Vignettes
/ The Exchange
District / Main
Ryan Block/Macdonald Shoe Store
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Shoe retailer-wholesaler Thomas Ryan had operated a wood-frame
shop on the west side of Main Street between present-day
Bannatyne and William avenues since the mid-1870s. In
1883, despite the crash of the building boom that had accompanied
the arrival of the CPR, he chose to develop an adjacent
lot, part of the former Court House property, into a four-storey
building. The elaborately ornamented structure cost an
estimated $30,000 to $35,000 and for awhile looked out
of place situated alongside Main Street’s wooden
storefronts.
The structure was designed by local contractor Johnston Brown
and built by the Saul Brothers (masonry), J. Burkholder (carpentry),
and Nelson and Bige (stonecutters). Blaird and Jarrett
of Minneapolis carved the facade ornamentation.
