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. 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.
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.
Today known as the
Gipman Apartments, the building has been divided into apartments for a number of years.
The pair of photos below indicate the vast change in the landscape surrounding the old Lemon Block between 1895 and the 21st century.
HISTORY
1894 and 1895 were the beginning years of more permanent types of business construction than found in Sour Dough Alley. The Ross Thompson Townsite had become a legal entity in 1894, lots were for sale for $30 apiece from the Township Company and the news coming from the evaluation of mining exploratory work pointed to extensive and high grade deposits of gold in Red Mountain. The Rossland Mining Camp was turning into the town of Rossland.
From, “The First History of Rossland, B.C.”, written by Harold Kingsmill, published in 1897,
“
About the same time too (spring 1895), ‘Bob’ Lemon the irrepressible one of the pioneer merchants of Nelson, Three Forks and other places in the upper country, arrived in town and bought the lot to the west of the War Eagle Hotel and commenced the erection of one of the very first lath and plastered buildings in the town. On the completion of the building, Mr. Lemon moved in one of the most complete stocks of mining supplies ever seen in the country, bringing it from his store at Three Forks, a town which upon the birth of Sandon as the natural supply point of the mines of Carpenter Creek, on the Slocan, was rapidly becoming deserted.”
From Heritage Rossland
Lemon Block
Description of Historic Place
The Lemon Block is located at the western end of Rossland's downtown core. It is on the south side of Columbia Avenue, west of Spokane Street, and across Hwy 3B from the rock bluff. The Lemon Block is a substantial, two storey building with a pitched roof, a stuccoed facade and two bay windows on the second floor facing Columbia Avenue. The building's footprint is 30' by 100'.
Heritage Value
The Lemon Block has historic value as the oldest remaining heritage building in Rossland's historic downtown core. The Lemon Block was built in 1895 at the beginning of the construction boom years in Rossland's early development as a townsite. For a short time in 1896 the first Bank of Montreal operated out of the building. After that, R.E. Lemon had his General Store on the main floor and living accomodations above. Although many of the building's original interior and exterior features have been lost to renovations, two bay windows on the second floor remain to reflect the original character of the building.
The building is also valued for its location on the western road entrance to Rossland. It was the western edge of the area where the first permanent commercial buildings were built in Rossland.
Character-Defining Elements
The elements that define the character of the Lemon Block include its:
- location on its original footprint
- Two bay windows on the second floor facing Columbia Avenue
From Historic Places Canada