By 1878, Hamilton was reinventing itself. Having weathered the economic depression of the late 1850s and seeing its commercial prominence challenged by Toronto, the ambitious city was transforming into an industrial powerhouse. At the corner of King and Hughson, where the Hamilton Provident and Loan Society’s new headquarters was taking shape, history was quietly being made. In four cramped rooms atop the unfinished building, Hugh Cossart Baker Jr. established the first telephone exchange in the British Empire. Here, young women known as “Hello Girls” would soon work the switchboards, connecting Hamiltonians to each other and to the modern age.
Three years later, in 1881, the completed building stood as a testament to Hamilton’s growing prosperity. Designed by Toronto’s David Brash Dick and brought to life by builder Robert Chisolm, it was a marvel of Victorian craftsmanship. Ohio stone formed its proud exterior, while inside, imported Minton tiles from Staffordshire, England, graced its floors. Carved walnut fittings and elegant glass panels adorned the walls, speaking to the ambitions of a young city on the rise. Perhaps most impressively, it housed Canada’s first fireproof elevator shaft – a symbol of both innovation and the increasing vertical aspirations of Hamilton’s downtown.
As the headquarters of the Hamilton Provident and Loan Society, the building represented the vision of Scottish immigrant Adam Hope. Hope, who had built his own success story in London and Hamilton, helped found the Society in 1872. Under his guidance, the institution would play a crucial role in Hamilton’s development, providing local property owners the means to secure loans against their land. But its significance reached far beyond banking. In its early years, it served as an incubator for Hamilton’s cultural life, housing the city’s first art school until 1886, when the school relocated to the Canada Life building a block away.
Time proved less kind to this landmark than its sturdy Ohio stone might have suggested. In 1961, just eighty years after its grand opening, the building fell to the wrecking ball. Its replacement – a modest three-story office building – demonstrated none of the architectural ambition or craftmanship of its predecessor. That building too would eventually make way for the metal and glass structure that occupies the site today. Gone are the imported Minton tiles, the carved walnut fittings, and Canada’s first fireproof elevator shaft – though the site’s role in connecting Hamiltonians, first through Baker’s telephone exchange and later through the Provident and Loan Society’s financial services, has left an indelible mark on the city’s history.
HOPE, ADAM – Dictionary of Canadian Biography. (n.d.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/hope_adam_11E.html
Memory lane. (2017). https://downtownhamilton.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Hamilton-Provident-and-Loan-Building-.pdf
Arts in Hamilton | HPL. (n.d.). HPL. https://lha.hpl.ca/articles/arts-hamilton
Bell Telephone Exchange — Workers’ City. (n.d.). Workers’ City. https://www.workerscity.ca/bell-telephone-exchange