When the Bank of Montreal came to Rossland in 1986, it rented part of the R.E. Lemon General Store. It later moved to larger quarters, but still had no permanent building of its own. That finally came to pass in 1900. The top photo below shows the building in late 1895 or early 1896, just before the Bank of Montreal moved in. As can be seen in the new photo, much of the hill in front of the store has been removed, allowing for a much wider highway which passes straight past instead of making an ess turn around it.
Barely recognizable now due to exterior and interior renovations, the only certain identification indicators on the exterior are the two bow windows on the second floor.
The Lemon Block marked the western entrance to Rossland from the stage road to Northport, Washington when the building was constructed in 1895. R. E. Lemon had his General Store on the main floor and living accommodations above. For a short time in 1896, the store housed the first Bank of Montreal before it moved across the street and later into the present Bank of Montreal building in 1900.
The building has been divided into apartments for a number of years.
From the Rossland Heritage Register, Plaques for 2012, Number 8.
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