"This is the location of the new Bank of Commerce the way it looked in 1915. At this time the bank was named Standard Bank and was located a bit further west. Around 1920, the bank branch moved to the corner of Barrie and Holland Streets. The buildings in the picture are a laundry and the post office."

"Bradford Police Constables Bruce Davis, left, and Spencer Moore, right, look on as the moving crew takes a safety deposit box unit into the new Bank of Commerce building. The securities were moved Friday night from seven to after midnight. Four members of the six man town police force were on hand to guard the money. One man had to spend the night at the bank because the alarm system was not hooked up in time."

The building located at 1 Holland St. West was originally built as a hotel (Central Hotel, Uneeda Hotel, H. Hulse Hotel). Tom and Len Saint worked on the construction of the building. George Webb ran the hotel for a while before he moved to Saskatchewan. Tom Bell was the manager for many years until he retired and moved to the east side of Simcoe Street. Around 1917 it became the Imperial Bank of Commerce. A large safe and living quarters for the bank staff were located upstairs. The entrance to the apartment was on the west side of the building. John McDowell and his family lived here in the 1930’s. The bank was robbed by the notorious “Boyd Gang” in the 1940’s. At one time the front offices were used by the police, and the back offices were used by Mr. Scanlon (a lawyer). The bank closed in 1972 and was moved further west on Holland Street. This building then became a real estate office, a convenience store, and as of 2014, the Coffee Culture Café. (1, 2)

The building located at 23 Holland St. West may have been owned by George Stoddart Jr. at one time. It had living quarters upstairs. The ground floor once housed a bank (possibly the Imperial Bank) and there was a large vault in the back. The manager was Fred Stevens. He moved to Barrie when the bank closed. This left the Canadian Bank of Commerce as the only bank in Bradford at that time. The Bradford Witness newspaper, under the direction of Stewart and Ina McKenzie, later moved to this location from the Seim Building. (1, 2)
The building located at 27 Holland St. West also had living quarters upstairs. The ground floor housed the practice of lawyers Gardner, Morris and Denney for a while after WWII. Mrs. Marg Fallis lived upstairs for many years before moving to John Street. (1, 2)

"With the opening of the Scotiabank building on Holland St. West imminent, members of the new bank's staff are getting ready for the big day. Sheryl Lynn, Ingrid Szyiko, Carol Bell, Ruth Wiltshire and Manager Peter Monkhouse will all be on hand at the bank's grand opening Saturday."