatment.

Source: City of Kitchener By-law 88-251.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that contribute to the heritage value of the CIBC Building include its:
- three storey red brick exterior
- flat roof
- boxed cornice
- plain frieze band separating the cornice from the brick, complete with stepped dentil trim
- ashlar laid moulded concrete blocks on the first storey
- engaged pilasters
- double hung windows with frames, hoodmoulds, keystones, bosses, labels, stone sills and transoms
- double steel and glass door main entrance