Heritage Building
Built in 1845 by the Commercial Bank of the Midland District and designed by architect William Thomas, this building originally served as the bank's Toronto branch office. The Commercial Bank was located in Kingston, Ontario, which at that time aspired to become Canada's political and financial centre. Toronto eventually eclipsed Kingston as a financial centre, but the bank did not survive long enough to profit from the rising fortunes of Toronto.
The Commercial Bank was eventually occupied by the Merchant's Bank of Canada in 1868, which in turn was taken over by the Bank of Montreal.
During WWI, the firm Clarkson, Gordon and Dilworth located its offices in the building and remained until 1969.
The façade of the building, as you see it today, was disassembled stone by stone, restored and reconstructed to appear just as it did when it opened in 1845. Its original location at 13-15 Wellington Street was immediately north of where the building sits today.
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Toronto Plaques. Full page here.