The Merchant’s Bank Building building was built by one of the first financial institutions established in the city — the Merchants Bank of Canada (absorbed by the Bank of Montreal in 1922). The old name is visible on the frieze below the copper cornice on the 11th Street front. In 1907 the Merchants Bank expressed confidence in Brandon's financial stability by commissioning the Montreal architectural firm of Taylor, Hogel & Davis to design the present building. Stylistically, Beaux-Arts Classicism was adopted, the most fashionable style for banks of the period. The building is stately, with its banded rustication of Ohio sandstone and magnificent two-storeyed Ionic columns. The entrance is extremely rich, with decorative wrought-iron work adorning the balcony and the panels in the oak doors. The classical theme extends to the interior where the space is broken by columns and piers. Decorative fittings, as around themanager's office and the entrance doors, are delicately carved in white oak. The firm's first office in Brandon had been an 1882 wood frame structure designed by the Winnipeg architects Barber and Barber. By 1890 the office had moved into the second MERCHANTS BANK, a more substantial brick structure by the Winnipeg Architect Charles H. Wheeler. With its fanciful Dutch-gable facade and large arched window and door openings, this delightful building stood opposite the present library on the south-east corner of Rosser Avenue and 11th Street. In the early 1970s, it was demolished to make way for a parking lot.