The Bank of British North America opened a branch in Hamilton in August of 1844. The bank moved to 12 King Street East in 1846, after having bought the land from Plumer Burley, who had a tavern and a hotel on the property.  The land was purchased for 1,511 pounds, 9 shillings, and two pence, which was a fair price at the time.

When the bank was built, it became one of the show places of the Gore. The sophisticated structure was a combination of manager’s dwelling and the banking office, which was typical of banking houses at the time. There was a flower garden between the sidewalk and the bank front, and an iron steel railing stood between the garden and the pedestrians. A stone stairway went from the street to the upper floor, where the bank manager’s apartment was located. Inside, there were hardwood floors inlaid with two or three colours of wood. The manager’s apartment had six fireplaces, although the number was reduced to five when one was stolen. The fireplaces were made of heavy marble with flower and figurine designs. The largest room had a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The bathrooms were tiled and had heavy fittings. The style of the building was late Renaissance Revival or Baroque. This design was popular in England at the time and it is possible that the stone detail was shipped from abroad. In 1873, the stairway was torn down when the building façade was moved to the sidewalk. At that point, the only access to the apartments was through the bank offices.

The record of the property’s transfer reads like a history of the city. Names like George Hamilton, Henry Hannon, Allan MacNab, Peter Hamilton, and the Hon. William Allan, all crop up throughout Hamilton history books.

The bank did a booming business. The first person to open an account was George I. Beardmore who owned a tannery on the corner of Catherine and Robert Street. Later, when Beardmore moved to Toronto, he was the first man to open an account at the Toronto branch. He obviously liked the way the bank did business.

The Gore Park Fountain was dedicated to the City by one of the Bank Managers along with the Gore Bank.

The Bank of British North America merged with the Bank of Montreal on October 18, 1918. Although the building was still used for banking purposes, it lost its identity. The Bank of British North America was the oldest continuous bank in Hamilton. Although the Head Office had been in London, Ontario, the Bank of British North America had been connected with Hamilton for so long that it was considered a truly local bank.

In 1922, the Hamilton Hydro Electric Company purchased the bank building for $135,000. The structure was remodeled and modernized and a large addition was constructed at the rear. The second floor apartment that had housed many Bank Managers was used by the Hydro Building for storage space. The drawing room was enhanced with a rare hand carved Italian marble mantel.