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(From the medallion at the base of the chandelier)
[Photo collage by KPA]
The above images are of the ceiling of the Old Head Office of the Canadian Bank of Commerce (the bank is now known as the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce -CIBC - through a 1961 merger of the CBC and the Imperial Bank of Canada) on 25 King Street.
Here is what the brochure (given to me by an office worker) says about the building:
The Canadian architectural firm of Darling and Pearson was awarded the design contract by the bank on August 24, 1927...York and Sawyer, an American firm known for its Romanesque style banking buildings in the United States, served as consulting architects.Here is more detailed information about the bank's history, and some on the building.
...An average of 750 workmen worked every day to get the completed in time for the bank's Annual Meeting in January 1931.
Architectural highlights:
- The banking hall was modelled after the Baths of Caracalla in Rome. Its coffered ceiling, reaching a height of 65 feet, is painted a pale azure with mouldings covered in gold leaf. Three massive bronze electric chandeliers (then called "electroliers") help illuminate the magnificent hall and bring out the warm tones of the limestone walls.
In 1991, the architectural value and interest of [the building] was recognized by the City of Toronto under the Ontario Heritage Act, and in 2007 received a Heritage Toronto Plaque in honour of its 75th Anniversary.
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