Description of Historic Place

Munn's Bakery comprises a one-storey commercial building attached to the front of a two-storey gable-roofed residential home, situated on a sloped lot at the southwest corner of Second Avenue and Washington Street in Rossland, B.C. The commercial building is characterized by a corner entrance facing the intersection, and two garage-like structures on its western facade.

Heritage Value

Munn's Bakery is recognized for its historic and social values as the quintessential 'corner store' and early example of a modest commercial building representing Rossland's establishment era and earliest boom days. It is also valued for its associations with the Munn and Thompson families, both long-time owners and business operators at this location.

Constructed in 1898, Munn's Bakery is representative of the spirit of entrepreneurship that made Rossland a thriving mining town at the end of the nineteenth century. Owned and operated by Alexander Munn, who came to Rossland from Prince Edward Island in 1898, this modest corner store stands as a reminder of the supply-and-demand nature of mining boomtowns in the West Kootenay at that time. At different times labeled as a grocery, fruit and tobacconist, or stationery and confectionery store during the 22 years the business was operated by Mr. Munn, this historic place is distinctive for enduring the booms and busts in early Rossland's economy. While dozens of similar businesses opened when Rossland was first established in 1898, by 1920 there were only approximately 11 left.

Heritage value is also evident in the ongoing ownership of this place by the Munn family (first by Alex, and then by his son, Heath) for almost thirty years. The Munn family legacy speaks to the important role of family-run, small businesses through the history of Rossland, and is evident in the physical expansion of the store building during this time. The contiguous relationship of the business with the attached Munn house at the rear is another important indicator of traditional live-work configurations that made family-owned businesses sustainable and successful over the years.

The consistent use of this place as a grocery and confectionery from its opening in 1898 until the 1970s is a core aspect of its heritage value. The success of Munn's business was carried forward by additional operators over the years: Robina Eliza Baillie operated the confectionery from 1922 until 1927, and Ernest and Harry W. Lefevre (who later became mayor of Rossland) operated the Lefevre Grocery here in 1936/37. Thereafter, the store became known as the Handy Store, a grocery and confectionery, owed by Elmer Thompson and Firmin J. Bousquet. While Bousquet quit the business in 1958, Thompson continued to operate it until the 1970s, making it one of the longest operating confectioneries in Rossland at that time.

Although no longer a confectionery, the historic place continues to function as a neighbourhood commercial business (currently Idgie's restaurant since 1999), which due to its enduring presence (over 120 years) and its prominent corner location now mostly surrounded by residences, has evolved into somewhat of a local landmark, cherished and familiar in the streetscape.

Character-Defining Elements

The elements that define the Character of Munn's Bakery include its:
- Original corner location on Second Avenue at Washington Street
- Continuous commercial use since 1898
- Vernacular commercial design as expressed in its single-storey form, its angled commercial corner entrance and its commercial display windows
- The long, rectangular form extending across two city lots
- The contiguous relationship between the historic Munn House and the commercial building
- Wood-frame construction
- Evidence of wood cladding and former gable roof form on the corner store
- Evidence of historical entrances, loading doors and windows at street level, and different areas of the store intended to carry different types of goods
- Evidence of street-level display windows on the Second Avenue and Washington Street facades
- Evidence of the evolution and growth of the building over time