Royal Bank Tower
500-504 Main Street

This is one of western Canada's oldest steel-framed skyscrapers. Originally the Union Bank Tower, it was, by 1925, the last national bank headquarters in Winnipeg. It was designed by Canada's foremost bank architects of the time, the Toronto-based Darling and Pearson. This was a firm known for skilfully combining modern construction with historical styles. The terra cotta on this structure imitates a smooth grey stone and reflects a restrained Renaissance Revival style. It clads the lower two floors and is the material used for the heavy decorative elements around the windows (sills and voussoirs), the building's corners (quoins) and the attic storey with its porthole windows. Ironically, the ornate cornice is made of galvanized steel that was moulded and painted to resemble stone or terra cotta.