Built in 1887 south of the railroad tracks, at the corner of Euclid Avenue and Main Street, the “Bank Block” was Ontario’s first business center. Designed in both Queen Anne and Eastlake styles, the brick and wood series of two-story adjoining buildings displayed ornate doors, carved pilasters, bay windows, ornamental gables, and a tower measuring 40 feet in height on the corner, where the city’s first bank, Ontario State Bank, was the anchor. E.H. Richardson, inventor of the... Hotpoint Iron, the Ontario Record newspaper, a barber shop, a bakery, and a supply store were among some of the early tenants. Over the years, it served as a rooming house, a hotel, the Salvation Army, then Howell’s Hardware Store--its longest tenant. In the 1970’s, it was named the Grand Palace when it became occupied by antique stores. It was designated a historic landmark in the 1980’s, and in spite of efforts to restore the structure, it was destroyed by fire short of its 100th birthday in 1986.
Post content and Photo credit: Model Colony History Room. #HistoricalWednesday #CityofOntario
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