Vignettes
/ The Exchange
District
/ Main
Ashdown Hardware Store
(Crocus Building)
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In 1870 J.H. Ashdown purchased two
lots on the corner of Main Street and Bannatyne Avenue.
This location would be the home of the Ashdown retail store
for over one hundred years. Capitalizing on the prairie
settlement boom, Ashdown used innovative marketing to establish
stores and warehouses in the four western provinces.
Relocating to Main and Bannatyne in 1871, the original Ashdown
store burned down in 1904. Retaining a new foundation that
had recently been installed, Russell quickly built two replacement
storeys so that Ashdown would not miss the Christmas season.
In 1905, an additional four storeys were built. American
contractors William and Grace and a Winnipeg partnership
including Davidson Brothers were responsible for construction
at a cost of $110,000.
