Heritage in the Hat: Dominion Grocery a reminder of another era

By Medicine Hat News on April 28, 2018.

At the south end of North Railway Street sits the imposing two-storey red brick structure originally known as Dominion Grocery, a component of a historic group of early industrial and commercial buildings in the neighbourhood. It reflects the optimistic growth and development prior to the outbreak of the First World War. Located adjacent to the yards of the CPR, it was part of a goods distribution network for the booming city. The irregular shape of the building, particularly the curved east faade, was dictated by a CPR siding that serviced this warehouse, as well as others located to the north-west of the site.

It was designed and built by Lussier Construction between 1913 and 1914 for the cost of $25,000 for Dominion Grocers Ltd., a wholesale grocery distribution business. At the time, Henderson Directory lists 29 small retail groceries scattered around the city! In 1917, it was listed as Dominion Groceries Ltd. and by 1919, the company had disappeared, with the location taken over by Medicine Hat Grocery.

Built as a utilitarian warehouse with associated office space, the building is significant for its dual-function vernacular architecture. The two-storey red brick building features a decoratively detailed front faade with multiple single and double window assemblies, distinctive sandstone banding, and ornate sandstone trim around the front entry, all of which projected a sense of prosperity to the public. The east and north faades possess multiple double door loading bays for movement of goods. Each of these faades incorporates runs of segmental arch windows, permitting an abundance of light to penetrate the interior space.

The building was also used for a period of time to store lumber on the second floor and its practical design included the high ceilings and second storey access to facilitate this function. Over the decades, the building has housed a variety of companies as evidenced by the multiple ghost signs on the building’s exterior. It is valued for its continuous use as a commercial structure in the River Flats neighbourhood, including such businesses as Macdonalds Consolidated, Medicine Hat Building Supplies Co., Advance Distributors and Anderson Music, operated by G. B. (“Bernie”) Anderson, former public school trustee (1989-1992) and city alderman (1995-2001) .

The windows along North Railway Street have been replaced, and the replacements reconfigured to limit light penetrating the building (perhaps due to excessive solar heat gain). The most noticeable alteration to the building was the removal of the stepped brick parapet and capping on the front faade for unknown reasons, which has altered the appearance of the building from the street.

Today, the corner store has been mostly replaced by supermarket chains that ship in product in vans. However, the original purpose of goods distribution has been maintained for over a century and the structure continues to anchor the south end of North Railway, a reminder of another era.

Malcolm Sissons is the chair of the Heritage Resources Committee.

8
-7