Description of Historic Place:
"Mme. Tremblay’s Store, also known as Building 16, is located at the corner of a major intersection in Dawson City. This two-storey commercial building is of wood-frame construction and has a flat roof. The building has a boxed cornice supported on scrollwork brackets, an oriel window, and a corner window and entrance door. Projecting wooden lettering below the cornice spells out ‘Mme. Tremblay’s Store’. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.
Heritage Building:
Mme. Tremblay’s Store is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental value.
Historical Value:
Mme. Tremblay’s Store is associated with the development of Dawson City as a supply, service and distribution centre during and following the Gold Rush. The building is directly associated with Emilie Tremblay, a person of regional significance, and a native of the Lac St. Jean region of Québec. She is recalled for her early appearance in the Territory, as well as for her long residence, efforts as an independent miner on the creeks, and her resolute management of the millinery/dry goods business in Dawson City in tough economic times. The building is also associated with the development of Dawson City as a territorial capital.
Architectural Value:
Mme. Tremblay’s Store is valued for its good aesthetic design. It is also of value for its very good functional design and effectiveness of materials, layout and mode of construction, which is evidenced by the length of service of the building as a combination retail/residential establishment from 1899 to 1976.
Environmental Value:
Mme. Tremblay’s Store reinforces the Gold Rush character of its commercial streetscape setting in Dawson, and anchors one corner of a historically important intersection. The building is well known to residents and visitors of the city.
Sources: Joan Mattie, Twenty-two Dawson structures, Dawson, Yukon, Heritage Character Statement, 88-012; Mme. Tremblay’s Store, Dawson, Yukon, Heritage Character Statement, 88-012.
Character-Defining-Elements:
The character-defining elements of Mme. Tremblay’s store should be respected.
Its good aesthetic design, very good functional design, very good materials and craftsmanship, for example:
- the two-storey, wood-frame, rectangular massing with a flat roof;
- the boxed cornice supported on scrollwork brackets;
- the irregularly spaced and elegantly proportioned windows, including the show window, the inset and splayed corner window, and the oriel window;
- the double front door and the pipe-framed awning;
- the painted cove siding;
- the projecting lettering spelling out the name “Mme Tremblay’s Store”;
- the interior plan arranged to provide retail space on the ground floor and residential space on the second floor.
The manner in which Mme. Tremblay’s Store reinforces the Gold Rush character of its commercial streetscape setting and is a well-known building in Dawson, as evidenced by:
- its ongoing historic relationship to the corner of Third Avenue and King Street, given the proximity of the building to the lot lines and boardwalk;
- the awning along the principal elevation, the show windows, the corner window and entrance, and the projecting lettering, all of which contribute to the Gold Rush character of the commercial streetscape;
- its scale and wood-frame construction which reinforces the character of adjacent commercial buildings;
- its prominent location at the corner of an intersection, and on a busy pedestrian axis anchored by the Palace Grand Theatre, and Diamond Tooth Gertie’s Gambling Casino, which makes it a well-known building within the community."
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Inscription on an information panel on site:
Madame Tremblay's Store
While this building dates to 1899, it did not become
Mme Tremblay's, a dry goods and novelty shop, until
1913. Emilie Tremblay had first come to the territory
as a young French Canadian bride in 1895 with her
husband Jack. After 15 years on Eldorado Creek, and
with the era of the individual miner on the wane, they
moved into Dawson City. There they completed the
transition from miners to merchants by investing their
earnings from the creeks in the store. Mme Tremblay
ran the store until 1936.
Personal Observations:
It must have taken Mme Tremblay a lot of courage to leave her ancestral home and move almost to the other end of the world. The distance to travel and the poor quality of the roads at that time must of made it a harrowing experience. Thankfully, she and her husband made it to the Yukon and prospered from the gold rush. After their gold panning and associate debts were honoured, they had enough cash to purchase a dry goods store and subsequently earn a decent living. A most remarkable achievement.